The Messiah's Legacy
by LeiCiel
Summary: He was supposed to be the Seal that saved mankind. The one who ensured that people would still have the chance to find happiness in life. Instead, he cursed the world. And now, people spend every moment fearing for their lives. It now falls to eight special individuals to discover the truth behind the Messiah's final act and, perhaps, save the world in the process.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

Darkness.

Darkness everywhere.

How long has it been since I had last seen anything but the darkness? Months? Years? Decades? Centuries? Or perhaps it had only been but a few minutes? But in the end, do I even care? When all I could do was stare into the darkness, when all I had to occupy myself with were my own thoughts, did the passage of time truly matter anymore?

One moment it feels as though I have been here for an eternity. The next, it's as though I had been awake, truly awake, just seconds ago. It is confusing, almost to the point of maddening.

Moreover, I had lost all feelings in my limbs long ago. No, that was inaccurate. Rather, I could no longer feel any part of my body. From my fingers to my shoulders, from my shoulders to my waist, and from my waist all the way down to my feet, I felt nothing at all.

In truth, I do not even know if my eyes have remained open. Were they open? Was I truly in a place that was devoid of all light? Or were my eyes shut, and thus only capable of seeing darkness?

But then, that, too, was not entirely correct.

Every now and then, I would see something. I don't know what it is for certain. Was it real? Was I somehow, truly, seeing something amidst the darkness? Perhaps it was merely my imagination. Has the emptiness of this world, perhaps, affected me so much that I have begun to hallucinate? I don't know. All I knew for certain, was that _he_ was right there, standing in front of me.

At some point, I had come to believe that, despite everything, we had failed. I had come to believe that the Fall had come and that this darkness is the 'Salvation´ many have spoken of or wished for. Considering all we had lost and given, all _he_ had lost and given, in the fight to prevent the Fall, such thoughts were shameful. And yet, when I first considered that possibility, I felt strangely at peace.

Even if we had failed, even if humankind has reached its end, at least we no longer had to suffer. At the very least, he, who had suffered and lost much over the past ten years, could finally rest. And not just him. Now, the rest of us could finally rest as well.

After fighting for so long, would anyone blame us, blame me, for choosing to rest? Would they accept that we had tried our best, or would they condemn us for not trying harder? But, here and now, none of that mattered any longer. With our failure there was little need to think of such things. All there was left to do, was accept that we failed and accept the consequences of such.

With such thoughts in my mind, I embraced the darkness for the first time. And while I no longer needed sleep or any such necessities to continue existing, I somehow felt more rested once I had acknowledged that painful truth.

It was shortly after that - or perhaps it was a long time, I'm uncertain as there are no indications of the passage of time - that I began to see _him._ At first, it was just a quick flash of his silhouette, somehow visible despite the darkness and faster than a blink of an eye. The next time it was slightly longer, long enough for me to make out the finer details of his silhouette before he faded once more.

The third time was slightly longer than the second, but it was enough for me. I had seen his face. Was it wrong for me to be disappointed when he wasn't smiling? Was it wrong to for me to want to see his smiling face even when I had already chosen to accept this perpetual darkness, the same darkness that we all fought to avoid?

Though I may have thought of him as nothing but an illusion at that time, his face brought a stirring beneath my chest. And the longer his image stayed, the more I felt this feeling welling up within me. And the more I felt it, the more it hurt.

And so, despite how I longed to see him once more, I tried to will the visions away. But instead, they persisted and the image grew clearer while the amount of time I saw his image also grew in length. Where I use to only see his silhouette, now I see him clearly as though it were the middle of the day. Where he would disappear before I could blink a second time, now he would remain for so long that his absence grew more noticeable.

The times his image was gone slowly became unbearable just as a different kind of pain blossomed within me every time the vision disappeared. The pain and discomfort I felt when I saw his image, grew every time I saw him again. But this new pain I felt always started weak but grew the longer I did not see him.

And then, there were his words. It did not take me long to notice that he was speaking whenever I saw him. But even after seeing him so many times, I still could not understand him. His words were muted, sounding as though I were listening to him while I was under the water, and he above.

Or perhaps I have merely been adding more to this vision I am receiving. I do not know. I know too little of the darkness that surrounds me, of what happened to the world itself.

And now, I was alone again. His image had faded some time ago. But unless I misjudged it, the time between his disappearances and reappearances were growing shorter. While it meant that the pain I felt in his absence did not have a chance to grow, the pain I felt when he was present was one I had to bear for much longer. Were I capable of it, I'm certain I would have been crying due to the pain in my heart a long time ago.

It wasn't long before his image faded into visibility once more. But this time, something was different. I could feel an immense pressure coming from him. It was power. But, how could a mere vision produce such an effect. Unless…

Then, as though waking from a dream, my eyes opened. Everything changed at that very moment, and yet everything remained the same.

Darkness still surrounded me but it no longer lulled me into a sense of peace. Instead, the darkness around me seemed… eager? Almost as though the night had been waiting far too long for the sun to herald the coming of the day.

I still could not move my body. But I could feel it. I was aware of my body once more. No longer did I feel like a specter, a mere consciousness, lingering in the void. Now I feel as though I have just awoken from a very long slumber.

And finally, him. While the image I had been seeing in the past was an exact likeness, something was very different about him now, even though his appearance had not changed in any way. The only words I could think of to describe it was that he looked more… alive. But whether he was alive or not, I now knew one thing for certain. It had not been an illusion, nor was it a dream or my imagination.

He was here.

How I wished that I could move, that I could speak, that I could do anything at all to let him know my feelings. Feelings that have been left unspoken for so long. And when he began to walk closer, I tried even harder to will my unresponsive body to move. With every step he took I struggled even harder, I raged and thrashed with my entire being, cried out from the very depths of my soul, and yet my body refused to obey me.

And finally, he stood right in front of me, close enough that if I could have touched him had I been able to reach out even one arm. But I could not. My entire body remained as it was, standing still and completely unmoving. It was vexing to be so close to him yet unable to do anything about it.

And then, as though somehow knowing of my struggle, he smiled. It was a small, soft smile, comforting and supportive. And seeing that, I tried even harder to move. But then he shook his head, his uncovered eye telling me that I did not need to do anything. Then his smiling lips parted, moving and forming words. Hearing his voice calmed me greatly, the pain deep within me disappearing along with all my burdens.

And then, when he finished speaking, he smiled once more and then everything faded away into the darkness. But this time, I had nothing to fear. Somehow, someway, I knew that the next time I gained awareness, it will no longer be in this world of darkness.

* * *

 **Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man.**

…

 **Wait… that's not right. Let's try that again.**

 **OST Selected: (A Poem for Everyone's Souls)**

 **Welcome to my newest story, my dear readers. My penname is LeiCiel. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth. She is a resident here, not like myself. This story exists between genius and insanity, my computer and yours...**

 **It's been a years since I last wrote a crossover. Only those who have signed this imaginary contract can see this story. Henceforth, you shall be welcome to read my newest story. You are destined to read a great story, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return… That you abide by the imaginary contract, and submit your honest opinion for each chapter you read.**

 **YOU  
** **"I understand."  
"I don't understand."  
-"Is this a dream?"-**

 **Precisely wrong. You are wide awake in the real world as you read this. This story you see is no mere dream. However, you will be seeing this story in your dreams, sooner or later. Hold on to this…**

 **YOU  
** **Obtained** _ **Story URL**_

 **'Til we meet again…**


	2. Ch 1 - Remnants of the Past

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Oh… Wow…**

 **A scant 1.5k words of prologue brought in more followers and favorites than 60k+ words from my other story, and almost half the number of views already. I'd say this story is off to a good start.**

 **Though I'm a bit saddened by the lack of feedback on the part of my Igor-esque greeting. I thought I'd get more people commenting on that. XP**

 **Still, prologue and all so hopefully this first real chapter gets more feedback.**

 **First, sorry about taking so long to update even though I said I'd update earlier this week. Work got crazy, two people fell ill so I got called in on my day off so it got even crazier, and I had trouble putting the scenes into words for this chapter.**

 **Then my internet connection at home isn't connecting at all so I had to call the company to find out what went wrong. Upside is, since it's been almost a week and they still can't find out what's wrong, they offered to cut my bill in half for the month to make up for not being able to use it at all and is replacing everything for free. It was troublesome but it makes up for it well enough.**

 **Anyway, this chapter is pretty much one long set-up before the main part of the story begins. More things on the story at the end of the chapter to avoid chapter spoilers.**

 **So anyway, here's the first real chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Remnants of the Past**

 **?, XX13**

No matter how many times she came here, it was always the same. The same crystalline walls, the same pale blue glow emanating from the crystal floor, the same silence, and, most importantly, the same nine sleeping occupants. And like every time she came into the room, she walked towards them to check on their conditions.

How long had she been doing this now? So much time has passed since she took up this duty of her own volition. Sometimes she wonders why she still returns to check on them even though they have been sleeping for so long. But no sooner does the thought appear does the reason flash through her head, and any doubts disappears in that instant.

' _Yes, no matter how much time passes, I will watch over you all for as long as I need to. 'Twould otherwise be a disservice for he who gave his life for yours.'_

And so, once more, she went to work. She stopped right beside the first one to her left and looked down on the now familiar face of a red-haired girl encased within a crystal casket. _'Ah, would it perhaps be best to refer to this as a bed? After all, coffins and caskets are only for those who have passed and not for those who merely rest.'_

The red-haired girl's resting place was, indeed, quite similar to a casket. A vaguely rectangular shaped box made of countless shards of the same crystals that made up the room itself. The one point of contention that separated bed from casket was the fact that the girl rested within, rather than atop.

And yet, her words rang true. Casket were for the dead. The red-haired girl within, however, was very much alive. Despite not being able to touch the girl, she knew she was alive. She could still sense life coming from within. And the other eight resting in the room were the same as the girl. All of them were within a casket-like construct, slumbering deeply.

In truth she did not need to approach them to check on their conditions. She knew that they were all still alive from the moment she stepped into the room and that, much like the last time she came to check on them, their conditions still remained the same. They were no closer to waking than they were to slipping into death.

But she knew. She knew that one day they would wake. After all, to die now would mean that his sacrifice was wasted. Besides that, they were not the kind of people to give up after one or two failures. Or even a hundred failures. _'They would not have gotten as far as they had if their resolve was that weak.'_

And so, she moved to stand beside their crystal containers, and gazed down on their faces as though engraving the memory into her mind before moving on to the next. One by one she did this until she came to the ninth and final one. And once that was done, she stepped away, walking towards the crystalline door with barely a pause.

Just before reaching the door, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder at the other, conscious, occupant of the room. "I trust you will watch over them as always?"

"Of course," came the reply from a strangely mechanical but clearly male voice.

"My thanks." She turned to the door once more but paused when the other person spoke.

"It will be another year in just a few weeks, won't it?" She looked over her shoulder once again with a questioning look. "If possible, please return before that time. I feel as though something significant will happen around then."

"Oh?" A look of interest appeared on her face. "Will they awaken?"

"It is possible. But I cannot say for certain. For now, it is but a feeling I have."

"A feeling?" she asked, an amused expression on her face. "I'm surprised a being like you has such things considering what your… brethren have become."

The other figure chuckled, his strange voice making it sound dark and ominous. "And I'm surprised a being like you would have such attachments," he responded in kind. "How many years has it been since you first set foot in here and decide to keep watch like myself? You may leave soon after your arrival but you cannot deny that what you do beyond these walls is for their benefit as well."

The woman laughed softly, even more amused that his words mirrored her earlier thoughts. "How strange. I, too, asked myself that same question just now," she admitted. When no reply came, she continued with the response to his unasked question. "I merely wish to prevent his sacrifice from going to waste. These people, his friends, are very dear to him. Although my goal is, in many ways, for my own selfish desires, the very least I could do is help his friends in his absence."

No more words were exchanged between the two as the woman left.

The other being stood in place for a while longer, digesting the woman's words. The two of them rarely exchanged words beyond to those related to their chosen duties. Today was the only the second time they had spoken so much outside their duties, short though the discussion might have been. The first time had been when they first met in the crystalline room. And, despite starting off with a misunderstanding, the conversation that followed lasted nearly a full day.

He had been there for almost as long as the room existed, having begun to watch over it only hours after its creation. And although it was merely an option presented to him, it was still his choice to do so in the end. She had come years later, searching for something. But when she saw the room, or rather the people slumbering within, she had decided to help them in her own way. Though, as she had said, it was mostly out of respect for someone else. He had a feeling that she would not have done so if these people were not connected to that person in any way.

Neither of them could do anything directly. The crystals prevented them from affecting those within. Even if they could, they did not know if they were capable of waking them in the first place.

But when she told him of what the world outside was like, he agreed that, when they awaken, they would need help. And so their duties were clear. He would remain and guard the room, just like he had been before her arrival. She had her own objectives but, as she stated just now, she would help them in _his_ place.

While she was out searching, she would observe the world and any noteworthy events and developments. And when she next returned, which was usually anywhere between several months and a year, she would tell him of her discoveries, though she never spoke of her search. Then again, she didn't need to. Besides, it wasn't important. Not to him anyway.

It was the news she brought back that was. The world outside had changed greatly since he became the room's guardian. During that first time they met, the things she told him came as such a great surprise that he had to stop himself from rushing out to see for himself. To think that the world had changed so much that it was so unrecognizable to his ears. And now, as the years passed, the world continued to change. So much so that the world now sounded entirely alien to him.

But as much as he wanted to see for himself, he had his duties. He knew not when the nine would awaken, but he knew he had to wait until they did before he could even consider leaving. While he was confident that no ordinary being could find the room, the woman was certainly far from ordinary, it did not mean it could not be found. He was there to ensure any who found it would not harm its occupants, nor be able to divulge its location regardless of intent.

And he would perform that duty until his charges woke from their slumber. And nothing would stop him from ensuring their safety. Not even death. Then again…

' _That which is a part of me cannot harm me, let alone kill me.'_

* * *

 **February 01, XX13**

Waking up from whatever state she had been in, she decided, was something she did not want to repeat. Her entire body felt close to unresponsive, twitches of various body parts being all she could manage at the moment.

' _What happened?'_ she asked herself, trying to remember why she had been unconscious to begin with. _'I remember the Dark Hour beginning on the night when Nyx would descend. And then… Then we entered Tartarus, and made our way to the top. Along the way we encountered the two surviving members of Strega and defeated them once more. And then at the top, we were met by Ryoji-san in a different form. We defeated him but then… something happened. What was it?'_

' _Did we fail?'_ She immediately refuted that idea. _'No. Had we failed we would not be alive any more. But if we did not fail, then what happened? Did we succeed? Or perhaps…'_

Seeing that she would not receive answers from incomplete memories, she attempted once more to move and found her body more responsive than earlier. The first thing she did, with some difficulty, was open her eyes. She had expected to see a hospital room, her dorm room, or, if the damage was extensive, a laboratory. Instead, what greeted her eyes was the sight of what seemed to be crystals. Several of them lined up and stacked on top of each other to form a wall.

Then she realized that she was lying on her back and that the crystals were actually over her. But more importantly, a quick glance revealed that there were more directly to her sides as well. And unless she was mistaken, her back was lying on more of the crystals as well. _'Am I… trapped?'_

But before panic could begin to take hold of her, the crystals in front of her glowed briefly. When the glow subsided, the crystals slowly began to move. _'They're… retracting?'_ she asked then immediately corrected herself. _'No, they're shrinking.'_

The crystals continued to shrink, slowly creating an opening for her to exit. Once she was certain that the crystals had finished, she slowly sat up with some slight difficulty. And when she did, she saw that it was not only her resting place that was made of crystal. Looking around, she confirmed that the entire room was made of the same material.

The room was round and tall, tall enough that she could not see the ceiling. The crystal floor was glowing fairly brightly, enough to illuminate the lower portion of the room. Looking around, however, she found no sign of any exit, whether it be a door or a window. But the fact that there was air meant that there was an exit somewhere. All she had to do was find it. More importantly, however…

"Ah man… that's a relief."

The sound of a familiar voice coming from her right caught her attention, followed by a muffled thump from somewhere else in the room. Ignoring the latter in favor of the former, she turned her attention to ground level and found eight more of the same thing she was lying in, each one with, presumably, a person inside. All nine coffins – it was what they appeared to be after all despite how much she disliked thinking of them as such – had one end against the wall and went around the room in a counter-clockwise direction, with hers at the start.

"Junpei-san?"

"Huh?" Hearing his name, the boy with buzz cut dark hair beneath a baseball cap and a sparse goatee looked to his left to see who had called him. She noted that the black blazer of his school uniform, while not immaculately pressed, did not look as though he had just slept in it. Beneath it, the blue dress shirt he wore was in similar condition. "Aigis? You were in one of these things too?"

Aigis nodded, looking around at the other beds. Her eyesight, sharper than that of a human's, allowed her to see that most of the other caskets' crystal tops have also disappeared, assuming they had been sealed like hers had been. And then their occupants rose up, their faces either relieved or concerned.

"Ugh… definitely not the best sight to wake up to. What is this thing anyway? And where the heck are we?"

"I don't know. I'm just glad it opened when it did. Though I did find it strange that it opened soon after I woke up. Almost like it was waiting for me to wake up."

From the beds between Aigis and Junpei rose two girls. One had light brown eyes and with matching hair just barely to her shoulders but curling up slightly at the tips, and was wearing a pink cardigan, the white collar of her blouse visible above the neckline, and a large, loosely tied, red bow. The other had teal hair and greenish-blue eyes and was wearing a black double breasted jacket, one similar to Junpei's school blazer. Visible above the top buttons was the pale green turtle neck shirt she wore underneath. They were Yukari Takeba and Fuuka Yamagishi, fellow juniors to Junpei Iori.

"Is everyone alright?"

"I think so. Still, I didn't expect these things to suddenly open up like that."

"I just wish it opened up sooner. That really hurt."

Across from her, three more people rose from their beds.

The first was a girl who had crimson eyes that were already taking in their current situation, and long, wine red hair that fell to the middle of her back in waves, the bangs covering most of the left half of her face. She was wearing the school uniform, a long-sleeved white blouse with thin vertical lines on the front and also on the sides of the sleeve, and a large red bow. Unlike Yukari and Fuuka, she did not opt to wear a sweater or jacket above the blouse. To the red-haired girl's left was a boy with short silver hair and gray eyes. He wore a white dress shirt with a red vest over it. Mitsuru Kirijo and Akihiko Sanada, the seniors of the group

The third, unlike everyone else, was a young boy several years younger than them. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, a shade darker than Yukari's. He wore an orange hoodie above the school's white dress shirt, and the school's black blazer over that. Ken Amada, an elementary school student and the youngest member of the group. And currently he was rubbing his forehead in pain. Aigis could only assume that the source of the dull thump she had heard earlier was from his forehead hitting the casket before it opened, most likely due to the shock of waking up inside of it.

"You alright there Ken?" asked Akihiko, looking over at the young boy with concern.

"I-I'm fine," Ken replied with a small wince. "I just didn't expect to wake up trapped like that."

"Well, you gotta be pretty messed up to expect that in the first place. I mean, I thought they buried us without even checking if we were dead," commented Junpei. "Still, could have been worse. These things could have actually been underground."

"Ugh… is this really the time for your jokes, Stupei?" asked Yukari, looking at the cap-wearing boy with a half-hearted glare.

"Hey, hey, I'm just saying it could have been worse," he defended, raising his hands up in mock surrender.

"True," said Mitsuru, agreeing with Junpei's assessment. "Though perhaps a more tactful way of phrasing it would have been better," she added somewhat quickly, knowing Junpei would take her immediately response as complete agreement. "But either way, looks like we're all unharmed. For the most part." The last part was spoken after a quick glance at Ken.

Just then there was a bark, and the sudden sound caused them to turn to the source. Shock gave way to smiles at the sight of a pale-gray and white furred Shiba Inu looking around the room with crimson eyes. Koromaru barked several more times, his wagging tail as he sat up on his haunches with the equivalent of a smile on his face.

"Koro-chan!" and "Koromaru!" were the cries heard within the crystalline room, each one greeting their canine companion.

"That's a relief," Fuuka said with a sigh. "It looks like we're all here."

"No."

Aigis's firm but worried tone caught them off guard and caused them to wonder what it was she was disagreeing with. When they looked to her for an answer, they saw that her gaze was focused on somewhere to her right. When they followed her gaze, the relief turned into worry as well.

The final casket that lay between all the rest had yet to reveal its occupant. A few terse moments passed, all eyes watching in anticipation and growing worry. It was only when Junpei, the closest one save for Koromaru, noticed an important detail.

"Oh crap!" his curse drew all attention to him, their anxiety rising at his tone and wide eyes. "It's not open!"

"What?!" shouted Yukari, her eyes, along with everyone else's, mimicking Junpei's. "Y-You're kidding right?"

"Something must have happened," reasoned Mitsuru, already trying to come up with possible explanations. "Maybe-"

"Who cares what happened!" Junpei interrupted, swinging his legs over the right side of the casket he was sitting in, then hopping off. "We gotta- woah!" The moment his feet hit the floor, his legs folded and he fell to the floor completely prone, even his arms lacked the strength to keep him from falling on his face. "Argh, the hell?!"

"Junpei!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said quickly, hearing the worry in their tone. "Who the heck's in this last one anyway?"

It barely took a second for everyone to consider who was already awake before they realized it.

"Minato-san!"

"Minato-kun"

"Arisato-kun!"

Everyone scrambled to race out of their caskets, some more cautiously than others for good reason. Yukari, Akihiko, and Ken, fell to the ground, though not as gracelessly as Junpei, and barely had the strength to crawl. Mitsuru and Fuuka were more careful but found that they could barely stand and that their arms, holding them up by resting on the casket, were close to giving in as well. Koromaru seemed to have realized his own weakness and was merely watching the final casket with a worried whine.

But even as they failed, none of them failed to notice that one person had already crossed the distance from their casket to the other, light blue eyes gazing down at the crystal casket in shock. "But… This is…"

"Aigis, what is it?" asked Mitsuru, the others wondering the same thing as they heard Aigis's mutterings. "Is he alright?"

"It's… It's not him."

There were various cries of confusion from everyone along with countless questions and speculations. In the end, there were two questions that plagued their minds the most. Where was he?

"If it ain't Minato then who is it?" asked Junpei as he slowly pushed himself to his knees with shaky arms.

"It's… Chidori-san."

"WHAT?!" It was, understandably, Junpei's reaction that was the loudest of them all, his expression a mixture of relief and panic. "But how… No, never mind that. Can you get her out?"

"I can try," Aigis replied resolutely. She raised her arms, pointing her fingers straight at a corner of the casket. The tips of her mechanical fingers opened to reveal the gun barrels hidden within.

"I doubt you'd be able to so much as scratch it."

"Who's there?" Aigis turned her weapons to the center of the room but searched the entirety of the room. Everyone else searched the room as well but none of them could see anybody else asides from themselves. "Show yourself."

There was a terse silence as everyone waited for the unknown speaker to act once more. "Very well," came the reply, the voice echoing throughout the room and making it difficult to pinpoint the source. The voice itself was that of a male's but had a soft and mechanical quality to it. "Before I do, I wish to remind you all that I have no intention of harming any of you."

They turned their attention above them where they heard the fluttering of cloth. Slowly, a figure appeared from the darkness above them, slowly floating down via unnatural means. First came a pair of white boots. What stood out immediately was the distinct lack of proper feet, much like herself, Aigis noted. _'An Anti-Shadow Weapon?'_ she thought. A brief glance at Mitsuru showed her glancing at Aigis as well, specifically her feet, or lack thereof.

Not long after, the bottom hem of a black cloak or coat with a red trim on one side became visible, followed by the figure's knees, still clad in the boots. Its hands and waist came next. The hands were covered by white gloves, similar to the boots that ended just above its knees. Its waist was adorned by a wide, white belt with a round golden buckle that had a skull and crossbones on it. Attached to the belt, to its left, was a narrow blade within a sheath. They noted, now that it was visible, that what they thought was a coat only began at its waist, held up by the belt.

Thus far the only thing of note was the figure's lack of actual feet. But as it descended further into the light, the sight that greeted them became more familiar, but also terrifying, to them. Slowly, eight objects floating behind it came into view and their attention was drawn to those objects. As more and more of it became visible, their eyes widened. Eight human-sized metal coffins half surrounded the floating figure, all connected by a length of chain which were connected to something on the figure's back.

And then the head came into the light. Its head was covered in two white pieces, both of them resembling a bird's beak when viewed together. And through the eyeholes in the mask-like pieces was nothing but emptiness in both a literal and figurative sense.

Seven gasps were heard. All of them recognized the descending figure. But for some, the memories it held were far from pleasant.

"This is…" Yukari began, but faltered at the terrifying memory associated with the figure before her.

"It's the Persona from that night," said Mitsuru, finishing Yukari's thought. And beside her, Akihiko nodded as well, recognizing the deadly Persona that had all but slaughtered the first of the Full Moon Shadows by itself. A Persona that their leader later summoned of his own free will.

It was Aigis's words, however, that drew the most attention. "It's you." Mitsuru turned to Aigis. Something in the android's words bothered her.

Everyone had seen the Persona named Thanatos more than once. Minato had begun using the deadly Persona within Tartarus not long after the defeat of the twelfth Full Moon Shadow. And just like that night when it had literally torn its way out of Orpheus, Minato's original Persona, the presence of Thanatos within the walls of Tartarus spelled death to the shadows that stood in their way.

In those times, Aigis had only shown recognition due to the recording of its initial appearance on the dormitory's rooftop. So why was she now acting as though she was familiar with this Persona in a different manner?

"I'm not surprised that you recognize me," said Thanatos. And though he could have been speaking to them as a group, there was great significance in the way his empty gaze focused on Aigis. By now he was fully within in the lit area of the room, his entire figure visible to them all. Like most of their Personas, he easily stood at least twice as tall as an ordinary man, even when he was slightly hunched over.

"Or rather," he continued. "You recognize my presence. After all, though my appearance was different once, your systems still recognized me to an extent and immediately labelled me as a threat even though you did not understand why."

"Yes," answered Aigis, right before training her weapons on the floating figure.

"Hey! What are you doing?" questioned Yukari. Though she still felt fear at the sight of the black Persona, one simple fact told her that they were safe.

"Yeah Aigis, there's nothing to worry about," added Junpei, managing to get to his feet but needing to lean on the casket to remain standing. "It's just Minato's Persona. I mean, don't know how it's talking and all but-"

"No," interrupted Aigis, her firm, resolute gaze never once straying from the being before her. "This is not his Persona."

"Aigis-chan?"

"His presence is the same as it was ten years ago," continued the blonde android. "It is also the same presence I sensed when he arrived in school nearly three months ago."

"Ten years ago?" muttered Mitsuru as she went over everything she knew about events from those times that involved Aigis. Only one came to mind.

"Three months ago? In school?" Yukari's mind quickly went over her memories and though many things happened in school and in three months, only one incident stood out. She gasped. "W-wait, you can't mean… There's no way this is…"

"It is," she confirmed, eyes narrowing at the blade-wielding Persona. "This is not the Thanatos we know. This is not Minato-san's Persona. Though their appearance is identical, there is no mistaking its presence. This Persona, no… this Shadow… is Death."

"Death?" many of them gasped in surprise. Only Yukari and Mitsuru were less so, having already deduced this just seconds earlier.

By now, the members of SEES have managed to regain some strength in their limbs. But it was a far cry from what they would need should a fight occur. Aigis was clearly the only one who was capable of combat. But even she knew her odds were low. Moreover, some of them had already realized that they were completely unarmed. Neither their weapons nor their Evokers were anywhere within the room.

They looked at the black-clad figure, waiting for a response. By the expectant look on some of their faces, some were hoping for a denial. But instead, Thanatos chuckled. "That's right, I am Death. The collective form of the twelve Shadows you've defeated during the full moon. The Harbinger of the Fall."

"But I am also Thanatos," he continued before anyone else could speak. "The ten years I spent sealed within Minato created a bond between us. And though the deaths of the twelve shadows drew me out of him so that I could fulfill my original purpose, the bond we shared gave birth to a power within him. And that power manifested as the Persona you call Thanatos."

"Death, Thanatos, or even Ryoji Mochizuki, all of those are merely names I bore at one point or another. But regardless of what you call me, it does not change anything. This is my true form."

"The hell?" Junpei gasped out. "Then why do you look like that now? That's not what you looked like when we fought just now Ryoji-kun."

"Just now?" he repeated, a hint of amusement in his tone. "You must be mistaken. We have not fought in recent times."

"What are you talking about?" asked Akihiko, growing agitated by the numerous developments. "Just before whatever it was that knocked us out, we were fighting on top of Tartarus. Even if we've been asleep for a while, I doubt it's been that long that you've forgotten."

Again, Thanatos chuckled, though Mitsuru noted that even now he showed no signs of aggression or malice. "If by long you mean centuries, millennia even, then yes, it has been that long."

"Ce… Centuries? But… how?" asked the leader of SEES, eyes wide in shock like everyone else. Though to her credit, Aigis kept her fingers aimed at Thanatos. "We couldn't possibly have been asleep for that long."

"But you have," he replied patiently. "And I've been watching over you all since the day you were sealed away in this room. While I do not know exactly how much time has passed, I can easily say it's been centuries since that day."

"Wait a minute, someone put us in here?" Yukari asked, finding it hard to believe that what happened to them was done on purpose. "Why? And if it's been hundreds or thousands of years, why do we still look like this for that matter? How are we even alive?"

Thanatos remained silent but looked at all of them in turn. He could see the shock and confusion on their faces. It was expected, given their current circumstances. But beneath all that, the incarnation of Death could see the resolve and determination that led them to challenge him atop Tartarus even knowing that winning was an impossibility. And though the part of him that became human through his bond with Minato Arisato has long since faded, the memories of those precious days still lingered. More importantly, the insight he gained into humans was still present within him.

"That is a long tale," he finally said after a long bout of silence. "And with all the questions you undoubtedly have it will be an even longer discussion." He turned away from them and floated to a vacant wall, directly opposite Chidori's casket. "Come. This way. I am sure you would rather be comfortable for this discussion."

"You're going to tell us everything?" Mitsuru asked with just a hint of doubt, but began to slowly follow after him.

Seeing their leader moving, everyone else did the same, their pace just as slow as Mitsuru's. It was only Aigis, due to her not being human, who moved at a normal pace. Her first instinct was to stay in between the group and Thanatos should he turn on them. But another part of her wanted to stay closer to the team, to her friends, just in case one of them needed help.

In the end, the latter part won out and she moved along with the rest of SEES, ready to aid them should they need it.

Ahead of them, Thanatos stopped right in front of the wall then reached out to touch it. The crystals in the entire room seemed to pulse briefly before the crystals making up the wall shrunk down into the ground. "Yes," answered Thanatos as a passageway, also made up of crystals, was revealed from behind the wall. "There is no reason to keep anything from you. Rather, you will need to know everything given your current circumstances."

Before Thanatos could lead them into the passageway, Junpei spoke up from behind the entire group. "Hey wait, what about Chidori?" he asked, glancing behind him at the still closed casket. "We can't just leave here alone, can we?"

"I do not know why she hasn't awakened yet," came the reply. "But rest assured, she will be fine. Just like the rest of you, she was sealed away within the crystal. To answer your earlier question, Yukari, so long as the seal is intact, those sealed within are essentially frozen. They do not need to eat or even breathe to survive, and even time cannot affect them. Only once the seal is broken will it open to release its occupant."

"So then, can't we just break the seal ourselves?" Junpei asked, but followed anyway when Thanatos entered the crystal hallway. Once the last of them left the room, the few who looked back watched in fascination as the crystals grew back into place.

Thanatos shook his head, though none of them could see it from their places behind him. "The crystals cannot be destroyed by conventional means. Even if you could access your Personas, you would need to utilize your strongest attacks all at once if you wish to have the slightest hope of damaging it."

"Moreover, while waking up would trigger the seal and release you from within, the opposite does not hold true." Sensing the question before it came, he continued on. "I do not know what caused you to awaken, but unless the same thing happens to Chidori, she will remain asleep even if you managed to release her. And then you would have to care for her like you would a comatose patient as she will now need sustenance to survive."

"Damn, that sucks," muttered Junpei, understanding but definitely not liking why they had to leave Chidori behind.

"Don't worry. I will know immediately should she awaken. And when she does, I will do everything I can to ensure that you are the first person to greet her."

"Thanks man." Junpei paused, and beside him, Fuuka could sense his hesitation as he spoke once more. "So uh… Is it… Do we… Can we… you know, still call you Ryoji?" Thanatos stopped at that question, then glanced over his shoulder. The coffins hovering behind him covered his view but Junpei could see Thanatos's empty eyes gazing at him from the gaps between the coffins. "I mean, even now I can't help but think that under all that you're still Ryoji. The same troublesome guy who can't help but hit on every woman in the room."

Everyone paused as they listened to Junpei's few but meaningful words, then glanced up to Thanatos to gauge his reaction. But with his face mostly hidden, if there even was one under that beak-like mask, and his eyes empty, it was near impossible to say what the incarnation of death was thinking.

Feeling uncomfortable with the growing tension, Fuuka spoke, her voice soft but no less resolute. "Junpei-kun is right." Her words drew the attention of Thanatos but her face showed little in the way of fear. Her expression was soft and kind, but her eyes revealed the depths of her determination. "You were our friend before we learned the truth. But I don't think learning that truth should change anything."

"Yeah man," Junpei continued, inwardly grateful to Fuuka for her assistance. "I mean, you told us how to get to Nyx in the first place. If you didn't I dunno what we would have done."

"We probably would have waited at the dorm while Fuuka scanned the city like we usually do," Yukari replied in a seemingly uncaring tone. "Still, I agree. As annoying as you were, you were a good friend. Besides, it's not like friends don't fight from time to time."

The cap wearing boy let out a short laugh at the brunette's last statement. "Yeah, you should have seen me with Minato back when this all started," he said, remembering the enmity he carried for their field leader. "I pretty much hated his guts back then. He never let it get to him though."

"He probably didn't think you were worth the effort of getting mad," commented Yukari.

"Ooh, so does that mean you think I'm worth it?" he asked with a grin, all but waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Wha-" Yukari looked taken aback, visibly recoiling in shock at Junpei's comeback. "What are you… That's not what I… Ugh… Just… just shut up, Stupei."

Despite the use of the hated nickname, Junpei just laughed it off, Fuuka giggling at the byplay between the two friends, as he turned to Thanatos once more. "See?" he said to the menacing figure hovering before them all.

But despite their words, Thanatos seemed unmoved from what they could see. Instead, he turned to the other, still silent, members of the group. "And what of the rest of you? The three of them befriended me as Ryoji Mochizuki but the rest of you cannot say the same. How do you feel about this?"

Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Ken glanced at each other, gauging each other by the expression on their faces. It was Mitsuru who first turned to address Thanatos. "As you say, we did not know you as a human. At least, not as well as the juniors," she began. "Normally I would be wary of your intentions but as Iori-kun and Yukari-san have stated, without your help we would not have known how to confront Nyx. So for now, I will withhold my judgment on the matter until I have a better understanding of the situation."

"Not much for me to say," Akihiko said once he was certain Mitsuru was done speaking. "We only really hung around each other once and that was during the school trip in Kyoto." Off to the side, Junpei openly winced at the reminder of their little hot springs adventure and their narrow escape from Mitsuru's infamous 'executions'. "But I don't think you mean us any harm, at least not right now. I'm with Mitsuru on this. For now I'll trust you, but I'll be keeping an eye on you nonetheless."

Ken simply shrugged. "I didn't really know you but Junpei-san, Yukari-san and Fuuka-san seem to trust you, and Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai are willing to give you a chance," he said with a nod, indicating he would do the same.

Koromaru simply barked at Thanatos, but his relaxed body language spoke enough for him that the group did not need Aigis to translate for them as she usually did. As for Aigis herself…

"I do not trust you." While it was expected, her words still made everyone turn to the mechanical maiden. Her body was alert, and poised to attack or defend as necessary even though none of her weapons were aimed at Thanatos. But then, with her Evoker built within her systems her greatest weapon was always ready to be used. "Despite what you have done for us so far, you are still a threat. In the end, you are still the bringer of death. I do not know what has changed, but until I am certain that your presence will not bring about the Fall or any other tragedy, I will always see you as a threat."

"H-hey, come on Aigis," Junpei began, uncertain as to how to placate the android. "Don't you think that-"

"I see," responded Thanatos, cutting off Junpei's words. "In that case," he continued, turning away from them the proceeding down the hallway once more. "Do as you will."

Aigis nodded and followed after him, this time keeping herself between him and the group. Now that they were recovering, there was less of a need for her physical assistance. The rest of the group followed after, the juniors lagging behind mostly due to Junpei.

"So uh… does that mean…"

Yukari sighed. "Yes Junpei, I think he means you can still call him Ryoji if you want."

Junpei sighed as well, though this time out of relief. "That's good. I mean, I'd feel weird calling him Thanatos or even Death."

"I know what you mean," said Fuuka, walking alongside Junpei. "It doesn't seem like he intends to hurt us in any way so addressing him as anything but a friend would feel strange. But still… the way he's talking is… different."

"Different? What do you mean?"

"It's almost as if…" Fuuka was interrupted when she noticed that those in front of them had stopped and that Thanatos was once again hovering before a crystal wall.

As with the previous wall, Thanatos touched the wall, which pulsed with light, and the way opened up once more. This time, behind the wall was a small circular room, once more made of crystals. But unlike everything else they've seen thus far, the floor of the room was not made of crystals. Instead, it was made of polished metal. Thanatos did not seem surprised by this and simply made to hover over the center of the metal floor.

Everyone followed him but their curious looks were telling. And then, once the crystal wall was in place once more, the floor shuddered and moved.

Yukari was the first to voice her thoughts. "What the… An elevator?"

"So it would seem," Mitsuru replied calmly. "Though I do wonder where we are. It's certainly not a Kirijo facility. The crystals aside, I'm not aware of any facility this deep underground." The latter statement was made once she noticed how high they were ascending. "Then again, if it really has been thousands of years then new facilities may have been built."

"I do not know if it can be considered a facility," said Thanatos. "But, I guarantee you that it is connected to the Kirijo. Still, we are almost there. The room we were in was not built that far underground."

Indeed, they began to see less and less of the crystals as it was replaced by steel walls. And high above them, they could see a growing light as the ceiling lights grew closer the more they ascended. In mere seconds, the platform reached its destination. Before them, two metal, sliding doors, opened as it would with any elevator and allowed them to exit. The sight that greeted them, stopped them in their tracks.

"What?"

"Hey… am I… seeing things?" Junpei breathed out, looking at their surroundings. "This isn't some hallucination, right?"

"If you're hallucinating then I guess we all are," replied Akihiko, almost as surprised as Junpei.

"But… how?" voice Ken. "If it's really been hundreds of years then there's no way this place would still be here."

Thanatos chuckled, amused by their expected reactions. "I assure you, what you are seeing is very real. Just as you were all preserved in time, so too was this place similarly preserved by the same power that sealed you away."

No one seemed to hear his explanation, however, as they were too busy exploring the room they were in, checking everything and touching everything as though verifying what their eyes were telling them. In short order, they had all reconvened and taken a seat on familiar sofas to one side of the room. The looks on their faces said it all. There was nothing to say. This place, was without a doubt the same place they called home and headquarters for the better part of a year.

The Iwatodai Dormitory.

* * *

"Well, I personally don't see any problem with accepting them here but, as you are aware, I cannot simply accept them despite your claims. It would certainly help if their transcripts were not lost with the destruction of their home. Though, as with any other applicant, I will give them a chance to prove themselves."

Sitting behind the desk, was a middle-aged man with tousled gray hair and small, shaded spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose. He wore an open, dark-green suit, a buttoned vest of the same color, and green pants, just a hint lighter than the rest of his clothing. Around his neck was a leaf-green scarf with a purple, cross-shaped pin.

With his elbows resting on top of his desk, and the fingers of both hands intertwined in front of his face, Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy carefully regarded the woman in front of him. She was... unique, to say the least with her short white hair, golden-colored irises and pale skin. She wore a sleeveless dress that ended at the knees, deep blue in color and with a high collar. The sides of the dress were a slightly darker shade of blue, and running down the front were five sets of concentric circles, alternating a black and blue with a dark yellow button at the center of each one.

Her hands were clad in blue gloves of similar coloration, reaching halfway up her forearm with a darker shade of blue near the end. Cradled between the hand and elbow of her left arm was a thick, aged tome, one that she had not set down even when she sat on the chair they had provided for her. On her head, resting atop of it due to its somewhat small size in relation to her head, was a blockish-looking cap, again in a deep blue color with the sides a shade darker. And before she had sat down, Ozpin noted the knee-length boots she wore, again bearing the same color scheme.

"Of course," nodded the woman. "Their education is vastly different, despite similarities in some core subjects, but I have made sure to procure copies of the curriculum of various schools along with the necessary educational material to ensure they do not fall behind in terms of studies. As for their combat capabilities, I can guarantee that their abilities are unlike any you have ever seen."

There was no deceit in the woman's words, at least none that he could detect. But the way her golden eyes looked at him and the way her smile seemed genuine yet empty unnerved him. In all his time as Headmaster, or even as a Huntsman, Ozpin could say that he had never met a person like her before. Not to mention her very presence.

Something about the woman was, quite simply, otherworldly. He could sense, though barely, that the power she had was great, far greater, than most Huntsmen. Even then, he was certain she was holding her power back. It worried yet fascinated him as he wondered just how powerful she was.

Still, she did not seem to bear him, or the school and its students, any ill will. Moreover, the knowledge she revealed, that of a small island nation far off the eastern coast of Mistral, was simply fascinating. To think that a small island had survived on its own against the Creatures of the Grimm without contact with any of the four kingdoms. But at the same time, it was disheartening to hear that recent events led to its complete, and utter destruction. The loss of an entire culture, of an entire nation and its people, was nothing less than a tragedy.

The only consolation was that this woman, along with eight children and one other, a Shadow she had said, had survived. Though he did wonder what it meant to be a Shadow. _'Their version of Huntsmen and Huntresses perhaps?'_ he wondered. But, in lieu of more important matters, he chose to leave that for another time.

"That would certainly be helpful," he said in response to her words. "Still, in the end it will be up to them to prove that they are capable enough for this school."

The woman chuckled, her laughter coming out as both amused, but slightly sinister, to Ozpin's ears. "I have no doubt they will succeed. They stood defiantly in the face of the inevitable, sought to stop an unstoppable force. And even knowing they could not possibly obtain victory, they fought with the intent to win. They may not have won, but they did not fail. After all, it is no small feat to overcome Death itself when it stands before you."

Ozpin did not know what to make of the woman's words. Certainly, the way she described it was an apt way of describing a Grimm assault, especially when it was enough to overcome an entire nation in a short amount of time. But something in her words made him think that there was more to it than that. Even the way she said death made him think she was speaking of a physical thing, rather than the metaphorical. A Grimm perhaps? One that they had named Death?

' _Such an ominous name,'_ he couldn't help but think. Many Grimm, especially the most ancient and powerful ones, have earned an actual name beyond that of its particular species. But most names were not as direct as Death. _'It's as though they had given up any hope of killing it by naming it after something that none can escape. What manner of Grimm is it to have earned such a terrifying appellation?'_

The woman then spoke once more, ignorant of, or possibly ignoring, the feelings she evoked within the Headmaster. "Unless there is anything else, I believe I should return to them. The initiation is in a little over half-a-year, I believe. I will need to help them prepare as well as make other preparations for their departure and arrival."

Ozpin nodded, mind still occupied by the things he had just learned in a short amount of time. He bid her farewell but not long after she left, he realized that she had not once given her name. Had she done so on purpose? If so, for what reason? Still, despite everything he could safely say she held no malice for him or the school. But there was no way he would soon forget the white-haired, golden-eyed woman dressed in blue.

* * *

"What is the last thing you remember?"

The members of SEES carefully considered Thanatos's question, thinking back on that fateful day that they fought him as Nyx's avatar.

The memory was not as clear as they wanted, despite it happening only recently, from their perspective at least. They ascended to the top of Tartarus, encountering and defeating Jin and Takaya, members of Strega and Chidori's former friends, if they could be considered that. Once at the top, they encountered Ryoji in a different form and proceeded to fight and defeat him. But even after defeating him, they failed to stop him.

That was when their memories became blurry and fragmented. But the group did agree on certain things. Ryoji, Nyx's avatar, connecting with the moon. The moon opening like some sort of gigantic machine resembling an eye. An oppressive power bearing down on them and forcing them on their knees, completely helpless. The sight of Minato, their leader in all but name, suddenly standing, seemingly effortlessly, and ascending to the moon despite their pleas. And then, nothing.

After hearing their recollections, Thanatos, hovering in front of the living room's window while the members of SEES sat on the sofas, nodded. "I see. At the very least your memories seem to be complete for the most part."

"What you saw was Minato ascending to confront Nyx directly," he began to explain, starting from what they last remembered. "I myself do not know what happened, I was not there. One moment the Fall was upon us all, the next things changed. A tragedy, one that I never expected, happened."

"The moon broke apart, destroyed by an unseen force. And then the Dark Hour itself disappeared." Then, seeing the hopeful look on their faces, he amended his statement. "Or rather than disappeared, it was integrated into the day itself."

"Integrated?" asked Mitsuru. "Do you mean to say that…"

"Yes. The Dark Hour and the world itself became as one. As though every hour of the day was now the Dark Hour." The shock and outrage was to be expected. How could it not be? The one thing they had fought to stop had now become part of the world itself, a perpetual Dark Hour. But still, it was something they needed to know. More importantly, it was now a fact. Something they would need to live with as well.

"But what about the Shadows?" As their leader, Mitsuru took it upon herself to ask the more pressing questions, despite of what she felt about the matter. "If the world itself is now in a constant state similar to the Dark Hour, does that mean that Shadows now roam the world at all times?"

"Yes," Thanatos replied without hesitation, his response drawing looks of horror from the group. "But you need not fear. From what I have been told, with the merging of the Dark Hour and the real world came a forced awakening for all mankind. What was once a rare occurrence is now commonplace. Where once Persona-users were rare, now every man and woman in the world holds the potential. They need only choose to utilize that potential to awaken to their power."

Horror was immediately replaced by awe, and even hope as they realized the gravity of his words. An entire world full of Persona-users, all needing only the will to fight. But something Thanatos said caught Mitsuru's attention. "So it is not something you have personally witnessed?"

"Correct." If he was surprised that she had caught that small detail, he did not show any indication. "There is one other, one who is connected to Minato, who is roaming the world. She is searching for something. She has not told me what it is, only that it is to help Minato. And when she stumbled upon this place, she made the decision to help you as well. I cannot leave, I could not risk leaving you undefended to possibly be found. But she could."

"She left soon after she and I met, but returns within a year bearing news of the world outside these walls. She has watched over the centuries as mankind fought against the Shadows, although now they are called Creatures of the Grimm, or simply Grimm."

"Grimm," many of them stated, as though testing the word on their lips.

Thanatos nodded. "More than just that, she also bore news of the power that mankind has awakened. Of those who first awakened their power in the face of the tragedy, many of them awakened Personas like yourselves. But a few awakened something different. A power, born within their own bodies."

"Some gained power over the elements like fire or ice, others gained enhanced physical capabilities such as speed and strength. And as centuries passed, more and more of these powers emerged as Persona-users became rare and, eventually, completely gone."

"Gone? Do you mean to say there are no more Persona-users?"

"If there are, they are incredibly rare. But I was told that the powers humanity wielded, that which they refer to as a Semblance at the moment, is now a part of themselves rather than a separate force that comes from within like your Personas. Though there are some that manifest outside their bodies rather than within."

"Hold on," interrupted Yukari. "As interesting as this is, there's still a question you haven't answered." Thanatos turned to face her and she took this as a sign to continue. "You've told us that the Dark Hour and the real world have combined and how the world changed. But what about us? What happened after Minato-kun left to fight Nyx? How and who sealed us away? And why? And more importantly, what happened to Minato-kun? What happened to our leader?"

There were murmurs of agreement from the others. Now that she had brought it up, they realized that Thanatos had not yet made mention of their circumstances nor had he mentioned their friend and leader. And though Yukari had referred to Minato as their leader, Mitsuru did not feel bothered. Though she was the official leader of the group, even she had come to see Minato as the 'real' leader.

Never mind his role as field leader. He was the one who truly held them together throughout the year. He was silent and rarely spoke, but he was present when needed. He was apathetic and uncaring, but as time passed he grew to care for them all and did his best to show it through his actions and, though rare, his words.

"I do not know the entire story," Thanatos began. "But, when he and I last spoke, he told me what he could."

"You spoke to him?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yes, though his time on earth was short and thus he could not explain everything."

His words, however, had a profound effect on the team. "Do you mean to say," Aigis began, speaking for the first time since stating her distrust for the Shadow. "That Minato-san is dead?"

Everyone waited with bated for Thanatos's response. And though he had answered barely a second after Aigis asked the question they all wanted to ask, that one second seemed like an eternity. Did they want him to confirm their friend's death? Or would it have been better to not know and have hope? Regardless of what they wanted, the question had been asked and the answer followed not long after.

"Yes."

That one word crushed them all and any spark of hope they had disappeared. But before they could even begin to feel anything, Thanatos spoke again.

"And no."

Was that hope they felt amidst all the confusion? It surprised them just how much those two words affected them all despite not knowing what he meant by those words. Alive yet not? Or was it more accurate to say dead yet not? Either way, they all withheld their questions and waited for Thanatos to explain.

* * *

 **February 01, 2010**

 _Minato gazed up at the looming form of Thanatos. But he knew that the being before him was not his Persona. First of all, he did not summon him into the world, willingly or otherwise. Second was the knowledge that, despite bearing the same form, there was one being, one person, who had once referred to this as their true form._

" _Ryoji."_

" _Minato," greeted Ryoji, his soft, mechanical voice, greeting his friend as amicably as he could. "I did not expect to see you again. Let alone here."_

 _Minato nodded before returning his gaze to the building before it. It was a familiar sight, one that he returned to at the end of every day since the beginning of the school year._

" _What happened?" Ryoji asked, knowing his friend rarely offered information unless it was absolutely necessary to do so._

" _I failed," came Minato's answer, his tone flat and monotonous but Ryoji could hear the underlying emotion. "As you said, Nyx cannot be defeated. We all knew that, but we had to try."_

" _And yet here you are," he responded. "And though the world has fallen into greater chaos, humanity yet lives. In a way, you succeeded."_

" _In exchange, I made the entire world aware of the danger that threatens them. And if what I sensed is correct, the Shadows are more active than ever and in greater numbers outside of Tartarus."_

 _There was more. Ryoji could feel it. Though the part of him that had become human for a brief time had already faded, the connection he had forged with Minato still lingered. And he doubted it would ever truly disappear. It would fade but not disappear. A voice muted by distance and barriers, but never silenced._

 _In time the part of him that was still Ryoji Mochizuki would fade and he would, once again, become Thanatos in entirety, though with the lingering bond to his friend. But until then, he would continue to exist as Ryoji Mochizuki for as long as he could._

 _And part of that would be spent supporting his first friend. He did not need to press Minato. He would speak in time. And if things were as urgent as it seemed, Minato would not make him wait long._

 _The wait was not long at all._

" _Nothing worked as I tried to fight Nyx. Neither my sword nor my Personas. And the only thing that kept me from falling was the thought that everybody was counting on me, the thought that if I failed everything would be for nothing, the thought that everyone I cared for would die if I failed."_

" _I wanted to kill Nyx, to stop her from killing everyone I cared about. But as I fought, I felt it. Or rather, I didn't feel it. Her malice. Despite what she was trying to do, I couldn't feel it. Nyx held no malice towards us. All she was doing was fulfilling her purpose."_

" _But I could still feel it, a strong desire for death. And it was coming from humanity itself. The only reason Nyx came to bring about the Fall was become humanity wanted it. And as long as they wanted it, Nyx would deliver it. And so, if I couldn't stop Nyx from bringing about the Fall, I decided that if humanity's wishes never reached her, she would not bring about the Fall. And so I tried to seal away humanity's wishes for death, containing them so that they would not reach her."_

" _But something went wrong. I don't know if it was because Nyx had already emerged, if humanity's desire to die rather than fight was too strong, or if it was something else entirely that I am not aware of, but this is the result. The Dark Hour combined with the real world, and along with it the Shadows. Or perhaps all I did was bring about the Fall in a different, more violent, manner."_

" _You could not have known," consoled Ryoji. "No one could have known that things would end this way. But regardless of the outcome, all we can do is continue to move forward. To do otherwise would be an insult to the efforts of SEES thus far."_

"' _I chooseth this fate, of mine own free will,'" spoke Minato, quoting the single line, the single stipulation, of a contract he signed when everything began._

 _For a moment the two remained silent, simply gazing up at the familiar sight of the Iwatodai Dormitory. In the end, it was Minato who broke the silence._

" _I sealed them away," he stated simply as though he were speaking of something inconsequential._

" _Who?"_

" _SEES."_

 _Ryoji's hulking form spun in the air to face Minato. If he could have, his face would have reflected his utter shock. "What? But why? Why would you seal them away now of all times?"_

" _Because," Minato began, his expression visibly growing despondent. "I don't want them to see my failure."_

" _Minato, they-"_

" _Even if they would not blame me for this, it does not change the fact that my actions resulted in this."_

" _Then what will you do? You will not run. I know you won't. So will you fight by yourself?"_

 _Minato shook his head. "No. Or rather, I can't. Humanity is still reaching out to Nyx, still calling out for death, now more than ever. Right now I can still hold it back as I am but as the Shadows begin to spread, more and more will certainly wish for death, even unconsciously. Soon, I will need to devote all my power into keeping Nyx and humanity's wishes separate."_

" _Then…"_

" _The Kirijo said that the Dark Hour can only be experienced by those who have the Potential, even if not all of them can awaken a Persona. They were mistaken. Everyone is capable of summoning a Persona, that is a fact. It is simply that having the Potential, being able to enter the Dark Hour, is necessary before one can summon it. They merely need to take that one final step. That one step is what separates people like Ikutsuki, who can enter the Dark Hour, from SEES, who can both enter the Dark Hour and summon a Persona."_

 _It took Ryoji a moment, but he understood what Minato was trying to say. "I see. So because the world and the Dark Hour have become one…"_

 _Minato nodded. "In order for humanity to remain active, their Potentials have also been awakened, but to a smaller degree. The fact that they have not transmogrified is proof of this. But because they have, in a way, taken a shortcut, they are farther from awakening their powers than those of us who attained the Potential normally. But still, all they need is that one final push for them to awaken to their power. It will be harder, but it is possible."_

" _I see. So you intend to rally mankind to fight against this tragedy."_

 _This time, the blue-haired boy shook his head. "I cannot stay long enough to do that. What I can do is show them that they can fight, that they have the power to stand and fight. Once I do, it will be up to them to continue to fight as well as spread hope to others."_

" _So you intend to allow humanity to fight for their future, just like you and SEES have done."_

" _There is no use saving them if, the next time a tragedy happens, they falter once more. They have to stand up for themselves, to believe in themselves. If not, then humanity will never stop wishing for the easy escape of death."_

" _And SEES?"_

 _Minato sighed as he raised a hand towards the building, palm facing up. Motes of bluish-white light gather over his palm then gathered into a single point. When the light faced, a card hovered over his palm. "Hopefully," he began, feeling the power that literally sat in the palm of his hand. "Everything will be resolved by the time they awaken. They've lost enough. If I can spare them this much, then I'll gladly face whatever scolding they have for me for taking away their choice."_

 _Ryoji chuckled, imagining that very event happening. "Even if it means being Executed?"_

 _Minato visibly shuddered, adding to Ryoji's amusement, but he smiled afterwards, a small, fond smile. "Even so. I chose to always face the consequences of my actions. Even if it happens to be the consequences for performing the unforgivable act of taking away someone's ability to choose, of forcing a choice not of their making upon them."_

 _And so, with nothing left to say, Minato crushed the card in his hand, causing it to break into glass-like shards that glowed in the same bluish-white light that formed it. The shards spiraled in the air, rising from his palm, then moving to surround the dorm, more and more shards appearing from the point above his now clenched fist. And when the shards surrounded the entirety of the dorm, they settled and glowed bright enough to blind Minato and Ryoji. When the light faded, the dorm was still in the same place but it now possessed a soft blue glow._

 _With one last glance at the place he called home for the better part of the year, Minato turned away and began to leave. Only to stop when he realized that Ryoji was still standing in front of the dorm._

" _Ryoji?"_

 _Ryoji did not respond, but Minato knew he was there. And so he waited. He did not have to wait long as Ryoji soon spoke. "Minato," he began, turning to face his blue-haired friend. "Allow me to stay, and watch over them."_

* * *

 **February 01, XX13**

"Before we parted ways, he told me to pass on a message to you all should you awaken before the world was right again," said Thanatos as he finished his tale. "He said to tell you that he would not blame you if you chose not to fight. You have all suffered enough, sacrificed enough. And thus, though the world still faces problems, you are free to live your own lives if you so choose. But, he also knew that you would not choose to do so. Memories of fighting are still fresh from your perspective, thus a life of relative peace would be inconceivable while the fight has yet to end."

"And so, when he created the room that housed you all, he imbued those crystals with a portion of his power. Right now, since Chidori is still asleep, it serves to hide her presence from the Grimm, just as it did with you in your slumber. But when you have all awakened, its purpose will shift. Unfortunately, he did not say how. "

"Yeah, about that. Why _is_ she here?" asked Junpei. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Chidori-chan's here, even if she doesn't exactly remember me. I'm just… surprised he actually thought to seal her up with us."

"I do not know why he brought her here," admitted Thanatos. "After we parted ways, he never returned. I can only assume he did so for your sake. I can think of no other reason for him to do so."

"Tch… that guy's way too cool for his own good," Junpei said with a chuckle. But the way his voice hitched in the middle of his statement told of his feelings.

"There are many more things left to discuss," said the incarnation of death. "But for now, take some time to process what I have just told you. I can answer any questions you have about what we've spoken of thus far, but anything regarding other things can wait until she arrives."

"She?" asked Mitsuru. "Oh, you mean..."

He nodded. "Yes, the other person I spoke of. I informed her of your awakening as soon as I felt the first of the seals release. If you are to integrate with the world outside, regardless of your intentions, you will need her help. I have been here with you all since the start and thus I know little in the ways of the world at present. More than that, if you wish for the power to fight, to surpass the power which you once wielded, then her help will be instrumental."

"Because she has been outside," continued Mitsuru. "Watching as the world changed. I understand. But, how can she help with our powers? More importantly, how is she still alive after so long? Is she a Shadow like you?"

Thanatos shook his head. And for some reason, they could sense his amusement. "A Shadow? Far from it. But I can say for certain that she is not human. More than just her longevity, the power she wields puts her above even me in terms of strength." That statement definitely got their attention.

"What do you mean?" It was Aigis who asked the question this time. "What sort of being could hold power that surpasses even Death itself?"

"Not Death itself, but simply my own personal strength," explained Thanatos. "When we fought on the summit of Tartarus, you defeated me. She, if she so wished, could destroy my physical form with one strike, one blow."

The members of SEES looked at each other with apprehension, wondering whether it was a good idea to meet such a being. It was, once again, Mitsuru who took the lead. "And she can help us grow stronger? She can help us regain and surpass our former power?"

Thanatos chuckled again. Only this time, his laughter brought about a sense of foreboding. "While I do not know what she is, I can say this. I am an incarnation of Death. All things related to Death fall within my power. But her…" he chuckled once more, sending a shiver down their spines. "The closest I can think of to explain what she is, it that she is an incarnation of Power."

* * *

 **And that's the first chapter everyone.**

 **As I said, I'm sorry for taking so long with this. But, understandably (hopefully), real life comes first.**

 **I hope I did well with the reveal of SEES and the revelation of how I intended to bring the Persona 3 world come together with the RWBY world. And now the summary makes more sense, doesn't it?**

 **The idea for this came almost as soon as I saw the similarities and possible connections the first time I watched RWBY. The shattered moon (Nyx's manifestation was shown by the moon opening like a machine), the Grimm and their ability to sense negative emotions (the Shadows and how they are brought about by the negative emotions of humans. In P4 shadows are also born from similar feelings, that of a person's denial of self) and, Semblance and Aura (Personas. Auras, and Semblances by extension, are manifestations of a person's soul. Persona is a power born from the soul. The only difference being one manifests in a form separate from the wielder).**

 **I've also played Persona 3, Persona 3 FES The Answer, and Persona 3 Portable. I've read the manga, and watched the movies, though I have yet to watch the fourth one. Most of this is based off the game, but a few details will come from the manga and movies so keep an eye out for those. They're not major changes, but just a few things that, for me, make more sense.**

 **Chidori was a, somewhat, late addition to this chapter. As I was writing, I was going with the thought that eight was a good number as that would mean I did not need to make an OC to add to the story for the purpose of attending Beacon. Then, when I was writing their awakening, I realized that one of the eight was Koromaru.**

 **Now, Ken attending Beacon is a stretch. As it is, he'll need a lot of help in terms of schoolwork. Not to mention they're still speaking in Japanese, save for Mitsuru and Akihiko who have a decent grasp of English (In the original Japanese release, they spoke in English as opposed to French like in the US release.)**

 **But I doubt Ozpin would accept a dog as an official student, which Koromaru would need to be in order to be counted as a member of the team. I could not add Elizabeth (Pixie Megidolaon anyone?) and even in canon, Ryoji mentioned that his human form would not last long. Then I remembered, there was one more candidate for them. Chidori.**

 **True, she lost Medea when she revived Junpei, Medea fusing with Hermes, and became an ordinary person, memories of the Dark Hour and everything related to it disappearing, after her 'death'. But now that the world has entered a perpetual Dark Hour, followed by ordinary people awakening the potential, Chidori has a second chance. So though she was a late addition to the plan, it works out anyway.**

 **Anyway, the next chapter brings the group to Beacon for the initiation. Their meeting with Elizabeth, along with their training under her and Thanatos, will be revealed mostly through conversations and a flashback or two for major events.**

 **So look forward to seeing SEES and their return to action as well as how their Personas, their Semblance in the eyes of Remnant, will be received by a certain group of students and the school, especially since all eight of them have the same Semblance with the exception of its appearance and powers. Not to mention Koromaru having the same power. He's gonna be there of course. Can't leave out Koro-chan. Besides, he always did want to go to school. XP**

 **Anyway, here's me signing off for now.**

 **Please let me know what you think about it all, characters, story, writing style, anything at all. I look forward to hearing your opinions everyone.**

 **Until next time.**


	3. Ch 2 - Welcome to Beacon Academy

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Hi everyone.**

 **First of all, thanks for all the Followers and Favorites. When I first wrote this I didn't expect it to be received this well. Already it's got more followers and favorites than my other story, It Wasn't Supposed to be This Way. Check it out by the way. Details on the story are on my profile if you wanna hear more about it beyond the limited summary provided.**

 **Though I haven't gotten a lot of feedback, 11 reviews for the first chapter and the prologue as you can see, it was still fairly inspiring to see people following and favoriting (not a word I know) this story even two weeks after the most recent chapter. And so, I ended up with this. An extra-long chapter with 20k+ words, excluding the ANs.**

 **This chapter will be dealing with SEES's arrival at Beacon as well as the RWBY cast's initial impressions of them. This will then set the tone for their future encounters with SEES. After all, first impressions may not be everything but they count for a lot.**

 **Halfway through I had to edit quite a lot of details I threw in about the Shadows and stuff from the Persona-verse. This is because I found a translation of the Persona 3 Club Book's Q &A portion, which answers a lot of question regarding the true nature of the Shadows, the Dark Hour, and Nyx. Needless to say, that was a really interesting read. Those who've read it know what I'm talking about.**

 **As such I had to make some changes to my story plan, and even a few details from the previous chapter. You can go back and take a look if you wanna try and spot the changes. Though in the end it actually made things easier for me since it provided a lot of details that I would have otherwise have to create on my own.**

 **At the bottom AN will be a fairly big announcement regarding this story. Details will also be on my profile so you can check it out there instead if you want.**

 **For now, here's the second chapter of Messiah's Legacy. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Welcome to Beacon Academy**

 **September 5, XX13**

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, glared at the girl in front of her as she cringed and tried to disappear within herself. Sharp, critical eyes examined the girl who could have killed the two of them, especially if the explosion had been bigger and powerful enough to reach the rest of the Dust stored within her suitcases. Aura or not, an explosion of that magnitude was dangerous.

The girl had chin-length black hair that turned red towards the tips and wide, silver eyes. She wore a long-sleeved black blouse and a black skirt that ended halfway down to her knees, both of which had red trimmings on the sleeves and the bottom of the skirt respectively. Over the blouse she wore a black corset with red lacing, and a hooded red cloak pinned to her blouse by two cross-shaped pins. The girl was also wearing black tights and black combat boots with red soles.

 _'What is it with this girl and the colors black and red?'_ she couldn't help but think as she examined the girl's appearance.

Then again, if she was being honest about her own choice of clothing - which was not likely to happen - she wasn't much better since her own clothing was composed of a pale blue bolero that darkened in color towards the end of the sleeves with red interior lining, a strapless white dress top, a skirt with a similar color scheme, and white wedge boots, most of which matched her snow-white hair and pale blue eyes in coloration.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry," said the girl, her fingers poking against each other as she looked up at Weiss with the most apologetic look she could muster.

Unfortunately, her best was nowhere near enough. "You complete dolt!" snapped the white-haired girl, face gaining a tinge of red. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well…"

Whatever the young girl had to say was cut off as someone else decided to join them. "Hey," a male voice called out. "Is everyone alright?"

Both Weiss and the girl in front of her turned towards the docks and saw a group of eight, three male and five female, running towards them. Running alongside them was a white dog. The first thing that Weiss noticed were their clothes.

The males of the group, including a young boy who couldn't be more than twelve years old, were wearing black suit pants, matching black jackets, white dress shirts, and black ribbon ties. The females, except for one, were wearing something similar. Black skirts, which varied slightly in length, black jackets, which they wore closed, and red ribbon ties, larger than the black ones worn by the males. And if she looked closely, she could see that they also wore white dress shirts beneath the jackets. Two of them, a blonde and a red-haired young woman, wore boots rather than shoes. The former wore an ordinary pair of knee-high boots, while the latter wore a more stylish and feminine pair.

On all their jackets, on the left side of the chest, was an emblem that she had never seen before. It was a red circle, with a smaller circle inside it, which was divided into four where two opposing quadrants were white, and the other two were black.

The only one dressed differently was a young woman with long red hair wearing a long white dress lined with ruffles in multiple places, white stockings, white platform shoes with black soles, and what seemed to be spiked manacles around both her ankles. On her head was a ruffled headband, a dagger-like accessory made to look like it was piercing through her head, and a similarly styled fabric collar with a black ribbon was around her neck. Hanging from her waist was a hand axe with a chain attached to it. All in all, she was the most strangely dressed person Weiss had even seen.

But the one thing they all had in common was a red armband on their left arms with the word SEES spelled out in large black print. And looking closer, even the dog with them had the same armband, though smaller, wrapped around its left foreleg. Another look revealed that the dog was also wearing a white shirt with two wing-like accessories on its back, and a strange looking metal collar.

The second thing that Weiss noticed, was their posture. All of them, even the boy and the dog, were on high alert. A few of them, the young man with a buzzcut and goatee, the young woman with brown hair, and the boy with brown hair, had their hands on their weapons. _'Is it because of the explosion?'_ she wondered. It was a possibility. After all, one of them had asked if they were alright.

' _Could they be from the Vale Police Department?'_ She barely considered the possibility before discarding it. She had been to Vale a few times in the past and none of the policemen she had seen wore clothes like theirs. Moreover, the armband pointed to the possibility of them being from a different organization, a private one possibly. But more importantly, there was something in the way they stood ready. Something familiar.

"We're fine," the heiress replied haughtily, shifting her attention back to the girl in front of her. "Though considering this girl cannot seem to understand the dangers of Dust, perhaps she may need some help in that regard."

"Hey! I said I was sorry, _princess_."

Before anyone else could say anything, a new voice was heard from the side. "It's heiress actually." Walking up to them was a black-haired girl with a large black bow on top of her head. Unlike the group that had just arrived, she was dressed in a white sleeveless shirt beneath a black vest, white shorts, and black stockings that faded into purple closer to her heeled ankle boots. A fellow student then. "Weiss Schnee," she said. "Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

At those words, Weiss couldn't help but relax, the scowl on her face disappearing and being replaced by a small, satisfied grin. "Finally, some recognition," she said, while turning to glance, and briefly glare, at the other girl who had failed to recognize her.

"The same company infamous for their controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

The grin on her face was immediately replaced once again by a scowl. "Wh-Wha… How dare…" Weiss sputtered out, even as the younger girl giggled at how the tables had been turned on the heiress. "You have some nerve if you think you can…"

"Perhaps," another voice chimed it, female once again. Unlike the other two she had been speaking with however, this one carried with it a tone of authority. "You should all calm down."

All three of them turned to the group that were watching them and came face to face with the young woman with dark red hair and a rapier at her side.

The moment her eyes landed on the young woman, Weiss couldn't help but stand straighter than she had already been. The younger girl had, for some reason, moved to stand beside Weiss and was standing at attention. Much like herself, Weiss realized. She belatedly realized that even the black-haired girl stood straight and unmoving and was now standing at Weiss's left side.

Anyone watching the situation might have thought they were recruits standing before their superior officer in an army, or, due to the uniforms, a private military company.

Looking at the red-haired woman who stood tall before them with arms crossed, Weiss couldn't blame the two at her sides. The woman's face was calm but her eyes held a certain hardness, and something about her posture, despite no longer being on high alert as it had been earlier, simply commanded respect and, on some level, even outright demanded subservience. Despite her youthful appearance, this woman gave off the feeling of someone used to leading, used to commanding respect.

Her father, CEO of the SDC, demanded respect. This woman commanded it. The difference was small, but to Weiss it was as clear as day and night. Her father was harsh, some might even say tyrannical, and it was that icy harshness and the unspoken threats of what he could do to someone that brought him respect.

This woman did not need such things. The way she held herself spoke of her confidence, confidence just below what one would call arrogance. Her father would say one thing and demand others agree and follow him. This woman could say nothing and people would follow her lead regardless, knowing she was right.

And whether or not they noticed all this, the two standing on either side of her understood one thing. Disagreeing with this woman was not a good idea.

The woman's eyes, a deep wine-red similar to her hair, gazed at the three of them in turn, as though evaluating them. "Now that you've calmed down, perhaps someone could explain what happened?"

Immediately both Weiss and the girl to her right spoke, both of them explaining what had happened from their perspective. Unfortunately, with both of them speaking at the same time, and also arguing about what happened when the other said something they disagreed with, it was only a matter of time before the woman grew impatient.

"Maybe you'd like to speak one at a time so that we could understand you?"

Again, her tone was calm but the undertones of authority washed over both girls and they froze. They glanced at each other nervously, their eyes trying to convince the other to be the first to speak and, thus, the first to face the woman.

"The explosion happened around here." The three girls glanced down to where Weiss suitcases still lay scattered after being knocked over. Kneeling next to the open one that Weiss had dropped during the explosion was one of the uniformed young women. This young woman had short blonde hair, reaching just past her ears. Sheathed at her lower back were a pair of knives, though the handle had a strange looking knuckle guard. Rather than one large opening, there were four smaller holes for the fingers.

Looking closely, Weiss realized she couldn't actually see her ears. They were underneath a strange, metallic, white and red disc connected to a wide black and gold band that went across the top of her head to the other side, presumably ending with another one of those white and red discs. Though they didn't seem to be connected to anything, they appeared to be headphones. A wireless kind perhaps?

 _'Still, they look like they're pressed quite tightly to her head. Almost looks like they're part of her head. Isn't that uncomfortable?'_

"The explosion wasn't very strong, though from what we saw it was fairly large," continued the blonde as she seemed to look around for something along the ground. "Considering how fine the crystals in these vials are, I believe that…" the paused and looked around, this time raising her head to widen her search area, enough that they could see her crystal blue eyes when it stopped in their general direction. "Ah, I've found it."

She stood and walked the short distance towards them and stopped within arm's reach. This close, Weiss could tell that the blonde was just a hint taller than she was, even though Weiss was wearing heeled boots. "May I?" she asked, extending her hand towards the taller, black-haired girl to Weiss's left. The girl looked down to where the blonde's hand was reaching out to and saw the vial of red Dust still in her hand. With a nod, she handed it to the blonde.

The blonde held the vial with one hand and gave it a quick shake, a small puff of red coming from the top when she did so. "As I thought," she said, turning around to face the red-haired woman. "It would seem that this was the cause of the explosion, Mitsuru-san."

The woman hummed inquisitively. "How so Aigis?" she asked. This time, Weiss noted that the authority in her tone was softer. Perhaps because she was speaking with someone familiar to her?

"The cork on the bottle is loose." The blonde, Aigis, demonstrated this by shaking the bottle once more, releasing a small amount of red Dust into the air. "Since the bottle itself is still intact, I believe the bottle was shaken or agitated in some manner, releasing the Dust into the air where it was somehow activated or ignited, most likely by accident."

That was… Weiss had no words for the young woman's display of deductive reasoning. And unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, the two girls on either side of her were just as stunned. But looking at their surroundings, she couldn't believe that she had managed to paint an accurate picture of what had happened with so little clues.

"I see." The acceptance in the red-haired woman's tone surprised Weiss. Clearly, whoever this group was, they trusted each other enough to accept each other's words with little to no questioning. "Would you say that that was an accurate deduction?" she then asked the three girls.

"Y-Yeah." Weiss had to admit that the young girl who caused the accident to happen in the first place was quite brave for being the first to speak up, if nothing else. "I uh… I kinda knocked down her stuff. B-but it was an accident, I swear," she added hastily, clearly not wanting to be misunderstood as someone who went around knocking things down. "But then she got all mad and wouldn't give me a chance to explain. And then she was shaking the bottle around, making the Dust go everywhere, and so I uh…" At that point, she huddled into herself, as if trying to hide. "I uh… I kinda sneezed?"

"I see," she said once more, no hint in her tone of whether or not she believed the girl, or what she felt about the situation for that matter. "And is she correct?" this time she looked at Weiss for answers.

Weiss fought the urge to swallow at being addressed but ultimately failed. She was used to her father's harsh demeanor and his demands for near-perfection in everything she does. But the way the woman spoke, Weiss knew that she did not have to be threatened or cowed into telling the truth. There was simply a strange feeling that told her that something unpleasant would occur if she lied or misbehaved.

"More or less," she replied as flippantly as she could muster. "Although I resent the notion that this is, in any way, my fault. It's true that shaking the bottle around didn't help the matter any, but had she not knocked down my luggage then none of this would have happened in the first place."

"Hey! I _said_ I was sorry," snapped the young girl as she turned to face the heiress with a scowl. "Why can't you just accept that it was an accident?"

"And why can't _you_ just accept that if you weren't so clumsy none of this would have happened at all?" Weiss snapped back, matching the young girl's scowl with a glare of her own.

"You're the one who-"

" _What_ is going on here?"

Had it not been for the fact that the voice came from the opposite direction, the two girls would have thought that the red-haired woman had finally lost her temper. They turned to face the direction of the school to find a tall blonde woman marching up to them with a riding crop in one hand. It barely took them a second to recognize the woman. After all, they had seen her, or at least a projected image of her, not long before the airship docked.

The approaching woman had light blonde hair tied in a bun and was dressed in a pleated, white keyhole top with loose, long sleeves that tightened to a fit around her forearms then flare out into pleats at the wrist. Over this she wore a black corset that extended into a pencil skirt with a single row of bronze-colored buttons. Her legs were covered in stockings that went from black to brown as it went into her knee-high heeled boots. And clipped to her top, just in front of her neck, was a cape that was black on one side and purple on the inside, the ends of the cape designed to look like dancing flames.

Glynda Goodwitch, Beacon Academy's Deputy Headmistress. A tall woman - easily towering over everyone else there by at least half-a-foot - with a stern face, a tense posture, and a riding crop in one hand. All of a sudden, dealing with the red-haired woman was looking more preferable. At least she, most likely, could not prevent their entry into Beacon or expel them had they been students.

"Why are you children still here?" she asked them with a harsh tone, stopping not far from them. "Were you not told prior to disembarking to proceed to the amphitheater for the Entrance Ceremony?"

"We… uh… that is…"

"My apologies." Their heads turned around to face the red-haired woman when she spoke. And when she approached, along with the rest of her group, the trio of girls stepped aside to allow them to stand in front of the Deputy Headmistress. "We heard an explosion earlier and saw the three of them here. We were trying to ensure nobody had been hurt and also attempting to determine the cause of the explosion."

"I see," was Glynda's curt response. Her eyes glanced at the uniformed students, her gaze lingering when she came to the white-clad young woman and the young boy. "I don't recognize those uniforms. Who might you be?"

"We are the group from Iwatodai," said the woman. "I believe we were told to report to one of the staff after the Entrance Ceremony."

Recognition flashed through Glynda's eyes. The word was strange but, after reading it multiple times on the various entry forms from the prospective students in front of her, she easily recognized the name of the city which they had come from. A city which, according to Headmaster Ozpin, had recently been destroyed, leaving less than a dozen survivors. All of them children. The same children standing before her now.

"Ah, yes, I was actually looking for you," she said, her tone, despite remaining stern, was noticeably softer and less confrontational. She may have a duty to teach and discipline the students, but that did not mean she could not sympathize with them, especially after such an event. Though just by looking at them, she felt that they were surprisingly more composed than most people she met in similar situations.

And not only had they lost their homes but, unless the woman who came to them was lying, their culture was completely different from the rest of Remnant due to being in isolation for many, many centuries. It was one thing for their students to come from the other kingdoms such as Atlas, Vacuo, and Mistral. At least their cultures were fairly similar in many ways. But to come from an island, so far off the eastern coast of Mistral that it did not exist on any known map, to a land they themselves had not known existed… It was something Glynda couldn't imagine.

She had been curious as to how the woman, Elizabeth, had gotten to that island and back. Unfortunately, the woman did not answer, evading the question so skillfully that, most of the time, even Ozpin had not realized until it was too late to ask again. Regardless, she was grateful that these children had survived and had a second chance at life, as difficult as it may be to adjust to a completely alien environment.

That said… Glynda's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she took in the children in front of her. More than just how quickly they seem to have adapted to losing their homes, there was something in the way they had moved when they approached her that tickled her instincts. They were no ordinary children that much she knew. Then again, none of the children in Beacon could be considered ordinary. But these eight had something else that separated them from the Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training within the school.

At the moment, Glynda couldn't say for certain what it was. But going forward, she knew she would have to keep an eye on these children. Not because they would undoubtedly need help adjusting, not because she felt like they were here to cause trouble, but simply to sate her curiosity. No doubt Ozpin would be doing the same.

"I recall being told that the language you used in your city was vastly different from ours so I was concerned whether or not you had managed to make your way to the school without incident," she said to them. "Although asides from a light accent, you seem to be more than capable of using our language."

The redhead smiled. "English is not an unknown language to us," she said, much to Glynda's surprise. "It is simply that not many people take the time to learn it. As such, we merely needed to spend more time practicing in order to be fluent enough." Then, her eyes widened slightly as though remembering something. "Ah, where are our manners. I am Mitsuru Kirijo."

Then, angling her body to her right, she introduced her companions one by one. "To my right are Junpei Iori, Yukari Takeba, Fuuka Yamagishi, and Chidori Yoshino." When their names were called, each of them lowered their heads in a shallow bow, letting Glynda, and the three girls still watching from the sidelines, know whom Mitsuru was introducing.

"And to my left are Akihiko Sanada, Ken Amada, Aigis Arisato, and Koromaru." Likewise, the three to her left did the same, although they were surprised, one more than the rest, when the white dog at their feet barked at the last name.

And then, surprising the four of them once again, all eight of them straightened their postures, gave a shallow bow at the waist, and said, _"Hajimemashite!"_ followed by another bark from their dog, Koromaru.

Glynda was speechless, not knowing what to say to the display in front of her. While she did not understand what it was they had said, something in their native language most likely, it was clearly some sort of greeting. After a heartbeat, they rose, each of them bearing small smiles on their face.

"I apologize if we startled you, Ms. Goodwitch" said Mitsuru. "We were uncertain what the customs here are so we decided to simply use our own traditions in the meantime."

"I see." Glynda nodded in approval, for more reasons than one. That they had considered what customs they might encounter showed foresight, and the way they greeted her in unison showed discipline. While their movements and posture in general were not like what one would see from someone coming from a military academy, it at least reflected the kind of training they had been given. Or what kind of teacher they had. At the very least it would seem that, one way or the other, she did not have to be overly worried with regards to them. That is, if they pass the initiation.

"Well, now that we've cleared that up I believe you should proceed to the amphitheater," she said with a quick glance at her scroll. "The Entrance Ceremony will be beginning shortly. Just follow this path, take a left, and follow that path to the end. Simply look for the building with a glass dome and you'll have arrived. Once the ceremony is done, you will need to meet with the Headmaster and myself so we can finalize the details of your admission."

"Admission?" It took Weiss a moment to realize that she had been the one to speak. When she did, it came with the realization that everyone was now looking at her. Fighting down the blush that she knew was beginning to appear on her face, she turned to the red-haired woman who had introduced herself as Mitsuru. "You mean… you're students?"

Looking back, Weiss realized that the idea that they were from a private company or organization were ideas, assumptions, she had formed in her own head. Moreover, she had assumed that Mitsuru simply looked young. Not once did she consider that she looked young because she _was_ young. But then, she could hardly blame herself for that mistake. The way Mitsuru held herself exuded sheer confidence. Confidence that no one their age could possibly have, not even her, she admitted with a bit of shame. Though clearly that was not the case.

"That's right," replied Mitsuru. Behind her, the other students were sharing mysterious glances with each other. Mitsuru's tone had not changed, though now it lacked that of authority that it had earlier. Was it because Goodwitch, a higher authority, was there? Or was it because she was no longer questioning them? "I apologize if my actions earlier caused you to misunderstand. I was merely concerned due to the explosion." That answered her question at least.

Then suddenly one of them began laughing. It was soft at first but slowly grew in volume. It was the boy with the buzzcut hair. Beside him, a girl with brown hair reaching between her chin and shoulders groaned in frustration and rolled her eyes. Over her shoulder, Weiss could see a black, cylindrical object. Her weapon perhaps? "What now Stupei?" she asked as though it were an everyday occurrence.

"H-Hey, come on Yukaricchi," Junpei replied while trying to contain his laughter. "You gotta admit, _that_ was pretty funny."

' _Stu… pei? Yuka… richi? Weren't their names Junpei and Yukari?'_ Weiss thought, but then remembered that they had come from some place where they had a different language. Even the name of the city, Iwa-something, had sounded strange to her ears. _'I've never heard of such a place, nor of there being a different language anywhere on Remnant, but I suppose it isn't impossible. All things considered, perhaps I merely misheard her name earlier.'_

The girl glared at the boy as he continued laughing. Unfortunately her glare barely lasted two seconds before her lip twitched and she found herself trying to hold in her own giggles. As though infected by her laughter, the other slowly began to show their amusement as well. Unlike the first boy, however, the rest held themselves back and kept it to chuckles and giggled. Everyone, that is, save for the other red-haired girl. The one wearing white. She simply looked confused.

"You have to admit, Mitsuru," said the same silver-haired boy who had initially called their attention. "It was pretty funny."

"I'm well aware Akihiko," replied Mitsuru, her mirth limited to her smile and the slight, almost unnoticeable, movements of her shoulders. Then she sighed mirthfully. "I suppose it takes more than willpower to suppress years of training and tutelage as the Kirijo heiress."

Heiress. That one word immediately caught Weiss's attention. In some ways it made sense to her now how someone so young could comport herself so confidently, could behave in such a flawless manner. But at the same time, looking at Mitsuru and the way she behaved with her companions struck something deep within Weiss. But why? Why did the scene before her bother her?

Before the white-haired heiress could think about it further, Glynda cleared her throat. "I do believe we've wasted enough time. If you hurry you should make it to the amphitheater just before the ceremony begins," she said to them all. Then, turning to the foreigners, she said, "Don't forget that you will need to meet with the Headmaster afterwards. His office is at the top floor of Beacon Tower. To make it easier for you, that would be the tallest building on campus."

Mitsuru, as Weiss had come to expect, quickly schooled her features, though a soft, congenial smile remained on her face. "Of course, I apologize," said Mitsuru, bowing slightly to the blonde woman.

"Just try not to make a habit of it. Now move along. I still have somewhere to be before I join the ceremony. I shall see you later." And without another word, Glynda turned and left, going back the way she came.

"I suppose we should do the same," said Mitsuru, glancing at the members of her group. "It wouldn't do to get into trouble before we're even official students after all."

"Whaaaat?" Junpei whined out loud as they began to walk away, though by the smile on his face he clearly wasn't being serious. "Come on senpai, you said it yourself. We aren't official students yet. Can't exactly get in trouble with the school if we aren't students yet, right?"

This time even Mitsuru chuckled at his words. "I suppose not. But considering we'll be here for the next four years I'm sure you'll have all the time to find ways to get into trouble, Junpei."

The laughter and jokes continued even as they walked out of Weiss's hearing range, evident by the smiles on their faces and carefree movements.

"Wow." It took Weiss a moment to realize that it had not been her who spoke and another moment to remember she was still not alone. Beside her stood the same young girl who had knocked over her luggage. The thought of that brought back some of her irritation but considering everything that had happened she simply didn't have the will to get angry at the moment. "Those guys were so cool," squealed the girl.

"Don't know about cool, asides from the one with red hair and the blonde," said the black-haired girl who had essentially bad-mouthed her family's company. "But they certainly were something. Pretty interesting too since they said they came from somewhere with a different language."

"I know right," responded the girl, her gaze still following the departing group. "I wonder what kind of weapons they use. I mean, I saw that axe, those knives, and that rapier, oh, and the spear the kid was carrying-"

"Aren't you a kid too?" Weiss asked, but was ignored by the girl.

"-But they looked pretty ordinary so that might not even be what they normally use. Oh well, I guess I can ask them later after the- oh crap! The ceremony." And just like that, the three of them remember what they had to do. "SeeyouguyslaterandI'mreallysorryaboutyourluggagebye."

All of a sudden, the girl to her right disappeared, red rose petals drifting around where the girl had been. And then the girl to her left dashed away, her speed clearly one of her strong points, leaving Weiss by her lonesome. A quick glance at her luggage showed that her family's servants had not been idle and had gathered them up and taken them where they need to be. _'Why did they even leave it unattended in the first place?'_

With that taken care of, Weiss turned to the academy, specifically to the structure in the distance with a glass dome. With just a single thought, a bluish-white glyph with a twelve-pointed snowflake in the middle appeared beneath her feet. And with one last thought, _'I wonder if I'll get the chance to talk to them about forming a team,'_ she dashed away, her glyphs propelling her towards her destination.

* * *

" _I'm definitely not getting used to this any time soon. But damn, I could get used to this."_

This _, from Junpei's perspective, was the fact that SEES was currently on board one of several airships headed towards Beacon Academy, Remnant's premier and most prestigious school for huntsmen and huntresses. All around the group, dozens of prospective trainees mingled and lingered as they awaited their arrival at the school._

 _Junpei's enthusiasm, it would seem, was infectious as Koromaru was barking excitedly, forepaws up on the back of the seat as he gazed out at the scenery through the window behind the seat. Beside him, Junpei could only chuckle as he stretched his legs out while relaxing into the seat. "Pretty cool, huh boy?" He chuckled again when the albino Shiba Inu barked in agreement. After a moment, he sobered up but still looked around the passenger area in amazement. "Man, I didn't think stuff like this actually existed even after everything Elizabeth-san told us."_

" _It would be more surprising if such things didn't exist," commented Aigis as she looked around the passenger area they were in._

 _It was a large room, easily capable of holding dozens, perhaps even a hundred, people without sacrificing comfort. Along the sides were long sofas, each one placed in front of a large window. And in the room with them were a few dozen other teenagers, all, most likely, prospective students like they were._

 _As her gaze scanned the room, Aigis noted that many were looking in their direction. And many of those who were had immediately looked away just as her gaze passed them by. It was not difficult to understand why they were staring at them._

 _Dressed in their Gekkoukan winter uniforms, the members of SEES certainly were a sight to see. Even Yukari, Akihiko, and Mitsuru, who normally chose not to wear the school blazer, were wearing them. And Fuuka, who usually wore a different shirt underneath, was wearing a white dress shirt._

 _Ken, who had grown slightly taller over the past months, had to buy a new wardrobe_ _, courtesy of some money given to them by Elizabeth,_ _when they arrived in Vale the previous day. But even so, they had managed to find clothing similar enough to the uniform for him to wear. All they needed to do was tear off the Gekkoukan emblem from his old uniform and sew it onto the newer jacket and it was only distinguishable by the slight differences in style. And to complete their outfits, they all wore the SEES armbands on their left arms._

 _The decision to wear their full uniforms had been made in order to make a better impression, at least for their initial meeting with the school's staff. Because of this, more than a few students had looked in their direction, the question clear in their eyes, but none were brave or curious enough to approach the uniformed group._

 _Aigis's sharp hearing had even heard a few of them considering the possibility that they were an actual team of Huntsmen and Huntresses despite how similar in age they appeared to be. But regardless of what they thought, the tense expressions on most the faces on some members of SEES might have been the deciding factor on whether or not they were approached._

 _Aigis, along with half the group, remained standing in the corner that they commandeered for themselves instead of sitting on the provided seats. The seats were comfortable. Even as an android she couldn't deny that. However, the anxiety building up within her made it difficult to sit still. Despite knowing they felt the same way, she was surprised that Junpei, Mitsuru, and Fuuka could remain seated._

 _A flash of red hair out of the corner of her eye, a brighter shade than that of the Kirijo heiress, reminded Aigis of their other companion who was sitting right beside Junpei_. _It also brought to mind other events during that period of time between now and their awakening far beneath the Iwatodai Dormitory._

* * *

 _Chidori Yoshino, former member of Strega, a trio of artificial Persona-users who once stood against SEES. She, alone, looked out of place sitting beside Junpei as she was wearing her usual white dress rather than a Gekkoukan uniform. Her presence within the crystal room that sealed them all away had come as a surprise, especially since even Ryoji had not known she was there until he began guarding the room. But by then, Minato, their leader in all but name, had gone off into the new world, never to return to the dorm._

 _Even more surprising was the fact that she remembered everything. After her death, and her subsequent rebirth, she had lost all memories of the Dark Hour, including knowledge of Personas and the Shadows. Moreover, since her interactions with them tied heavily into those, any memories she had of SEES prior to her revival had also disappeared._

 _But in those ten days between her rebirth and their fight with Nyx, they, at least those who visited her in the hospital, had seen another side of the death-seeking girl. Her memories from before she had been taken by the Kirijo were clearer than before. This had worried them at first, considering the Kirijo had literally taken her from the streets at a young age._

 _But despite her past, she was kind and considerate, speaking kindly to them all despite not knowing them. And when Junpei had first broken down in front of her, she responded with understanding and compassion, despite not knowing the cause of Junpei's distress. Clearly her nihilism stemmed from her experiences as a Kirijo test subject and not necessarily her poor childhood._

 _Understandably, memories between then and her revival, the time period when she was aware of the Dark Hour, had gone completely missing. This caused another bout of problems for the Kirijo doctors. Despite her lack of medical knowledge, even Chidori would have found it strange that she could remember the first few years of her childhood but nothing else. Not even the more recent ones._

 _They could not tell her the truth. Now that she was a normal human, her transmogrification being the foremost evidence of this, there was no way they could explain the Dark Hour to her, never mind her previous role in the battle against the Shadows. And even if they did explain it to her, the nature of the Dark Hour made it impossible to prove it to her as she would never be able to experience it. Even if she did believe them, knowing what she had done despite not remembering would most likely only serve to cause her further distress._

 _Thus the doctors, along with Mitsuru, had then explained that the incident that landed her in the hospital, a fight between two small gangs that she had stumbled upon, had brought her close to death. They had even explained that she had been declared dead at one point before she was revived, only to fall into a coma for a few months before waking. That, they pointed out, along with her injuries, some to her head, was probably the reason for her vague memories. In time, they said, the memories should return and grow clearer._

 _It was an outright lie. They knew that her memories were not merely vague and forgotten. They were missing entirely. Gone alongside her Persona and the ability to enter the Dark Hour._

 _The Kirijo scientists speculated that, despite the Dark Hour only occurring for one hour between the start and the end of each day, the simple fact that she was aware of its existence at any given time was enough for her memories outside the Dark Hour to disappear._

 _After all, if only memories associated with the Dark Hour, Personas, and Shadows disappeared, then any memories created that had nothing to do with such things should have remained with her. And yet, the years since her forceful awakening to the Dark Hour and her Persona had all disappeared from her mind, regardless of when the memory was created. Even the most mundane of memories had not remained._

 _In fact, some scientist and doctors have claimed that it was a miracle her mind had not regressed to that of the child she had been prior to her forced awakening. It proved that, contrary to their previous words, that something_ had _remained. They simply could not be sure of anything more specific._

 _They had no evidence, no way to prove their theory, but it made the most sense. Her mental growth into a teenager had remained despite the disappearance of her memories. And while her mental state had remained mature, she had none of the coldness and bitterness that she had displayed at a member of Strega._

 _And now, with the merging of the Dark Hour with the real world, along with the forceful awakening of every human's Potential, her memories returned completely._

 _The first few weeks were the hardest. She had awakened two days after SEES did. And, true to his word, Ryoji informed them, Junpei first of all, that the seal on her coffin was close to breaking. She was, much like them, confused when she woke. Not just from not knowing where she was, but also why she remembered things about them that she shouldn't have._

 _It turns out that her memories had become a mix of her two personalities. A part of her remembered everything with regards to the Dark Hour. The Kirijo experiments, the initial formation of Strega, her life with Strega, Strega's fights against SEES, her time in the hospital, the time spent with Junpei, and her eventual death._

 _Another part of her was the one that had awakened after her 'death'. She remembered her childhood, the few days spent speaking with Junpei, and sometimes Mitsuru, conversations with doctors who explained her condition, and then falling asleep one night only to awaken inside a crystal coffin._

 _The former saw the latter's memories as nothing more than a false life, a false self, one that she had been robbed of the moment the Ikutsuki's men had kidnapped her. The latter saw the former's memories as a nightmare, one that, perhaps, haunted her while she was in a coma._

 _Two sets of memories, one real and also the one SEES were more familiar with, and the other a possibility of what could have been had she never been taken by the Kirijo._

 _But that was where the problem lay. Who was the real Chidori? Was it the one who had lived her entire life believing that humanity was no longer worth believing in? Or was it the one that could have been had she never been exposed to the darkness of human hearts?_

 _Chidori's case was unique in many ways._

 _It was not a case of someone with the Potential sleeping through the hidden time period due to the lateness of its appearance, never once experiencing it due to sheer coincidence. Not only had she lived ten years while experiencing the hidden hour, but she had been active during that hour. If the memories had simply been erased then she would have been a child in a teenager's body due to losing ten years of memories._

 _But that was not the case. Her mentality, despite being different from the one they were familiar with, was still clearly that of a young adult. So where had that new personality come from?_

 _Nobody could give her an answer._

 _Ryoji could not. He was, after all, an inhuman being. Despite having had a human form, living a human life, for a brief time, he did not know enough to be able to answer._

 _Elizabeth, for all her knowledge of a supernatural world far beyond what SEES had been exposed to, was just as unknowledgeable. Despite her vast knowledge, not even she knew everything there was to know._

" _But consider this," she had continued to say, "Who are we to decide for you what is true and what is fallacy, what is real and what is not? A fact is something that will not change, no matter how much we wish. But truth and lies are what we perceive it to be, what we believe it to be. And so, what do you believe to be the truth? What do you believe to be lies? More importantly, what do_ you _wish to believe in? None can answer but you."_

 _Chidori had calmed down somewhat after that, but everyone could see the distress and conflict on her face. Sometimes, when she interacted with them, it was Chidori Yoshino, the ill-mannered and ill-tempered ex-member of Strega. Other times it was Chidori Yoshino, the kind and understanding girl who returned from death. There were even times when she switched personalities multiple times in a single conversation. Neither personality was dominant, both were equally seen and spoken to. And this caused her further distress as she, both sides of her, had hoped to settle the matter by seeing which side of her was most dominant._

 _In the end, nearly a month after waking from her slumber, it had been Junpei who had come to her aid once again. He had gone up to her room one night to deliver her meal, with permission from the other female members of the team of course, as she had taken to staying in her room most, if not all, of the time. Instead, he had stayed longer than expected. Only Fuuka's assurances, with help from her abilities, stayed the hand of Mitsuru and Yukari as they attempted to ensure that Junpei had not done anything inappropriate despite knowing of his feelings for the girl._

 _Nobody, except for Junpei and Chidori, and possibly Fuuka, knew exactly what happened in Chidori's room that night. All they knew was that, after that night, Chidori was visibly calmer, more composed, and even more social. She still switched between her two personalities but, as the weeks and months passed, the distinction became less clear to all but Junpei, Fuuka, Aigis, and Koromaru._

 _Junpei, in his own words, just knew. Fuuka could sense the difference with help from Juno. Koromaru, after a quick translation by Aigis, replied much the same as Junpei. And Aigis's advanced functions as an android allowed her to notice the slight differences in Chidori's tone, movements, and overall behavior._

 _After that, the next few months were filled with constant training as well as lessons from Ryoji and Elizabeth. Although their stasis had not weakened their bodies at all – save for the weakness and exhaustion that carried over from their final battle with Ryoji – their physical abilities, even at full strength, simply could not compare with the people of the current age. While their Personas were their main weapons against the Shadows of old, in the time they had been sealed away, mankind had developed other skills and abilities to combat the creatures of darkness._

 _And just as mankind evolved with the awakening of their hidden potential, so too did the Shadows._

 _Shadows were stagnant creatures. While they had some form of intelligence, with the twelve Arcana Shadows capable of more intricate planning, they did not grow. One kind of Shadow was the same as the rest of its kind. There were Shadows with similar appearances, only with a different level of strength or with different abilities, but if two Shadows looked exactly the same then one could be absolutely certain that they would act the same way and were capable of the same things._

 _Only in the presence of a stronger Shadow, like the twelve Arcana Shadows, did the lesser Shadows change their behavior. But no matter how long they were left alone, Shadows did not grow. Though according to the Kirijo's Ergonomic Research Team, Shadows have been known to gather around a stronger Shadow and, eventually, form a larger Shadow. And, as proven by the research team's experiments, Shadows could also be forcibly fused together to hasten the growth of Shadows. But in terms of growth, that was the limit of the Shadows._

 _But the Grimm were different. They grew on their own._

 _One example they had been given was the Nevermore. While young, newly born into the world, Nevermores were as small as ravens and no more dangerous than an ordinary raven attempting to attack a human. A nuisance but, unless they were in large numbers, they did not pose a great threat. But in time, they would grow large enough that their wingspan surpassed the average human's height. They would continue to grow until they were large enough for one person to ride, though the weight may weigh down the Nevermore. Later, still, they would grow to be larger than small planes. And given enough time…_

 _"I believe one of its talons would be about the same length as a human was tall… perhaps even longer," were Elizabeth's words._

 _Regardless of how much that thought scared them, they now knew that, without a doubt, the Grimm were far more dangerous than the Shadows. They were not to be taken lightly. To make things worse, the Grimm did not just grow in size but also in intellect. Larger Grimm often had an addition to their name to distinguish them from the younger, less intelligent of their particular kind._

 _Caution or, to be more accurate, a survival instinct, was often the first thing that developed as they aged. They grew intelligent enough to not only lead the younger Grimm, but they became capable enough to form basic plans of attack._

" _There are even tales of Grimm that have grown so old that they rival human leaders in intellect and ingenuity," Elizabeth had told them near the end of that lesson. "Such Grimm are often given names of their own. If you should encounter such a Grimm… well... let us hope you do not. Not until you have grown much stronger."_

 _But as the Grimm evolved, so too did mankind._

 _Aura, a manifestation of one's soul. A power that, when unleashed, provided both defensive and offensive capabilities to its wielder. It's most common use was as a passive form of defense that prevented an attack from reaching their physical bodies, and also a way to enhance the body's ability to heal. With more training, Aura can be used in other ways such as an enhancement of physical capabilities, or even the creation of a shield made of pure Aura._

 _It was not without its disadvantages of course. Though their Aura could prevent the attack from striking their bodies, it was more akin to wearing a thin but extremely sturdy piece of armor. Bullets, for example, would not injure or draw blood, but the one being attacked would still feel the force propelling the bullet forward. Similarly, attacks that deal concussive force, as opposed to those aimed at drawing blood, are more effective since the force behind the blows could still be felt._

 _And then there was Semblance, a more physical, and sometimes tangible, form of one's Aura. It was, as Elizabeth explained to them, the equivalent of their Personas. Although Personas were manifestations of their souls, much like Aura was defined to be, the fact that their Personas were more physical in form would place them under the category of Semblance._

" _I suppose you could say that Personas are a primitive form of Semblance," she had told them. It was primitive in that they needed a catalyst, their Evokers, in order to utilize their power. But at the same time, the limitations of their Personas were different from that of a Semblance._

 _A Semblance was dependent on the user's Aura. The lower one's Aura levels were, the less stable or more difficult it was to utilize their Semblance. And once someone's Aura runs out, their Semblance would be inaccessible to them until they recovered._

 _Their Personas, however, relied on their physical and, more importantly, their mental well-being as the summoning of a Persona places a heavy burden on one's mind and body. Mitsuru herself did not understand it fully, but their Evokers were created in the form of guns for a reason. It was, as had been explained to her, because calling forth their Personas were easier when one felt the fear of death._

 _In this case, it was the instinctual fear of the sound of a gunshot coming from a gun, whose barrel was resting right at their heads. It didn't matter if they knew the gun wasn't a real gun. Logic and emotions were two different things. Logic dictates you wouldn't die by being shot by a fake gun. Emotionally, the sound of a gun being fired awakened a primal instinct found within all living beings, to fear that which could claim your life, the instinct to survive._

 _And repeatedly experiencing this feeling, in addition to whatever mental and physical demands the fight required, placed a heavy stress on one's body. As such, once they reach their limits, it becomes impossible to summon their Persona until they have rested enough. All they could do was adapt. Like a muscle, their bodies, their hearts, would grow used to the demands placed by the repeated summoning of their Persona. All they could do was train to heighten their limits._

 _But in the end, the differences in limitation between the two types of powers was very distinct._

 _Those who utilize Aura would not necessarily be tired by the time their Aura was expended. Meaning they would still be able to fight under their own power even without access to their Semblance. The lack of Aura as a defensive measure, however, made this a dangerous choice. In Elizabeth's words, many Huntsmen and Huntresses, as she had noticed over time, have grown dependent on their Aura as a defensive measure, even if just a little._

 _"Those who are cornered will fight harder to survive," she told them, many of them familiar with similar phrases and, as such, understood immediately what she meant. "When a living being knows they could die at any moment, they will fight with all they have to continue living. Those with Aura do not have to fear such a swift, unexpected death. For even unaware, their Aura is present provided it had not been expended already. As such, reckless actions that one would not normally consider became easier to consider, more enticing."_

 _"That is not to say that they do not know how to avoid danger. After all, Aura or no, they are still living beings. That instinctual fear of anything that can claim one's life is still present. It is simply that those who are used to such situations can afford to be more, shall we say, careless. Still, that will be for you learn and experience once you leave this place and experience the world for yourselves."_

 _Persona-users, on the other hand, would not only be unable to utilize their Personas, but also unable to fight. Or at the very least, their combat capabilities would be incredibly debilitated due to reaching their physical and mental limits by the repeated summoning._

 _It was why Elizabeth's training focused on their physical capabilities, followed by summoning their Personas until they could no longer do so. If they could increase the limits of their stamina and willpower, they could increase the number of times and the length of time they could summon their Personas. In addition, the training would further increase their own combat abilities, which, as Elizabeth had told them repeatedly, was far below those their own age due to their early training to become Huntsmen and Huntresses._

 _Even Mitsuru, who had been training to fight the longest amongst SEES, was not trained exclusively to fight._

 _Still, Elizabeth and Ryoji's harsh training, combined with Akihiko's extensive knowledge of various exercises and how to develop specific muscles based on their individual needs, brought them closer to where they needed to be. If they were to be judged strictly by their physical capabilities, they would possibly be in the lower third of their age-range, close to the middle at best, which Elizabeth admitted was not very likely to happen. In truth, they were most likely to be the weakest provided those their age trained regularly. With their Personas, they were well above average, perhaps even in the upper-tiers depending on how well they fought._

 _Though it struck their pride, they agreed that it didn't matter in the long run. Ultimately, their strength lay in their abilities as a team, rather than as individuals. And while having Personas granted them a wide-range of abilities, Huntsmen and Huntresses trained in ways that complemented their Semblances more often than not. Each one was often highly specialized in one form or another. Unless one of them had abilities that completely countered the other's Semblance, they were not likely to dominate a fight one-on-one._

 _By the end of nearly seven months of training even Fuuka, the sole non-combatant of the team, was capable of defending herself. Her combat ability was still the weakest among them all, but at least now she did not have to rely on hiding within Juno's body as her only means of defense. Even if she could not defeat an opponent on her own due to the highly defensive nature of her training, she would still be able to defend herself long enough to find help or for help to arrive. Not to mention her own special abilities._

* * *

" _Hello, and welcome to Beacon."_

 _Aigis was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of an unknown voice. A quick glance around showed that an image of a woman with short blonde hair had appeared in front of every window. Those who were seated quickly stood and walked in front of the image before turning to face it._

" _Who's that?" she heard someone nearby ask._

" _My name is Glynda Goodwitch." Judging by her greeting, the woman was clearly someone of importance within the school. With that knowledge, Aigis searched her memory to see if the name was among those that Elizabeth had mentioned as important or well-known. "You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being given the chance to attend this prestigious academy."_

" _Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses it will one day be your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. And now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world." The woman's image faded soon after and the excited chatter of those around them returned._

" _So she's the Deputy Headmistress of the school," commented Mitsuru, her own mind remembering the woman's name not long after Aigis did. "I suppose looking at it from their perspective this is a time of peace."_

" _As peaceful as can be when there are Shad…. Er… Grimm out there I suppose," added Yukari, catching herself before she referred to the Grimm with a name the rest of the world would not have been familiar with. "It's gonna take me a while to get used to all these new terms."_

" _I agree," said Ken, looking around at all the other students in the passenger area. "Not just that though. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that people are allowed to carry their weapons so openly." At that, everyone nodded in agreement, some of them taking in the strange, yet familiar looking weaponry carried by those around them._

" _That's true," came Fuuka's soft voice. "Our Evoker may not be real guns, but the fact that they look real enough would have been enough to have us arrested back home."_

" _Well, at least it means we're not likely to be caught unarmed," said Akihiko, the silver-haired boxer looking at the various weapons with a bit of excitement. "Still, looking at all these weapons make me feel a little unprepared."_

 _Junpei chuckled. "I know what you mean senpai. It's like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Almost makes me wish I had one myself."_

" _I'm sure that can be arranged Junpei," said Yukari, her tone part teasing, part resentful. "Maybe we should call up Elizabeth-san and see what she find for you."_

" _Jealous Yukaricchi?" he replied, grinning at her with a single raised brow._

 _Yukari groaned. "Why are we stuck learning how to use something new?" she complained in a lower voice, a complaint that the other members of SEES had heard before. "I mean, I get Fuuka needing a weapon, and Aigis needing something to hide but why am I the only one who has to get a new one too? Even if it wasn't my old one, an ordinary bow would have been fine. I didn't need something like… like…"_

" _Sharanga?" Fuuka provided helpfully. Though the way the corner of her lip twitched upwards indicated her amusement._

" _Ugh… Who the hell even names their weapons?" she asked out loud as she began to pace, unaware of the few nearby students who turned to stare at her. One, in particular, seemed like she wanted nothing more than to march up to Yukari to give the brunette a piece of her mind. Yukari let out an exasperated sigh and looked at everyone with half-lidded eyes. "Any chance we could convince Ryoji-kun to help us kill her?"_

 _Both Junpei and Fuuka laughed out loud, thought Fuuka's was more of a loud giggling, at Yukari's complaints. Even the others couldn't hide their amusement at the situation._

" _Sharanga, the bow of the Hindu God Vishnu," recited Aigis, drawing upon her limited knowledge of myths and legends. Even she, it would seem, found Yukari's distress amusing. "One day, Brahma wanted to know who was a better archer, Vishnu or Shiva. So he created a quarrel between the two, which led to a duel of unimaginable proportions. Their fight was so terrible that the balance of the entire universe was disturbed. But soon, Vishnu was able to paralyze Shiva with his arrows. All the Devas, led by Brahma himself, begged them to stop, declaring Vishnu the winner as he was able to stun Shiva."_

 _At the conclusion of Aigis's tale, Junpei turned to Yukari with renewed laughter. "Hear that Yukari? Nothing to be ashamed of. You've got the bow of a God! No way you can lose now."_

 _Yukari growled in frustration as she stopped pacing, whirling around to face Junpei as he came close to collapsing on the seat in laughter. "Oh yeah? Maybe you'd like a first-hand demonstration of my bow then, Stupei?"_

" _Bring it on Yukaricchi!" came his reply as he patted the sheathed katana lying on the seat beside him. "I'm pretty sure I can take you on up close."_

 _Yukari's left hand slowly moved to her thigh, where her new bow was resting in its compact form, her face showing that she was honestly debating whether the consequence of fighting Junpei then and there was worth it. In the end, she was saved from making a decision she might have come to regret by Chidori's words. "It seems we're here."_

 _Everyone turned to Chidori and found her gazing out the window, a hint of awe in her expression. Walking up to the window, everyone followed her example as the airship turned, allowing their side of the ship a direct view of Beacon Academy as the ship docked._

" _It's… almost like something out of a fairy tale," Fuuka breathed out in awe as she gazed upon Beacon._

 _While the buildings were certainly more modern in appearance, even compared to Iwatodai, the multitude of archways and the many towers and spires were reminiscent of castles, especially, as Fuuka had noted, those found in fairy tales and fantasies. And as they gazed up at the tallest structure, they couldn't help but be entranced by the bright green glow coming from near the top of the tower._

" _Oh wow. This place put Gekkoukan to shame." And then, as though realizing what she had said, Yukari cringed and turned to Mitsuru with an apologetic look. "S-Sorry senpai."_

 _Mitsuru chuckled, amused by Yukari's reaction. "There's nothing to be sorry for. In fact, I agree. Even the Kirijo would have been hard-pressed to create a school of this magnitude, never mind the aesthetics. Still, best we get accustomed to it. We will be attending this school for the next four years after all."_

" _I know," Yukari sighed with mock resignation. "But still… isn't four years too long?" she asked, catching everyone's attention. "I get that we don't know a lot of stuff, but can't we just study up on that while searching for a way to finish all this?"_

 _Mitsuru glanced at the group, taking in their reactions to Yukari's words. "I assume you all feel the same way?" she asked but knew the answer even before she received nods from everyone, and a bark from Koromaru that sounded like agreement. "I see."_

 _There was a lengthy pause as they waited to hear Mitsuru's opinion. In that time, the motions from the ship began to settle as the ship finally finished docking. "Believe me," said Mitsuru. "I would rather be searching for a way to make things right just like the rest of you. But as Yukari pointed out, there's far too much we don't know. If we are to be able to do anything, we first need to know what we are dealing with. And that means relearning everything we know about the world."_

" _And even after studying all those books that Elizabeth-san brought, she herself admitted that she only brought books on things that are common knowledge. The few additional books were helpful, but not enough. Moreover, we cannot expect her help from this point on, nor Mochizuki-san's. As they've said, Elizabeth's priority, now that she had helped us this far, is to search for a way to help Arisato-kun. Mochizuki-san also has his own agenda to see to."_

" _And that's another thing," interrupted Yukari. By now, the other students were making their way off the ship but SEES paid them no mind. "Shouldn't we be helping her out with that? I mean, he is our leader after all. It doesn't… feel right leaving it up to her."_

" _Again, I understand Yukari," said Mitsuru. "But if she were to be believed, then he is beyond our reach for the moment. In addition, all we know is that he is still fighting. Neither Elizabeth-san nor Mochizuki-san know what he is doing now or how, just that he is still fighting despite no longer being physically present in this world."_

 _The reminder of their reason for being at Beacon was a sobering thought for them all. Despite the prospect of exploring an entirely new and foreign world, to them at least, the thought of their ultimate goal, the eradication of the Shadows and the Dark Hour, no matter what form it took, was still their top priority. She wouldn't begrudge them the chance to enjoy themselves, certainly not. Even she found this new world they had awakened to fascinating. If anything, all of them needed to remember why they were fighting. To live. And there was little point in living if they couldn't enjoy that life._

" _Uh… guys?" Everyone was pulled from their thoughts at Junpei's call. Looking at him, they saw him looking around as though he were lost. "I uh… think we should get going. Looks like we're the only ones here."_

 _A quick check of their surroundings showed that, indeed, the other prospective students had already left and that the nine of them, Koromaru included, were all that remained behind._

" _We should go," said Aigis, the blonde android moving towards the door. "I believe we still need to meet with one of the staff after the Welcoming Ceremony."_

 _The group disembarked from the airship and most of them couldn't contain their awe at the sight that greeted them. Walking along the stone pathway leading away from the loading docks seemed to make it more real that, despite appearances, the sight before them was no mere fairy tale or fantasy. And despite all the stone used in the school's architecture, the abundance of green brought a sense of serenity to them all._

 _It was only Chidori and the two seniors of the group whose outwards appearances were calm. But even so, the way their eyes roamed over every little detail they passed told of their fascination with their surroundings. And it was understandable._

 _Beacon was a school unlike any they had ever seen in their time. Even Gekkoukan High School, a private school owned by the Kirijo family, could not compare despite the family's efforts to create a school that would not only provide a high level of education, but also an environment suitable for learning. Moreover, to see that there were places such as this, places that seemed to radiate a sense of peace despite the existence of the Grimm, was nothing short of astounding._

 _At least until something exploded._

 _They didn't blink. They didn't hesitate. They didn't even look at each other. Even before the sound of the explosion died away, the members of SEES were already in motion. It was only Chidori who lagged behind but even she had not taken long before acting. They had seen the explosion itself just ahead of them, not far from where they were. The explosion itself hadn't been big, nor had it been powerful, but in a world where Shadows, Grimm, no longer needed the Dark Hour to be present, they couldn't take any chances._

* * *

"I'll keep this brief."

The members of SEES ended their conversation at those words. Looking forward, they saw a tall man with messy gray hair standing on the stage. He was wearing an open dark-green suit, a buttoned vest of the same color, and green pants, just a hint lighter than the rest of his clothing. Around his neck was a leaf-green scarf and in his left hand was a dark gray cane with a silver handle. Some of them immediately recognized his face from the profiles that Elizabeth had provided. Ozpin, a famed Huntsman and also the current Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft, and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you… and all I see is waste of energy in need of purpose… direction."

At those words, a few people around them broke out in whispers while some looked at the Headmaster with questioning gazed. Even amongst SEES, some of them could not contain their curiosity at the Headmaster's choice of words.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this. But your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Mitsuru and Akihiko nodded slightly, agreeing with the man's words. The rest of SEES simply showed looks of understanding. When he began to walk off the stage, to be replaced by Glynda, those in the crowd who were confused knew they wouldn't be getting the answers from him.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. For now, you are free to explore the academy but note than most buildings will be off-limits to you until you pass the initiation. Asides from the ballroom, the Dining Hall will be open to all until 9 PM this evening, and the armory will be open until 5 PM if you need to purchase supplies or simply require a workshop for your weapons. We expect you all to be in the ballroom no later than 10 PM. You are dismissed."

Many students immediately left the amphitheater to explore the campus while some lingered behind, either to wait for the crowd to thin out or simply to spend time in the amphitheater with friends or new acquaintances. SEES, however, had other plans. Almost as soon as she had finished speaking, SEES turned and exited the amphitheater. Having been one of the last to arrive, they were situated near the exit and thus did not have to join the crowds who had to fight to leave sooner.

Finding the tallest building, as they had been advised, was not very difficult. Not only was it at the center of the campus, but the large, glowing green orbs near the top was impossible to ignore, even during the day. At the base of the structure, the group couldn't help but marvel at the size of the structure. The large, cylindrical structure stood taller than any other building they had ever seen. Save, that is, for one.

The Tower of Demise, Tartarus, a massive labyrinthine structure that only appeared during the Dark Hour. Even without knowing the details of the structure before them, Tartarus was, without a doubt, the tallest structure they have ever seen. Possibly even the tallest they ever _will_ see.

"Unbelievable," Fuuka gasped out in a breathy voice. "Asides from Tartarus, I've never seen a building this big before."

Junpei chuckled. "Yeah. Though I'll take this over Tartarus any day. What's it for anyway?" he asked, noting all the people constantly walking in and out of the building. "These guys can't all be here to see the Headmaster, right?"

"This is the Cross Continental Transmit System," explained Fuuka as they walked into the building. "Though it's often just called the CCTS or CCT. It's pretty much what replaced our forms of wireless communications. There are four all in all, one in each kingdom. The communications area within is the only way to communicate directly with someone on another continent. Should even one of them be taken down then the entire system goes offline."

"Glad we divided some of those extra books," said Akihiko. "With all the things we had to study up on in such a short time it'd be hard if we all had to remember everything."

A laugh came from the youngest of the group. "Try looking at it from my perspective Akihiko-senpai. I had to study just as hard and they're going to expect me to know just as much as the rest of you despite my age. If anything they might be harder on me to make sure I can actually handle myself here."

"Guess they'll be in for a surprise then," the silver-haired teen replied with a laugh of his own. "After Tartarus, the Shadows, and the training we had, you're easily as good as we are in a fight despite your age. And don't worry too much about your grades, you'll do fine." Then, with a mischievous grin, he added, "I'm sure you'll do better than Junpei at any rate."

"Heeeey." Junpei turned on the chuckling duo behind him with a mock pout. "Come on senpai, can't you give me a little more credit than that? I'm not that bad."

"Yeah, right." Beside him, Yukari was giggling. "You just barely passed our last exams, Stupei. And now we've got to study up on stuff we've never even heard of, all in English."

"I'm speaking English aren't I?" he countered with a grin.

"Yeah, but you can barely read it," she responded, her grin turning smug when Junpei showed signs of defeat. "If you ask nicely, maybe I'll help you out."

"Don't worry Junpei-kun," said Chidori, speaking for the first time since they left the airship, raising one hand to pat Junpei consolingly on the shoulder and giving him a smile. "I can use some help with it as well so we can work on it together."

Junpei swiftly straightened up, one arm wrapping around Chidori's shoulder, and pulling her in lightly, causing a faint reddening of her cheeks at the contact. "Aw, thanks Chidori-chan! See that Yukaricchi? I've got all the help I need right here."

"Ugh, get a room you two," she said, all the excitement leaving her body at the display in front of her.

"Or better yet," said Fuuka, her voice sounding slightly farther away than they expected. "Maybe you'd like to come into the elevator with us?"

The trio blinked before realizing that everyone else had already stepped into the elevator and were holding it open for them with teasing grins. The trio hurried into the elevator, their discussion forgotten as the doors closed.

"Hello." The members of SEES were startled, some going as far as jumping back in surprise, when a voice spoke. "And welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?" came the question. The voice that was speaking was female but had a mechanical quality to it.

Mitsuru glanced at the panel to the right of the door. She noted that there were no buttons, only three columns of lights. None of the lights were currently on. "We're here to meet with the Headmaster," she said out loud.

Given that a voice had asked them a question, it was a safe assumption that they would need to answer verbally in turn. Perhaps, rather than having the passengers select the floor themselves, they had someone controlling the elevators for security purposes? Mitsuru couldn't be certain but it did sound plausible.

"Absolutely," came the response. "Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?"

"Scroll?" she found herself asking. Mitsuru turned to the rest of the group but found them gazing at each other with confusion as well. She turned to Aigis and Fuuka, the obvious question written on her face.

Contrary to what one might expect from an android, Aigis was not designed to store vast amounts of knowledge. She, like the rest of them, had to study about the new world they were now in. But due to being optimized for combat, certain things came easier for her such as weaponry, tactics, analysis, and other similar subjects. Fortunately, in this case, Mitsuru was fairly certain Aigis would know.

"They are referring to the devices which they use to communicate," she responded almost as soon as Mitsuru's gaze landed on her. "From what I understand, Scrolls have essentially taken the place of cellular phones, smartphones, tablet computers, and, in some ways, even notebook computers."

"Woah, you serious?" Junpei asked, as he and the other went wide-eyed. "Wait, when the hell did even you learn about that?"

"Please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity," the voice said, repeating its earlier request. The request went mostly ignored though due to their curiosity.

"It was in one of the books Elizabeth-san brought with her," replied Aigis. "Though since she had grouped it with the other books she deemed optional, I do not believe anyone else read it."

"Oh, I think that's the book I'm reading now," exclaimed Fuuka. "It's about the history of Remnant's technology. I only just started so I haven't gotten to the more recent developments just yet."

"I see." Turning back to the terminal, Mitsuru said, "Unfortunately we do not have a Scroll."

This time no immediate response came. And after a few more seconds it became clear that no response was forthcoming at all. At that, a worried look appeared on Mitsuru's face. And looking around, she saw that it was not only her who felt that way. "So… what now?" asked Yukari. "Should we go back out and see if we can find someone who can help?"

The red-haired heiress nodded, though the worry on her face didn't decrease. "It seems that would be for the best. There's little point in-"

The elevator suddenly whirred to life and, though just barely, they felt it moving. Despite being in an elevator car, they began looking around, wondering what was going on. Mitsuru, being the closest, was the first to see the change that had appeared on the terminal. One of the lights had switched on. The very top one. She pointed this out to the others.

"Assuming that's where we're headed, isn't that where we needed to go?" asked Akihiko, remembering Glynda telling them that the Headmaster's office was at the top floor of Beacon Tower.

"It is," responded Mitsuru. "While convenient, there is a part of me that can't help but worry."

"Not much we can do about it either way. Even if this doesn't lead to his office we can always just explain what happened," said the boxer. "Besides, Ms. Goodwitch will be expecting us so if we need to we can always just ask someone to contact her or something if this is somehow a security measure since we didn't have a Scroll with us."

Nobody could find any flaws in his reasoning so they simply settled down to wait for the elevator to reach its destination. Still, they were impressed by the elevator once they actually paid attention to the ride. The whir of machinery was soft, softer than they were used to at least. And if not for that, they would not have known they were moving at all. Unlike the elevators they were used to, they could barely feel this elevator moving.

Not long after the sound of the machinery faded and a chime sounded, letting them know they had reached their destination. The doors slid open and they were met by the sight of what seemed to be a waiting room. They stepped inside the room and glanced around, taking in the details of the room itself.

The wall where the elevator was located was curved, most likely following the outer wall of the building, which was cylindrical in nature. On either side was a rectangular coffee table with chairs along the wall. Directly to their right was a countertop with a coffee machine, presumable for guests and such waiting to meet with the esteemed Headmaster. Right across from them were the arched double doors that no doubt led to Headmaster Ozpin's office.

And standing beside the door was Glynda Goodwitch.

"Ah, there you are," she said upon seeing them. The group stepped out of the elevator and approached the woman, who was tapping on what seemed to be a transparent pad with a white edge on the sides. "I apologize for the oversight. We hadn't considered that you would not have a Scroll. Fortunately, we were alerted when you were unable to present a Scroll to the AI so we were able to override the need to present a Scroll."

"An… AI?" SEES, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, looked at one another once more. "You mean…" Mitsuru paused, somewhat unsure as to what to say. "That voice that spoke to us… that was…"

"An AI, yes." Glynda nodded, taking in their reactions. "I take it AIs have not been developed where you're from?" she asked. But the moment she did, she noticed the uncomfortable looks that appeared on most of their faces. Only the red-haired girl in white standing near the back did not openly react. Then again, she did not seem to have said or done much even during their first meeting less than an hour ago.

Still, she couldn't help but notice the reactions of the majority. One, in particular, seemed more apprehensive than the rest. The blonde standing just behind and to the left of Mitsuru. Aigis Arisato, unless she was mistaken. Moreover, the others seemed to be glancing at Aigis now and then. Did she perhaps know something in regards to the development of AIs in Iwatodai?

"That…" Mitsuru began and then paused, once again unsure as to how to proceed. "I believe it would be best to discuss that with the Headmaster present."

Glynda raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing else. It was a reasonable request after all. "Very well. He is waiting for us inside." Glynda tapped something on a translucent green pad beside the door. A second later, the door slid open, allowing them entry.

The first thing they noticed upon stepping inside were the gears above them. Massive gears, some longer in diameter than a car, could be seen rotating through the glass ceiling. They weren't sure what they were for, as some were not connected to other gears, but it was certainly another thing to take notice of the first time it was seen. To either side of them were more gears, though smaller than those above them, and limited only to a small space.

Directly in front of them was a desk with eight chairs in front of it, four on each side angled towards the center. And sitting behind the desk was, undoubtedly, Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Glynda made her way to the desk, standing in front of one corner.

"So you are the students from Iwatodai," he began without preamble. And while his pronunciation was slightly off, there was no mistaking the name of the city they had come from. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've been looking forward to this meeting since we spoke with Ms. Elizabeth. Please, have a seat." He gestured to the chairs in front of the desk with a hand holding a mug. Judging by the smell wafting from it, it was filled with coffee.

"Thank you, Headmaster Ozpin," replied Mitsuru. Even before arriving at the school, they had agreed that Mitsuru should speak for the group unless the question was directed towards someone in particular. Not only was she the most accustomed for such a role, but she was the best person to rely on should they be asked a question about their lives that that they had not accounted for. "I must say, this school is impressive. Not just for its size, but also the design. Functional yet pleasing to the eye."

"I'm glad it meets your approval," Ozpin responded with a smile. "Although I can hardly take credit for it. I was not, after all, the one who built or designed the school."

"But as the current Headmaster you do play a part in maintaining it and, more importantly, improving it," the, now former, Kirijo heiress replied without pause. "I doubt everything here is exactly the same as it was when the school was first build 80 years ago."

Ozpin chuckled. "It seems you've done some research before coming here. Or was it Ms. Elizabeth who explained things to you?"

"A little of both in this, and most other, cases. Elizabeth-san was helpful in providing books to enable us to study about Remnant as a whole."

Glynda then chose that moment to join in. "Pardon me, but I'm quite curious about something you just said." Mitsuru turned to the deputy and nodded. "What was it you called Ms. Elizabeth? You added something at the end. And as I recall, you were doing the same with your friends."

For just half a moment, Mitsuru seemed to be confused but then suddenly realized what Glynda was speaking about. "Ah, that would be our equivalent of referring to someone as Miss or Mister. Although it's quite a bit more complex than that."

"Would you mind if I asked some of you to take some time to explain more in future?" Ozpin asked, taking a sip from his coffee before setting the mug down on his desk. At SEES's questioning looks, he elaborated. "Call it curiosity. As far as we were aware our maps were complete. So I'm sure you understand that it was quite the surprise for us to learn that not only was there an island we had not known of, but that there was a thriving city, one with its own culture distinct from ours. If you are open to it I would certainly like to learn more about your home."

"What do you all think?" Mitsuru turned her head to ask the members of SEES. "Our studies will have to take priority but if everyone agrees then I see no reason not to."

They all took a moment to consider the request by the Headmaster but none of them found any reason to decline.

"Good, good. I'll contact you once you've gotten settled in and accustomed to life here. Provided you pass the initiation of course. And on that note." Ozpin paused as he took a small stack of papers and handed them to Glynda before taking a sip from the mug on his desk, who then proceeded to divide the stack and pass a smaller stack to each member of SEES along with a pen. "The first two are your admission forms. Although Ms. Elizabeth took the liberty of filling in a form for each of you, I would rather have you fill them in yourselves to avoid any inaccurate or outright incorrect information. I'll need you to fill those in and return them before you leave otherwise you will not be able to participate in the Initiation tomorrow."

"The rest," he began to explain as they started filling in the first two sheets, "Are forms you'll need to fill in so that we can enter you into Vale's system so we can procure IDs and such for your group. You can hand those in at a later time but I don't recommend waiting too long. Though I was assured of your combat capabilities, there is still the possibility that one or more of you will fail tomorrow."

"That said, you can rest assured that you will have our assistance with whatever you choose to do should that happen. If you choose to try your luck at another academy, or even choose a different path entirely, we will do our best to assist you up to a certain point."

"Thank you," she began as Ozpin picked up his coffee mug once more. "But I doubt that will be necessary."

"Oh?" Ozpin's mug stopped just as he was about to raise it to his lips, intrigued by the tone of Mitsuru's voice.

"We have every intention of passing the Initiation, after all," Mitsuru replied with confidence. "It would be a waste of all the time we spent studying and training if we were to fail now."

Looking at the rest of SEES, Ozpin and Glynda could see the same confidence and conviction in their eyes. Even Ken, who they had been hesitant to accept due to his age, showed a determination that they knew many of the initiates lacked at that age, or even when they entered Beacon. _'Clearly their experiences have done nothing but harden their determination, rather than break their wills. Whether or not they pass, they will certainly achieve great things.'_

"Then I suppose there's nothing left to say on that matter," Ozpin replied after a brief pause, tilting the coffee mug up for another sip.

Once SEES had finished filling in their forms and returning them to Glynda, Ozpin then addressed the next issue. "Now, I'm sure Ms. Elizabeth has informed you, but I will ask again. Mr. Amada." Ken perked up and looked to the Headmaster upon hearing his name. "Are you certain you wish to enter Beacon Academy?"

"Yes," Ken responded with a resolute nod, barely taking any time to think about the question.

"You seem quite certain," commented the Headmaster. "Most children your age would be just beginning their formal training at a combat school. And even then, many of them choose not to be huntsmen, sometimes even dropping out before they graduate. And yet here you are, five years younger than any other applicant and attempting to gain entry into the most well-known Huntsman academy in Remnant."

"It's because there's something I need to do," came another resolute response.

"And is it something that cannot wait?" Ozpin pushed on, wanting to know just what it was that drove the young boy. "Is it so urgent that you would skip five years ahead of those your age?"

"It's not so much that it's urgent." His response surprised Ozpin. Ken then glanced at the rest of SEES before turning to the Headmaster once more. "It's just something that I need to do with my friends. If it means skipping ahead, then I'll work as hard as I have to so I can attend with them."

That was not what Ozpin had been expecting. And judging by the look on Glynda's face, neither had she. SEES, on the other hand, did not seem surprised and barely reacted to the boy's words. Although Junpei had taken to placing his hand on top of Ken's head and messing up his hair while teasing him.

' _I had expected him to want revenge on the Grimm for the loss of his home and family, or perhaps a strong desire to hunt them down to prevent another tragedy from occurring,'_ he thought, watching the boy interact with the teasing young man. _'I see no hint of such dark desires within him. Or even a rush to become strong. Simply a want to remain with his friends while he works towards his goal. Interesting.'_

"Well," he spoke with a nod, "If you are so determined I suppose there is little I can do to stop you. While it is not something normally done, it would be hypocritical of me to turn you away due to your age when I personally invited and accepted a fifteen year old girl just yesterday."

"Headmaster?" Glynda asked.

Ozpin nodded, letting his deputy know that he was certain about his decision. "Now then, I believe there is still the issue of your lack of Scrolls." He opened one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a white object that looked vaguely like a small tongue depressor and placed it on the desk close to Mitsuru. "For now you can borrow a spare Scroll that I keep in case of emergencies. After the initiation, or perhaps the day after, either Glynda or myself will accompany you into Vale to help you purchase your own."

Mitsuru picked up the Scroll and then turned in her seat to offer it to Aigis without even looking at it. "Here Aigis. You're the only one who's read about them so I believe you should hold on to it for us. Between you and Fuuka, I'm sure you'll figure out its functions in no time."

Aigis nodded wordlessly and took the proffered device. It was small, only as long as a finger and just barely wider than two of her fingers. Unlike the communication devices she was used to, this one did not have a visible keypad or screen. That was to be expected. Remembering what she had read about it, she pressed the yellow diamond in the middle of the device.

The moment she did, the white casing slid open and revealed a touch-sensitive panel that appeared to be made of light. Looking at it now, it was more reminiscent of the smartphones that were just beginning to grow in popularity in their time. There were several icons on screen, labeled to be self-explanatory such as 'Mail', 'Contacts', 'Call', and 'Search'.

"It's a fairly old model," Ozpin explained as he watched Aigis explore some of the Scroll's features. "Not as sophisticated and useful as those most people use now but it should suffice for the next day or two should we need to contact you."

"Thank you," said Aigis, shutting the scroll and placing it in her pocket for the moment.

"Now, I believe that was all I needed to speak to you about. Is there anything you would like to ask?"

"A few things, yes," began Mitsuru. "First is about the school fees."

Ozpin frowned a bit when he heard those but the raised eyebrow showed his confusion. "Since you are asking I'm assuming Ms. Elizabeth did not tell you."

"Tell us what?" Now it was Mitsuru's turn to be confused.

"On her… second visit, I believe, she inquired about the same thing. Even though I told her that it may be better to wait and see how many of you pass the initiation, she insisted on paying your all school fees for the next four years."

"She… what?" Now every member of SEES was confused, some of them turning to one another to ask questions.

Ozpin simply nodded, confirming his own words. "She paid for all eight of you up front. She must be quite confident in your abilities if she is willing to do so. Since she did not give me a choice, I set up an account using that money to pay for your schooling. The money will be transferred to Beacon's account every year. That way if any of you should fail, whether tomorrow or in the future, the excess can be returned to you."

It took the group a moment to process the Headmaster's words but Mitsuru simply smiled with confidence once more, a look that the Headmaster was beginning to suspect was normal for her. "I will have to thank her the next time we see her. Though, just as we have every intention of passing tomorrow's initiation, we also have every intention of graduating from Beacon without fail."

Again, there was that look in their eyes. That look that said they can and will do anything they claim to do, that nothing they encounter can stop them from achieving their goals.

"We'll just have to see then, won't we?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

"The second," continued Mitsuru, "Has something to do with what Ms. Goodwitch mentioned earlier."

"You mean, about the AI?" asked Glynda, to which Mitsuru nodded. "What would you like to ask? Though please note that neither the Headmaster nor myself are well-versed in such things."

"It has less to do with the AI itself and more on the level of technology in Remnant." Mitsuru paused, and Glynda noticed the same hesitance she noted when the issue was brought up earlier. "Aigis," began the red-haired teen, confirming Glynda's suspicions that the blonde had some connection to the issue. "Please show them."

"Are you certain, Mitsuru-san?" Aigis asked, although she did stand and step closer to the desk, keeping her face turned to face Mitsuru the entire time. At the former heiress's nod, Aigis faced the Headmaster, one hand undoing the ribbon around her neck and pulling it away. "Please, do not be alarmed. I merely wish to show you something."

Both Ozpin and Glynda wondered why she gave them a warning but froze when the blonde's fingers went to the buttons of her jacket and began undoing them as well. Aigis had gotten more than halfway down by the time Glynda recovered from the shock. "Ms. Arisato!" she yelled, her voice coming out louder than intended due to her shock, especially once Aigis finished unbuttoning the jacket, revealing snow white skin. "What do you think… you're…"

Glynda never finished her sentence, her voice trailing off as Aigis pulled off her jacket. What Glynda had initially thought was the blonde's skin was now revealed to be something else, something clearly not skin. But what caught her attention were Aigis's arms.

The girl's shoulders were completely and clearly mechanical while the arms, starting roughly midway down the upper arm, was covered in a white material, most likely to cover the mechanical parts. Her wrist had a thick covering of metal wrapped around it and the tips of her fingers were gray, unlike the white of the rest of her hand. Moreover, the way her shoulder was attached to her body was unlike any prosthetic she had ever seen before. Unless she was mistaken, the girl was completely mechanical.

"As you can see," Aigis began to speak, almost as though what she had revealed as completely normal. Which, to her, would be considered normal. "I am completely mechanical."

Glynda belatedly realized that Aigis had also taken off her skirt and boots at some point. The removal of her skirt revealed that her upper thighs had a similar design to her shoulders while the lower half of her thighs down to her feet were, like her arm, covered in a white material. She then noticed Aigis's feet, or the lack of it. The end of her legs, gray much like her finger tips, were completely cylindrical but flared out slightly towards the front near the end. If she were being completely honest, the first image that popped into her mind were hooves.

"Astounding," they heard the Headmaster breathe out. "And I assume this is why you brought this up after hearing about our AIs?" Behind Aigis, Mitsuru nodded. "I see."

"We felt it was best to conceal Aigis's true nature since we were uncertain of how well she would be accepted," explained Mitsuru. "But we did agree that, if we felt you could be trusted, we would inform you of the truth."

"Well, I certainly feel honored that you decided to trust me with this. You are not the first to come to this school bearing secrets, but I assure you that, unless it becomes absolutely necessary, I will not divulge your secret without seeking your permission first." The leader of SEES nodded her thanks as Ozpin returned his attention to Aigis.

"Still, this is quite amazing. I believe I heard that the Atlas Military was attempting to develop androids with the capacity to use Aura. On that note, _are_ you capable of generating an Aura?" For more than a few reasons, Ozpin was disappointed when Aigis shook her head. "A shame. Since she is the only one you brought here with you, does it mean that there are no others?"

Mitsuru shook her head. "Aigis is the last of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, androids built for the sole purpose of eliminating Shadows, what you call the Grimm. The rest were destroyed in an incident over ten years ago. Even Aigis herself sustained heavy damage at that time. She only reactivated last year in fact."

' _She?'_ Ozpin had noticed that Mitsuru never once referred to Aigis as an object. True, it may have something to do with her female appearance. Not even Atlas's androids had such clear gender-defining features beyond the roughly masculine physical appearance, or even an actual face for that matter. Still, the way Aigis was addressed was quite telling.

"Well, so long as she can play the part of a student I see no reason to deny her entry." Glynda glanced at Ozpin questioningly at his decision but didn't say anything. "Though I do believe it would be quite unfair to the students if she were to be given a proper rank in terms of academics."

"That should not pose a problem," said Aigis, drawing interest from the two staff members. "Contrary to what you may believe, I am incapable of assimilating knowledge in the same manner that an AI would. As such, it is still necessary for me to study like everybody else."

The two teachers looked at one another, slightly surprised by that piece of information. In some ways, that made Aigis even more advanced than any other AI. AIs that could learn just by being given the knowledge were common. Incredibly so. But an AI programmed to replicate the human learning system? Even with their limited understanding of programming, it was obvious to them that setting such a limitation on what was essentially a living computer was much more difficult that allowing it to use its full processing power to learn.

Eventually, Ozpin smiled and said, "Then I suppose we shall see how you rank alongside your future classmates."

"Thank you, Headmaster. And as to the third thing…" Mitsuru paused and the two teachers were curious as to what _other_ issue they had to discuss that could cause her to pause like that. "Well, it concerns Koromaru."

' _Koromaru?'_ thought Ozpin, not noticing the curious look Glynda sent the dog even as he looked down at the admission papers, more specifically the names listed. _'I don't recall there being a Koromaru here.'_

At that moment he heard a loud, lively bark. Looking up from his desk, he saw that Aigis had stepped behind the group to put on her clothing again. Standing, or rather sitting, in her place in front of his desk was a white dog, looking up at him with expectant, red eyes. Shifting his gaze from the dog to Mitsuru, he only asked one thing. "Koromaru?"

"Koromaru," she replied with a nod. "We have nowhere to place him while attending the school so we were wondering if he could stay with us here. We will, of course, take full responsibility should he cause any trouble. Though that is highly unlikely."

"Unfortunately, Ms. Kirijo, we do not allow pets at Beacon," Glynda replied.

"Very well," Ozpin replied at the same time, causing Glynda to turn to him with a glare. "I'll have it noted that he will be allowed into your dorms and only the dorms. If he is to accompany you into the other facilities you will need to bring up the matter with Glynda or myself before doing so. And, as you said, we will expect you to take responsibility for any incidents he causes."

"Again, you have our thanks, Headmaster." This time, Mitsuru bowed while in her seat, the others behind her following suit.

"Will that be all then?"

"I believe so," she replied, but looked back to the rest of her group just in case only to receive shakes of their heads, indicating that they had no issue they needed to bring up.

"Well then, I suggest you take this time to get settled in, perhaps explore Beacon or visit the armory. As Glynda has mentioned already, many of our facilities will be open to the initiates so you can prepare for the initiation tomorrow."

"Thank you, we'll be sure to visit the facilities once we've secured our belongings."

As one, the group of eight rose from their seats, offered the two teachers another bow and a chorus of 'thank you's' before leaving. Once they were notified that the elevator had begun its decent, Glynda turned to the Headmaster. "Ozpin, are you sure about bending, and even outright breaking, so many rules for them? Certainly, I do feel sorry that they lost so much and are now in a completely foreign world, but is this all really necessary?"

Instead of responding, Ozpin turned to the computer on his desk and began typing in commands on the console. "Do you not find it strange?"

"Which part, precisely?"

"All of it," he answered just as a map of Remnant appeared on the screen. Then numerous black lines appeared. All of them started at one major city or another, moved over the sea, then returned. Others simply went on towards the end of the map, never turning back. "They, or rather Elizabeth, claimed that they come from an island far off the east coast of Mistral. And yet, many expeditions have set out in the past. Most went to seek out more land, a few thought to seek out the source of the Grimm, if it was even possible to find it. Many such expeditions have traveled east from Mistral. And though not all of them returned, not one of those that did have ever reported seeing another island in that direction, even from a distance."

"Perhaps one of those that went missing found it and were unable to return," offered Glynda. "They did mention earlier that our language was not unknown to them. That could have been how they learned about it."

"Perhaps. But the timing of it all is simply too much of a coincidence." The map disappeared and was replaced by a list of dates, beginning from roughly seven months ago. "Did you notice that Elizabeth first visited us several days after Amber was brought into our care?"

Glynda's eyes narrowed, immediately understanding Ozpin's line of thought. "You don't think…"

"That she and these children are related to that event?" He finished her sentence, receiving a nod in return. "I do not know for certain. It could be mere coincidence, or it could be that they are responsible for her current state, or simply just agents of the one who is."

"Would that no be too obvious though?" she asked him. "By claiming to be from somewhere previously unknown, they only bring unnecessary attention to themselves. They would not be able to act, to search for Amber, if people pay too much attention to them."

"And what if that was precisely their role?" he asked in return. "To draw attention, to play the obvious spy, while someone else slips by unnoticed. Either way, we will need to keep an eye on them. Even if they have nothing to do with Amber's condition, they are still hiding something."

"What makes you so certain?"

Wordlessly, he gestured to the screen and Glynda watched as a recording played, beginning with her and the Iwatodai group entering the room. She knew better than to ask. She simply watched to try and see what it was Ozpin had seen. And when the group finally stood and left, she saw it. Or rather, she didn't see it.

"That's right," Ozpin began when he saw her eyes narrow in thought then open in realization. "Somehow, someone hacked into the system and managed to erase the footage of Ms. Arisato revealing her secret."

"But how can that be?" asked Glynda, an incredulous expression on her face. "Security for your office is only accessible through this computer alone. How could they have done that?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot say. Though I suspect Ms. Arisato may be capable of it considering she is an android. Though there is still the possibility that she was the only one they decided to reveal to us, and that one of the others is an android as well, a more advanced one with a more human appearance. After all, Atlas has already delved into researching the possibility of robots capable of generating an Aura. Who's to say nobody else has done the same? Or even taken such research further."

Glynda watched Ozpin's face, seeing the way his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly in thought, eyes watching the recording as it played again despite the missing scene. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Ozpin nodded. "It may potentially be the most incriminating evidence I have at the moment, even if I have no way of being certain just yet. When she first came to us, Elizabeth mentioned that there were only eight survivors… and one Shadow."

"A Shadow? But didn't Ms. Kirijo say that Shadows-"

The Headmaster nodded once more, his eyes never once leaving the screen. "Are what we call Grimm, yes. Elizabeth did not strike me as someone to make such a careless mistake. So either she mentioned this Shadow on purpose, or she did not expect the children to mention that little detail to us."

"Perhaps she simply meant that the Grimm responsible was still alive?" Even to Glynda's ears her words sounded weak. And so it came as no surprise when Ozpin disregarded her statement completely.

"What worries me is that, if we include Koromaru, there are nine of them here. Eight survivors, which may or may not include Koromaru, and one Shadow. One Grimm."

"And yet they look human. Even Ms. Arisato looked human when she is properly clothed."

"And that," he began, eyes watching the recording as it looped back to the beginning once more, "Is what worries me."

* * *

Night had finally come to Beacon. And high above them sat a full moon, the only time the moon hid its shattered form.

It had been quite a shock when SEES had first seen Remnant's shattered moon when they left the safety of the Iwatodai Dormitory for the first time. None of them could make any sense of it. How did it happen? Who or what caused it? How has it affected the world? Why were the fragments still orbiting the Earth?

Some were answered, such as the how and who. But neither Elizabeth nor Ryoji knew enough to answer the rest. It was strange to think that, due to his actions, Minato had shattered the moon. The moon had been Nyx's true form during the Dark Hour. So when it merged with the moon of the real world, it shattered. No one knew for certain why, of all the possibilities, it had shattered.

And now, for the first time since leaving the dorm yesterday morning, they could finally look up and see the same sky as they had always seen without worrying about being attacked by Grimm.

"Am I the only one still getting kinda twitchy here?"

"Probably not. It's the full moon after all."

"I think we all still feel a little bit on edge when the full moon comes even though we've been here for seven months already."

"Yeah, I thought so."

Currently the quartet consisting of Junpei, Yukari, Fuuka, and Chidori were outside the ballroom where many of their fellow initiates were beginning to get settled in for the night. The four were lying on the grass, forming a cross with their heads towards the center, all still wearing the clothes they had been wearing earlier, and their focus entirely on the sky above them.

"Man, looking up at the sky like this almost makes everything else feel like a dream, y'know?" said Junpei, his voice soft, almost breathy.

"I… think I do," replied Yukari. "It doesn't look that different. Lying here… it's almost like… we're still home."

"If only that were true," Fuuka added with a sigh. "You know, I've only just realized that we've been so busy these past months that I've barely had time to think about it all."

"Does that mean you're thinking about it now?" asked Chidori.

"Heh, I think we're all thinking about it now," Junpei admitted with a short chuckle. But soon after his face turned serious, somber. "Been thinking about what must have happened after Minato put us to sleep. 'Bout Kenji, Kaz, and all the other kids at school." A bitter chuckle escaped his lips. "Even been thinking about my dad."

"Your dad huh? You mentioned that he was your only family left before everything," commented Yukari.

"Tsk… guy's nothing but a lousy drunk," he replied, his derisive tone shocking Yukari. "But you know," he continued in a softer tone, "He was getting better at the end. Even got to talk a couple of times. Last time we spoke was around New Year's so I can't really stop thinking about what might've happened to him. Or how he might've... you know."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about my mom actually," said the brown-haired girl. "I mean, we haven't been on good terms for years but we were planning to meet up once school ended to talk things through. But now…"

Yukari just sighed and shut her eyes, not wanting to finish that line of thought. Nobody spoke for a while. The four teens simply laid on the grass, lost in their own thoughts. That is, until they heard a loud voice coming closer.

"-me on Ren! You're too slow!" Someone shouted, the voice clearly female.

"I was getting ready to sleep Nora," replied another voice, this one male.

"But it's too early. Besides, the moon's full tonight. Doesn't it look beautiful? It looks just like a pancake."

' _Pancake?'_ The four persona-users couldn't help but glance at each other, despite the difficulty of doing so in their position. One look was enough to convey to each other that they were wondering the same thing. _'Why a pancake?'_

"Oooh, lookie Ren, there's somebody else here."

The sound of rushing footsteps came closer to their location, another set following at a slower pace. "Nora," the boy called out to the girl, his voice clearly tired. Whether from running or from dealing with the girl they couldn't say. "Don't disturb them."

The girl didn't seem to have heard him, or possibly just ignored him, as Nora was already standing beside their heads, looking down on them with a beaming smile. "Hi there," she greeted cheerfully. "I'm Nora, and that's Ren. Mind if we join you?"

Asides from her honest grin and wide expectant eyes, the first thing they noticed was her orange hair and green eyes, both bright and vibrant like her personality seemed to be. Again, the four persona-users glanced at each other. Three of them just shrugged at the others while one just had a flat look on her face that clearly said 'no'.

"Sure, why not?" said Junpei.

"The more the merrier I guess," said Yukari.

"I don't mind," said Fuuka.

Chidori just sighed, resigned to having the loudmouthed girl joining them, even as the other three adjusted their positions to make space for the two new arrivals.

"Yay!" cheered Nora, throwing her hands up into the air before turning around to face Ren. "Come on Ren, they said we can join them. Hurry up lazy butt!"

"I'm coming Nora, just calm down," Ren replied patiently. Clearly he was used to dealing with his friend already. Once he reached the group, Nora immediately lay on the ground next to Fuuka while Ren lay on the spot between Nora and Junpei. "Sorry about this," he said to Junpei. Already Nora was chatting with Fuuka, the words flying out of her mouth faster than an automatic rifle and definitely faster than the teal-haired girl could follow. "I hope we're not a bother."

"It's cool," responded Junpei, taking in the boy's features. Black hair roughly chin to shoulder length with a colored streak of hair that matched his eyes, a somewhat lighter shade of purple that Junpei couldn't name. There was a small but friendly smile on his face that was a tad apologetic, most likely because of Nora.

In addition, Junpei couldn't help but notice the Asian features on the boy. While the countries they once knew of no longer existed, it was somewhat calming to see that there were those like Ren who had clearly descended from an Asian family. It at least made Junpei feel less like he was talking to a foreigner, even though Ren spoke fluent, unaccented English unlike their slightly accented English. "Besides, if we didn't want anyone joining in Yukaricchi'll definitely let 'em know."

"You wanna say that again Junpei?"

Despite not knowing the girl, Ren could tell that she would have been glaring at the boy beside him. Junpei, however, just laughed. "Anyway, I'm Junpei. Nice to meet ya."

"Ren. Nice to meet you too."

"Beside me's Chidori," Junpei continued, the aforementioned girl humming in response from Junpei's right. "Next up's Yukari, and Fuuka's beside your friend."

"Hey Ren, I'm hungry" Nora suddenly said, surprising Fuuka with the sudden switch in topic from sloths. "Can we go get pancakes?"

Ren just sighed. And around him, the four persona-users wondered just what they'd gotten into.

* * *

Inside the ballroom, Mitsuru and Akihiko were searching for a spot for their group to settle down in. Already, many students had laid down sleeping bags, claiming a place to rest for their own. While they didn't have any problems with splitting up the group, such as when they explored the campus earlier, it went without saying that they would rather be close to one another for a variety of reasons. Especially tonight.

Thankfully, despite the large number of students already in the room, it didn't take them long to find an area large enough for eight people. Moving quickly, Akihiko made his way there, several sleeping bags hanging over his shoulder. Without further delay, he set them down on the open space by the wall, setting up the four sleeping bags they were given for the night to mark off the area while they waited for Aigis and Ken to bring the other four.

"You didn't have to carry all four Akihiko," Mitsuru said as she approached.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it," he said, waving off Mitsuru's comment. A quick glance at his friend, though, showed that, unlike him, she wasn't fine. He had known her long enough that he could recognize when she was feeling uncomfortable. And her tense posture, nearly unnoticeable save for the most observant and those familiar with her, along with the way her eyes darted around the room despite the calm look on her face were definitely signs of her lack of comfort. And he could guess why.

Unlike the other four outside, both she and Akihiko had changed into more comfortable clothing. Akihiko wore a plain white shirt and loose black drawstring pants. Mitsuru, on the other hand, was wearing red, silk pajamas. Anyone could have seen the quality of her clothing with just a glance.

But even though her clothing covered more of her body than Akihiko's did, she still looked uncomfortable, especially when she noticed a few people staring, both boys and girls. Though the fact that it was sleepwear, something usually seen only by family and intimates, most likely had the most to contribute to her discomfort.

When the team found out that they would be sleeping with the other initiates in the same room, all of them had voiced their complaints, though only to each other. Considering Japan's culture, nobody was surprised. While times have changed, many things still remained the same, their more conservative beliefs being one of them to some degree.

Having the male initiates in one room while the females in another was one thing. But all in the same room? Even Junpei, surprisingly, voice his discomfort with such an arrangement.

The only two who had differing opinions, in some way, were Aigis and Chidori. Aigis's complaint had more to do with the visibility of her mechanical limbs, her feet especially. Despite the length of her 'sleepwear' it was incapable of hiding her lack of feet.

Chidori's opinion, on the other hand, was debatable since half of her didn't care while the other half clearly did. And it certainly made for an amusing distraction when she tried to put her contrasting feeling to words. Her personality wasn't as… disunited as it used to be, but she mentioned on more than one occasion that she would often find herself having two different opinions on the same thing. Such times were happening less and less as she came to a compromise with herself, but it still happened.

In the end, they had little choice. Unfortunately for Mitsuru, her upbringing made her feel far less comfortable with the situation than the others. Especially since she would be in her nightclothes. In fact, hers covered more of her body than anyone else's and yet she was still the most uncomfortable of them all.

"Don't worry Mitsuru," he began, drawing her attention. He sat down on one of the sleeping bags, leaning his back against the wall. "It's just for one night. We'll probably have our dorm rooms by tomorrow once we pass the test."

"I know," she replied, some of her anxiety bleeding out as she sat beside Akihiko, folding her legs beneath her. "I'm just not comfortable with this situation. And while I'd still be uncomfortable with it to some degree, even just sharing a room with the rest of SEES would be infinitely better. Still, I'm surprised you're alright with this."

"I'm not," he admitted with a small smile, surprising Mitsuru. "Though unlike you it's not that I don't like being seen like this. I did grow up in an orphanage after all so I'm a bit used to having to share a room with others. It's mostly the fact that I'm sleeping in a room with girls our age. That and I'm just not comfortable with what the girls around here are wearing."

Glancing around, Mitsuru spotted a well-developed girl with long, slightly messy, waist-length blonde hair. She was wearing an orange tank top that showed a hint of her cleavage and part of her midriff, and short black shorts that were just a step more decent than wearing just underwear.

Mitsuru blushed, somehow feeling the shame that the girl didn't seem to feel at wearing such revealing clothing amongst strangers. "I uh… see what you mean," she managed to say. A glance at Akihiko showed that he was carefully keeping his gaze aimed at the floor, something she felt was a good idea.

All of a sudden, there came a sing-song voice from in front of them. "Hee~llooooo~!"

Both of them looked up and Akihiko immediately looked back down, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. Walking towards their direction was the same blonde girl that Mitsuru, and no doubt Akihiko, had seen earlier. She was pulling another girl along by the hand, clearly against her will. This girl was shorter and had short, chin length black hair that turned red towards the tips. Her choice of clothing was a bit more conservative, a black tank top with a heart shaped design in the middle and white pants with roses printed on them. Looking closely, Mitsuru felt that the girl looked familiar.

The blonde stopped in front of them but was looking at the person situated beside them. "I believe you two may… know each other?"

Glancing to her right, Mitsuru spotted another familiar looking girl, this one with long black-hair. Though what caught her attention more was the girl's clothing. It was hard to see since the girl was sitting and she was looking at it from the side, but it looked vaguely Japanese. A yukata perhaps or at least something with a similar design.

The black-haired girl lowered the book she was reading slight upon being addressed. Glancing at the two standing in front of her, her gaze landed on the girl that the blonde had dragged with her. Recognition flashed through her eyes. "Aren't you that girl that exploded?" she asked bluntly.

' _At least that confirms it,'_ thought Mitsuru, knowing now for certain who the two girls were. Although she still didn't know their names. She probably should have asked them earlier. As it was, she only knew the white-haired girl's name and only because the girl beside them gave out the name.

"Uh… yeah," the girl responded, leaning forward and stretching a hand out to the other girl. "My name's Ruby." Instead of shaking the hand, the black-haired girl simply returned to her book. Seeing this, the girl, Ruby, pulled back, a hint of dejection on her face. "But you can just call me… er…" she paused, smiling nervously. "Well… just call me Ruby."

The girl simply continued to read her book. Not ever bothering to glance up at the two in front of her. "Okay."

Counting their first meeting that morning, Mitsuru could safely say that the black-haired girl could certainly use a lesson on manners. The way she had outright badmouthed that white-haired girl's family's company along with the way she had just snubbed the girl just now definitely did not earn her points in Mitsuru's eyes. And glancing at Akihiko, who was watching the situation out of the corner of his eyes, she could tell that he felt the same way.

"So," the blonde began to say. "What's your name?"

Then again, Mitsuru couldn't say that the blonde was that much better. It was clear from the start that it was her idea to approach the black-haired girl. And even if she had good intentions, perhaps she should have known when to back down rather than charging on ahead. Especially when she was clearly aware that the other girl did not want to converse with them.

"Blake," replied the girl, barely sparing the blonde an upward glance.

"Well Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister," she said, filled with confidence. Or would that be bravado? Mitsuru could clearly see the nervous, uncertain smile on Ruby's face. "I like your bow."

"Thanks." And she could now hear a hint of irritation in Blake's tone.

"It goes well with you're… uh… pajamas."

"Rrright."

The siblings glanced at each other nervously, making Mitsuru wonder why it was exactly that they had approached Blake in the first place.

After an awkward pause, Yang seems to have found her voice again. "Nice night don't you think."

Beside her, Mitsuru heard Akihiko lightly palm his face while groaning as though in pain. She could certainly understand why.

"Yes, it is. It's lovely," Blake responded with a slightly strained tone as she looked up from her book. "Almost as lovely as this book." She paused, looking up at the sisters meaningfully, who continued to grin nervously. "That I will continue to read." Another pause. "As soon as you leave." This time she didn't bother to hide her frown.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause," Yang declared, facing Ruby.

Mitsuru wondered whether she realized her own fault in that situation.

"What's it about?" Ruby asked, still facing Blake. The former heiress couldn't help but notice that Ruby's tone was decidedly less nervous.

Blake looked up, surprised by the question. "Huh?"

"Your book," clarified Ruby. "Does it have a name?"

"W-Well, it's about a man with two souls," was Blake's answer, her tone less hostile. "Each fighting for control over his body."

"Oh yeah, that's… real lovely," Yang said unconvincingly.

"I love books," Ruby said with a small smile. "Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories with heroes, monsters… They're one of the reasons I wanna be a Huntress."

"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"I'm hoping we all will." Mitsuru was surprised by the honest sincerity in the girl's tone. "As a girl… I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right and protected people who couldn't protect themselves."

"That's very ambitious for a child," responded Blake, a small smile on her face. But her face grew dispirited and was matched by her tone. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

Ruby, however, didn't seem affected by Blake's pessimistic view. "Well that's why we're here. To make it better."

Glancing at Akihiko, Mitsuru found a small smile on his face, one that mirrored the one on hers.

"Aw, I'm so proud of my baby sister," Yang announced, wrapping up the shorter girl in a hug and lifting her off the ground.

Ruby growled and said, "Cut it out." Then, much to their surprise, she cocked an arm back and punched Yang in the face.

The smiles on their faces were replaced by looks of disbelief as they watched the two siblings begin to fight.

"Well, Ruby, Yang," Blake began, watching the fight as well. "It's-"

"What in the world is going on over here?!" shouted another girl as she approached the fighting siblings. "Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Glancing up, Mitsuru recognized the third girl from earlier. Only instead of her white dress, she was now wearing a faded blue, short-sleeved nightgown that reached to mid-thigh. And rather than the off-centered ponytail, her hair was loose.

"OH NOT YOU AGAIN!" both the girl, Weiss Schnee if Mitsuru remembered correctly, and Yang yelled at the same time, glaring at one another.

Between them, Ruby jumped at the shout. "Shhh, guy's she's right," she urged them both in a softer tone. "People are trying to sleep."

"Oh, _now_ you're on my side," came Weiss's mocking tone.

"I was always on your side," Ruby defended.

"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister?" Yang joined in.

"She's a hazard to my health."

"Perhaps you should all simply agree to disagree and let the matter, and us, rest?"

The voice that interjected spoke no louder than a conversational tone. And yet, both Weiss and Ruby froze, startling and confusing Yang at how quickly they seemed to snap to attention. Glancing at the speaker, even Yang found herself freezing at the cold look directed towards her. And beside Mitsuru, Blake froze as well despite not being in Mitsuru's line of sight. Mitsuru's presence was no less prominent now that she had chosen to let it be felt, even while sitting with her legs folded beneath her.

Beside the former heiress, Akihiko had to hold in his laughter. It was always funny to see someone else being subject to Mitsuru's glares. He remembered the girls they met that morning and how quick they were to behave. And that had just been through Mitsuru's tone of voice and her posture. Now though, they had to contend with Mitsuru's pre-execution glares on top of everything else. Of course, he knew that this was as far as she was going to take it.

The girls' argument was annoying, true, and some definitely did not behave in a manner that Mitsuru would have found acceptable. But in the end, she knew that it was not her place to punish them or correct their behavior. That didn't mean she couldn't give them a little scare though and hope that they corrected their behavior themselves.

"Excuse me. Coming through."

Unfortunately for their amusement, and fortunately for the girls, someone broke the spell. Stepping around the two siblings, Ken came into view, wearing an orange shirt and brown shorts. What caught everyone's attention the most was how he was struggling to carry four sleeping bags with his small frame.

"Ken?" Akihiko shot to his feet, relieving Ken of his burden. "What happened? I thought Aigis was going to help you with this. Is she alright?"

"Everything's fine, Akihiko-senpai," Ken began, looking up to face Akihiko while replying calmly. "Aigis just had a problem with her boots so she sent me on ahead. She also said she was going to take Koromaru for a quick walk around campus for a while since there's still a bit of time."

"I see," he replied despite not really understanding. While thinking, he moved to slowly set the sleeping bags down on the floor. It took a moment for Akihiko to understand what Ken had really wanted to say but couldn't due to the lack of privacy. "Well, as long as everything's fine," he said, to which Ken nodded back, confirming that Aigis didn't need their help at the moment.

"Um…" Ken and Akihiko looked to the side and were met by the girls with uncertain looks on their faces. "Aren't you… a little too young to be here?" asked Yang.

"And your sister isn't?" Weiss retorted despite not being the one Yang had addressed.

"Hey, don't start you two," said Akihiko, quickly intervening before the two started up again.

"But she-"

"Hey," he interjected, his tone firm. "Calm. Down." He gave them both stern looks, alternating between the two, as though daring them to try anything. He wasn't like Mitsuru whose very presence could affect people, but he was used to dealing with rowdy, uncooperative children from his time at the orphanage before the fire claimed it.

He hadn't been that much older than the other kids but it had given him a little experience dealing with those younger than himself. True, Yang and Weiss weren't that much younger than him, only two years if he wasn't mistaken, but the way they were acting were similar enough. Cut them off firmly before they could build up momentum to argue and they'll stop trying and just listen.

Once he was certain that neither was going to start anything, he turned to Yang. "To answer your question, yes he is." It was a credit to Ken's understanding that he did not react negatively at that statement as he began to unroll the sleeping bags on the floor while being directed by Mitsuru. "But the Headmaster allowed it. That should be enough."

"Oh, so I'm not the youngest one here then," said Ruby. She, Yang, and Weiss watched Ken work while speaking with Mitsuru about something.

"Obviously not but I wouldn't suggest looking down on Ken just because he's young or treating him like a kid who needs to be taken care of." Akihiko's words caught the three of them off guard, surprised that he picked up on some of their thoughts. The silver-haired boxer saw the looks they were giving him but just shook his head, choosing not to answer the unspoken query.

"Yo, Akihiko-senpai, what's whoa…" Akihiko and the girls, including Blake, turned at the sound of the voice. Standing there were Junpei, Chidori, Yukari, and Fuuka, all of them now wearing their sleepwear of choice.

Junpei had changed into a black tank top and shorts. Yukari was wearing a pink tank top and white shorts, looking clearly uncomfortable showing as much skin amongst strangers. Of the members of SEES, she was the least covered up due to the lack of other sleepwear. Fuuka was wearing a pale green nightgown, similar to what the white-haired girl, Weiss, was wearing. And Chidori… Akihiko blinked. Chidori hadn't changed her clothes at all. The only thing that had changed was the lack of hair accessories and shoes.

"What's with the air here?" asked Junpei as they finished their approach. "We miss something?"

"Nothing much," Akihiko replied. The four girls were quick to notice the change in his tone and demeanor when he spoke to Junpei. Though it had just been a greeting, a small smile graced Akihiko's lips and his body was less tense. "Just trying to settle an argument before it got worse."

"Wait, you kidding me? You had to stop a fight?"

For some reason, Junpei's words made the three girls feel a bit of shame. They were at Beacon to become Huntresses and there they were getting into an argument that could have been resolved peacefully. Even though Yang had not seen them like Ruby had, the way Ruby described them from that morning only highlighted the fact that she had not behaved as a proper Huntress would, in-training or not.

"Why'd you go and do that senpai? That would have been a hell of a catfight to watch."

And the shame was gone.

"Catfight?" Yukari turned on Junpei with a look of half-disgust and half-anger. "Seriously Stupei?"

"Whaddya expect Yukaricchi?" asked Junpei, looking as though he had done nothing wrong. "I'm a guy."

"Ugh, seriously? That's your excuse? And what about Chidori? Isn't she supposed to be your girlfriend?"

"I don't mind," came the unexpected reply from Chidori. Even Weiss, Blake, and the siblings turned to the red-haired girl in surprise. "It's not as if he's going to do anything but watch anyway."

"See that Yukaricchi?" Junpei crowed victoriously, wrapping an arm around Chidori's shoulders. "Chi-chan knows she can trust me. So it's fine."

"Don't call me that," Chidori muttered, a hint of red dusting her cheeks.

"It's one thing for her, but it's another for the rest of us Stupei," Yukari shot back, undeterred by Chidori's support of Junpei. She groaned in frustration. "Why do you have to be such a perv?"

"Hey, it's not like I'm touching or anything. I'm just the guy watching from the side," he replied casually before a leering grin appeared on his face. "Not my fault if they start tearing clothes off or anything like that."

"You… You are such a-"

"Alright, that's enough you two," Mitsuru cut in gently but firmly, a clear contrast to how she had gotten in between Yang and Weiss's argument. It simply drove home the point that she was friends with them despite how different they all seemed to be. "We have a long day tomorrow so I suggest we all get some rest." And then, turning to the girls who were watching them, she added, "That goes for you three as well. Try not to get into any more fights. At least, not here where we're all trying to sleep."

While her words weren't as harsh as earlier, none of them wanted to test her, especially not after seeing her when she was not in the best of moods. With a hastily called out goodnight, the three returned to their own sleeping beds to tuck in for the night.

The members of SEES climbed into their sleeping bags as well, heeding their leader's advice to rest. Beside the group, Blake, already nestled within the folds of her own sleeping bag, watched as the group of seven chatted amicably with one another even as they got ready to sleep for the night. There was still some bantering and a bit of playful roughhousing but someone, usually Mitsuru or Akihiko, always made sure to interrupt before it got too far or too loud.

She did wonder for a moment where the last member was. Hopefully she didn't bring the dog in with her. The last thing she needed was to not be able to sleep because it was nearby or worse, wake up with the dog right beside her.

When the lights were finally switched off, she watched as the group settled down as well. She could still hear some whispered conversations among them, however, and she felt a little bad for overhearing it, even if unintentionally. But as none of it sounded personal, she didn't let it bother her too much.

Soon the voices around her settled and nothing but the sound of even breaths and snores could be heard. With nothing left to disturb her, Blake shut her eyes to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day. And the beginning of her, and everyone else's, new life at Beacon.

* * *

 **And that the end of this chapter. Almost 24k words just to get through a single day in the story. And we're still just at the beginning.**

 **Anway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.**

 **As always, please let me know what you think about the story, the characters, the writing style, grammar, spelling, or anything at all. I love hearing what you guys think.**

 **Until next chapter everyone.**


	4. Ch 3 - Mass Self-Destruction

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Another extra-long chapter for you guys. 24k+ Words of sheer goodness. If this keeps up this might start becoming my normal chapter length. And it's all thanks to everyone who's reviewed and followed the story so far. Seeing everyone enjoying this story is simply inspiring.**

 **In fact, I was supposed to be working on the next chapter of my other story but I just couldn't. My mind just kept turning to the events of this chapter. So instead of wasting the inspiration, I decided to just update this instead. And I just kept typing, and typing, and typing, and typing… and before I knew it I had this.**

 **Even the anonymous review I got just yesterday which said, and I quote, "this fucking sucks dick go die", can't put me down after all the others. I actually find this kind of review funny. No substance, no explanation as to why the story "sucks", not even any creative remarks. And the thing is, they reviewed the previous chapter. So either they just skipped to the most recent chapter and sent that in without actually reading anything, or they read over 30K words and couldn't come up with anything more creative than that. It almost smells like envy in a way. XD**

 **Anyway, a couple of things about this coming chapter. We've got the entirety of the initiation day here so, as you already know, expect a long chapter. We've got a few friendship building scenes, though they don't necessarily point out who is teamed up with who.**

 **A reminder and a word of warning before we begin the chapter. Seven months have passed since SEES woke up in Remnant and have gone through seven months of intense training with Ryoji, Elizabeth, and her own collection of Personas. Moreover, they learned that everything they once had outside of SEES is now gone. So expect their behavior to be slightly different (maybe more than slightly as time passes). After all, anyone would change once they find out that their families and friends are long gone, and that the world they once knew is literally ancient history.**

 **The only upside is that SEES still have each other but even that won't be enough to completely patch up feelings of loss. So if SEES may seem OOC or different from how they were at the end of P3, just remember this. I'm giving this because while proofreading there were times, especially near the end of this chapter, that I had to remind myself of the same thing. That they have and will continue to change.**

 **Even for me the change is pretty abrupt since I skipped those seven months, meaning we won't get to see them as they change. Instead, we get to see them waking up the same as always, and then change into slightly different characters right after.**

 **As for RWBY characters, well, expect some of them to behave differently starting this chapter but still keeping close to their core canon personalities. The first of many major twists will be put into play here and will drastically affect their behavior. So just keep in mind that their behavior in the story is still based on their real personalities.**

 **I just had to mention this since I got two PMs after the last chapter regarding this. One said that Mitsuru wouldn't have joked around with Junpei like that, or even tolerate his comments at the end of the chapter. The other just felt like they were different. I've already cleared it up with them but I wanted to throw this out here in case others had similar concerns.**

 **Anyway, here's the long awaited 'mass-suicide' chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – Mass Self-Destruction**

 **September 6, XX13**

Beacon Academy was abuzz with activity. Although classes have yet to officially begin, it did not change the fact that many students were moving about the campus. These students, however, were not students of Beacon Academy. Not yet. Rather, they were the prospective first-years, students from various combat schools all over Remnant, and even some who did not attend one, who came with hopes of being accepted into the prestigious school. And soon, these students, these children, would be taking their first step into Beacon.

In less than one hour, the Beacon Academy Initiation Exam would begin.

One could already see the signs of nervousness and anxiety settling in as the initiation drew closer with every passing minute. Pacing, nail-biting, quiet whispers and muttering, forgetfulness, stiff movements, and an overall tense posture were but some of the more common signs that could be seen from most of the initiates.

But here and there one could spot the more composed, the excited, and even the uncaring, for one reason or another. And while such things did not necessarily indicate skill, it at least reflected the level of training they had received or their level of discipline. Or in some cases, the experiences they have had in the past.

Two such individuals were in the school's locker room. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. The black-haired, green and white clad boy was calm, even considering his childhood friend was chattering away right beside him despite his lack of response. Most would have been amazed at his patience considering she had been talking non-stop since waking him up nearly two hours ago.

And contrary to his behavior, the orange-haired girl clad mainly in white and pink was bright and cheery to the point of being nearly overly exuberant. "No, no, can't bribe him. He owns the school. Don't really have anything that can top that. I know, how about we come up with some sort of signal? A secret signal. Ooh, a super-secret signal! Do you think you can imitate a sloth?"

"Nora?" he began, speaking to her for the first time since waking up.

"Yes Ren?" Her tone had calmed down significantly but Ren knew she simply pushed her excitement down to hear what he had to say.

"I don't think sloths make a lot of noise."

To anyone who might have been watching, the look on Nora's face could have been called disheartened, or at least just slightly discouraged. Ren knew otherwise thought. It wouldn't be long before… There it was.

"That's why it's perfect!" She practically squealed, excitement returning twofold. "Nobody will suspect a thing."

Ren chuckled, both at her response and at how easy it was to predict her actions. With a flick of his wrist, Stormflower, a pair of bladed automatic pistols, folded up into a more compact form and slid into his sleeves. "Come on Nora," he said, turning towards the exit. "Let's-"

"S'up Ren!" Only to turn the other way when someone greeted him. He had to stop halfway as an arm landed on his shoulders just before Junpei's grinning face came into view not far from his own. "S'up Nora!"

"Hey Junpei!" Nora greeted in kind, throwing her own arm around Junpei's shoulders. Unfortunately, the height difference of six or so inches made it difficult and awkward, forcing Junpei to bend down to accommodate her. And because Ren was slightly taller than Junpei, he was also forced to bend down. Anyone looking would have definitely been laughing their asses off at the strange sight. "You ready to break some legs?"

Despite only having spent an hour at most with Nora the previous night, Ren had to admit that Junpei had adjusted to her pretty quickly. Then again, he did seem to have quite the laidback attitude so it was no surprise that he'd adjusted quickly to Nora's own easygoing attitude.

Junpei just laughed at Nora's question, seemingly not bothered with being literally pulled down to her level. "Can't exactly break legs when I've got a sword," he said, jerking his head over his shoulder, presumably where his weapon was. Ren couldn't exactly see it from his position. "But hell yeah, I'm ready to kick some ass!" Junpei's response was just as enthusiastic as Nora's.

Ren could only smile and shake his head. Hopefully Junpei wouldn't be too shocked if and when he someday finds out just how serious Nora was with that question, even when it came to people. At least they seem to have made a friend in Junpei. The other three they had spent part of last night with were quite amiable as well, though Chidori's quiet nature contrasted with Nora's boisterous behavior so they probably wouldn't get along too well.

"Oh, friends of yours Junpei-san?"

Junpei took his arm off of Ren's shoulders, finally allowing Ren to straighten up once more as well as turn around to see who had spoken. Nora, however, wouldn't let go of Junpei. So instead, Junpei just turned around forcing Nora to swing around as well, placing her between Ren and Junpei.

Standing there was a young boy, most likely eleven or twelve years of age, with a spear taller than he was strapped to his back. Sharp eyes also caught what seemed to be a small firearm holstered slightly forward of his right hip. Looking over the rest of the boy, Ren immediately recognized the clothes he wore. A black blazer, white button-up shirt, a black ribbon tie, and black pants. More or less the same clothing he noticed Junpei wearing the night before.

A quick glance at the boy beside him confirmed this, though Junpei seems to have worn a blue dress shirt and a cap, of all things. The tie was also missing, giving him a more casual appearance than the boy in front of them.

"You betcha," Junpei replied without hesitation, adding to Ren's impression of his easygoing attitude. "This is Ken, one of the guys I came here with," he said to the two of them before introducing the two of them to him. "This here's Nora, and over there's Ren. Obviously they're gonna be taking the test with us today."

Ren nodded while Nora waved with the hand not wrapped around Junpei's shoulders, a large smile on her face. "I'm Ken Amada. It's nice to meet you both," he said, before surprising Ren, and even Nora, by greeting them with a formal looking bow.

But, never one to be shocked for very long, Nora was soon upon the poor boy, startling him by her sudden approach. And then, despite being only a few inches taller than he was, she picked up him by his underarms and lifted him up with an ease that startled both Ken and Junpei. "Ooooh, that was soooo cute!" She squealed in delight, holding him up like a little child. "Can we keep him Ren? Can we?" she asked over her shoulder before turning to face Ken. "Do you want us to keep you? Do you?"

Ken, still shocked by how easily she had picked him up, didn't even react to her request, a confused sound escaping his lips as he looked back and forth between the ground and the girl holding him. Behind her, Junpei was just recovering from his own shock as amusement took its place, laughter quickly bubbling up and escaping, not that he tried very hard to keep it in.

And beside him, Ren just shook his head with an exasperated smile. "No Nora, we can't. Besides which," he paused to look at Ken who was roughly eye-level with him now that Nora was holding him up. "No offense but aren't you…"

"Yes, yes I am," Ken replied, having already anticipated the question. Then again, quite a few people had already asked him that since waking up that morning, especially after breakfast when they decided to split up for a while.

In the past, each member of SEES had their own way of preparing themselves for a trip to Tartarus or a Full Moon Operation. Just because the situation was different didn't change that one little fact. Today's event just happened to be in a less morbid setting, but no less serious given what Fuuka had sensed in the forest nearby.

And if tradition held true, which everyone undoubtedly knew it would, SEES would gather half an hour before the exam began without fail. Which, unless Ken was mistaken, was in less than half an hour from that moment, probably a little more than a quarter of an hour.

At Ken's response, Ren just slightly raised an eyebrow but didn't question it further and simply nodded in acceptance. If the Headmaster was willing to let a twelve-year-old boy take the initiation then it wasn't really his place to question it. The fact that Junpei hadn't said anything against his presence made his own stance on the matter quite clear.

"Come on Nora," he urged her, placing a hand on the girl's arm. Even without words, the request was clear.

"Awww." Nora pouted as she put Ken down.

"You two wanna hang out with us for a while?" Junpei offered as he watched Ken slowly edge away from the orange-haired girl. "We're gonna be meeting the rest of our group in a while before we head to where they said the exam's gonna be. If you wanna anyway. It's gonna be along the way, not far from where we need to go."

"I don't mind," Ren responded, nodding his acceptance of the invitation as they started walking towards the exit.

"Well, I'm getting really pumped up already. Can't wait 'til we get to kick some ass," commented Junpei, Ken falling into step beside him.

"And break some legs!"

Junpei laughed. "That too!"

As they walked towards the exit, they walked past two girls. Yang Xiao Long and her younger half-sister Ruby Rose followed the quartet with their eyes as the made their own preparations for the day ahead. Once that was done, all they had to do was kill some time and head over to the initiation area.

"Looks like someone's pretty excited," commented Yang, to which Ruby just agreed.

Standing next to a bench, Yang had just finished checking over her weapons, Ember Celica, a pair of collapsible shotgun-gauntlets painted bright yellow like her hair. Sitting close to the other end of the bench was a short, slim girl with chin-length, teal-blue hair. Yang recognized the girl from last night, though only vaguely, when she and her friends arrived just as the red-haired girl seemed ready to scold them for being noisy. From what Yang had seen before the girl sat down, she seemed to be even shorter than Ruby. But what really caught the blonde's attention were the girl's weapons.

When not in use, Ember Celica took the form of a pair of bracelets, thick and only somewhat stylish, but bracelets nonetheless. When deployed, they extended towards her fist and covered most of her forearm as well to provide additional protection. The girl's weapons, on the other hand, were a pair of thick armguards with wide straps holding them to her forearm. Given the size, Yang was certain that what she was seeing was the weapon's smaller, compact form.

It was similar to Ember Celica's deployed form in many ways. It began just behind her knuckles and had a small barrel built into it, and reached all the way past her elbows, the elbows themselves covered by a V-shaped end. All in all, its compact form was longer than Ember Celica's full form. But since they were armguards they only covered the half of her arm facing outwards while Ember Celica were gauntlets, wrapping around her arm. Yang wasn't sure what kind of ammunition it fired or how it fired, but the similarities to Ember Celica definitely made her more than a little curious.

She did notice that the girl had a pistol, of all things, by her right hip, resting inside a belt-type holster that looked decidedly out of place. A back-up weapon perhaps? Not very common and, given its size, probably not very useful, but it wasn't exactly her place to decide that.

Next to the lockers, Ruby had just folded Crescent Rose into its travel form and attached it to a small magnetic strip hanging from her belt, grinning cheerfully all the while.

"Well, looks like they're not the only ones excited," teased Yang, grinning at her younger sister.

In response, Ruby grinned and let out a short laugh. "Yup. No more awkward small talk or getting to know you stuff. Just gotta get out there and let my sweetheart do the talking," she said, patting Crescent Rose.

"Well, just remember that you aren't the only one there. You're gonna have to meet new people and work together with them if you wanna grow up," she said, already anticipating Ruby's reply even as she spoke.

Sure enough, an irritated growl slipped past Ruby's lips as she shut the locker with more force than necessary. "You're starting to sound like dad." Even Ruby's voice had been more of a half-growl due to her annoyance. "Meeting people has nothing to do with fighting. And why do I even need them to grow up? That's what milk is for."

Yang hid her amusement at that, aware that Ruby did more than just drink milk to grow, and instead showed the worry she felt for her sister. "And what about when we form teams?" she asked, a small frown appearing on Ruby's face at that last word. "Can't really form a team if you don't know anyone. And it's not like Signal where we only do group exercises now and then."

"I… I don't know," Ruby admitted, turning away to hide the worried expression that she felt appear on her face. "I-I'll just… I'll just be on you team, I guess."

"You guess?" Yang asked with a raised brow, not that Ruby could see it. "Ruby, we don't even know if we actually get to choose our own teams. Besides, even if we do, don't you wanna try being on a different team?" Ruby turned around at that suggestion. "Maybe, meet new people?"

Ruby was quick to cross the distance between them, one finger already raised. "My dearest sister Yang," she began, her finger just shy of poking Yang's large bust. _'Nope, not jealous,'_ she made sure to tell herself, keeping her eyes from straying enviously to her sister's more than gifted chest. "Are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?"

"What?" Yang was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Ruby to take her words in that manner. "N-No, I just… I just thought maybe it'd help you… you know, break out of your shell."

"Wh-Wha- I… I don't need to break out of my shell!" Ruby declared vehemently, though Yang noted how she stumbled over her words at the beginning and backed away. "That's absolutely-"

"Ridiculous!"

Both Ruby and Yang jumped slightly at the sudden interruption, turning to the blonde boy standing two feet away as he walked towards them, then between them, and then away from them. "There's no way I put my stuff in locker six-three-six yesterday," they heard him muttering in seeming despair as he walked away and out of hearing distance.

As he did, a girl with short brown hair came towards them, sending him a questioning look as she passed him. "What's with him?" she asked, turning to face the teal haired girl on the bench.

Once again, Yang recognized her from the night before. She was wearing a pink cardigan, a loose red ribbon, a white choker, a black mini-skirt, brown loafers, knee-high black socks, and white gloves on her hands that flare open slightly past the wrist. The red band on her left upper arm with the word SEES drew her attention briefly, making her wonder whether she was part of some sort of organization.

At the sight, Yang couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She glanced at Ruby and saw her glancing back out of the corner of her eye. When Ruby nodded her head slightly towards the pink-clad girl, she knew that she and Ruby were thinking the same thing. _'What is she wearing?'_ While they, Yang especially, had nothing against looking good, it was another thing to prioritize looks over practicality, especially when they were going to be fighting Grimm very soon. After all, how else would they be tested?

"It looks like he's having trouble finding his locker," the gauntlet-wielding girl replied, rising from the bench. "Are you ready Yukari-chan?"

And again, the teal-haired girl's clothing drew her attention. She hadn't paid it much attention earlier, the girl's weapon being more interesting, but now that the two girls stood next to each other, Yang couldn't help but notice her clothing. A black blazer over a teal-green turtleneck, the sleeves peeking out of the blazer's sleeves, a black skirt just short of knee-length, white stockings, and black loafers. Asides from her armguards, she didn't look any more ready to fight than Yukari.

Did they somehow think the initiation was just some kind of skill demonstration in front of the teachers or something? If so, Yang hoped they weren't in over their heads choosing Beacon of all places to attend.

Idly, she noted that she also had one of the red armbands with the same word, SEES, wrapped around her left upper arm. It was either an organization or, judging by their clothing, a school.

"As ready as I can be," replied Yukari, patting a pink and white, roughly rectangular object strapped to her left thigh, a lightly arced handgrip facing forward, and a pistol strapped to her right thigh which looked to be the same model as the other girl's. Yang also noticed a cylindrical object peaking over the girl's right shoulder. "What about you, Fuuka? Is… you're weapon fine?"

Fuuka nodded, noting how Yukari intentionally avoided using the weapon's name. She, however, didn't have any reluctance in that regard. "Ancile's fine. I'm still not used to having something so heavy on my arms but I'm used to it. Elizabeth-san and Ryoji-kun made sure I spent enough time getting used to the weight."

Fuuka noted the grimace on Yukari's face when she mentioned both Ancile's and Elizabeth's names. "I really wish she didn't name them. I mean, I get that everyone else here names their weapons but why do _we_ need to have names on ours?" she asked, not noticing a nearby girl taking notice of her words. "It just doesn't make sense."

"Hey," both Fuuka and Yukari turned at the upset voice that spoke and found themselves facing a young girl clad mostly in black with a red cloak. Immediately, they recognized her from the day before. "Weren't you the one on the ship yesterday who was complaining about people naming their weapons?"

Inwardly, Yukari sighed. Even without asking she already had a good idea what the girl was going to say. _'I really should try to keep my voice down saying stuff like that,'_ she said to herself. After all, it would be a problem if she used words people weren't used to hearing like Shadows and Persona. Shadows would be easy to explain but Persona?

The members of SEES had agreed to try to minimize the use of their Personas. One person using a Persona was one thing. It could simply be explained as a Semblance after all. Though the use of the Evoker would draw some uncomfortable question if the summoning process was seen. But even the Persona itself would raise questions.

They knew the secrecy wouldn't last. Sooner or later, most likely sooner, they would have to use their Personas. After all, their Personas were once their main weapons against Shadows. Some of the players had changed, and some of the rules had changed as well. But ultimately the game and the goal were more or less the same, and carried the same threat. To not use their Personas, Semblances for the newer generation, was almost akin to a death wish, if not a form of suicide.

Besides, after hearing Elizabeth speak of the Huntsmen and Huntresses, some of them could honestly say they were curious as to how they matched up in a straight-up fight against those their age. More importantly, if they were to avoid the use of Personas and fought someone who did not use their Semblance, could they fight one-on-one against someone who had Aura and win?

Hopefully Yukari wouldn't have to find out here and now.

"You heard that huh?" Yukari asked, already knowing the answer. "Look, I didn't mea-"

Unfortunately, Ruby wasn't in the mood to listen. Not only did she have to hear it twice now, but Yang had just tried to tell her that she didn't want to be on the same team as her. Well, perhaps that wasn't what Yang was trying to say, but it still meant the same thing in the end. "You don't understand anything," she said sharply, cutting off Yukari. "These are more than just weapons. They're practically our chil-mmph!"

"Okay, I think I better stop you before you get going there sis," Yang said, one hand covering Ruby's mouth and the other on her shoulder to keep her still. "I know you're a weapons nut and all but…" She paused, a confused look on her face. "You do know that licking my hand would have worked better if I wasn't wearing gloves, right?"

Ruby nodded, slumping in defeat since her plan had failed. Yang sighed, but took her hand away from her sister's mouth. But not before wiping her now saliva-covered palm on Ruby's cheek. "Eeewwwww! Yang!" Ruby jumped away from her sister, her arm rising up to wipe her cheek on her sleeve.

"Hey, you licked it, you clean it," she said unapologetically, before she turned to the pair of uniformed girls with an apologetic look. "Sorry about Ruby. She can get a little crazy at times around weapons."

"No I don't!"

Yang sighed, turning to her sister with a flat stare. "Ruby, you were about to go into one of your 'We created them, they're practically our children,' speeches. Nobody I know goes into a speech like that besides you."

"Hey, she started it," came Ruby's reply, accompanied by a finger pointing towards Yukari.

In response, Yukari just sighed, loud enough to catch the attention of the siblings, one hand rising up to rub the side of her temple with her fingers. "Look, you wanna name your weapon, that's fine and that's your business. But just because that's what you guys do doesn't mean that's how we do things or that we have to do the same." Yukari took a deep breath and released it, turning to face Fuuka with a much more calm expression. "Look, I'm gonna go on ahead. I'll see you in a while when we meet up."

Some might have thought that Yukari would have appreciated having someone to talk to, but by now Fuuka understood just when Yukari needed someone to talk to or when she needed to be alone first before she opened up. So the teal-haired girl just nodded, knowing that, in this case, Yukari needed some time alone to calm down. So as the brown-haired girl walked away, Fuuka turned to Ruby and Yang, the latter with a hand on the former to keep her from following or acting up again.

"I'm sorry about that," she apologized, not for Yukari's words but for how she said it. "It's like Yukari-chan said, we don't really name our weapons where were from so it's a little strange for us to see that everyone here names their weapons."

"But isn't that weird?" asked Ruby. "I mean, you spent all that time designing and making them. Don't you feel a connection to them?"

"As much as she's a weapons nut, Ruby's got a point though," agreed Yang, ignoring Ruby's indignant yell. "Doesn't it feel weird spending so much time making them and not feeling just a little bit proud once you're done?"

"Oh, that's because we didn't make them," Fuuka replied calmly. Ruby and Yang, however, didn't react as calmly. And while she didn't show it, Fuuka found it quite amusing when they turned to her with shocked, disbelieving looks. "The weapons we used back home were all ordinary, nothing like what everyone here uses, so we usually just bought them. In fact, mine, Yukari-chan's, and Aigis-chan's weapons are the only ones like what you have and that's only because someone bought them for us recently. I think Elizabeth-san said she bought it from… Mistral, I think? I can't quite remember now."

Neither one of the siblings could believe what they just heard. They just bought the weapons? Leaving aside the sheer cost of having someone make a customized weapon, were things just that different where they were from that Huntsmen, or whatever the equivalent was, didn't make their own weapons?

Then again, Ruby did mention that they came from a faraway country so perhaps it wasn't that unbelievable? But still, it was such a vast difference from what they were used to that it was like being told that the moon used to be just one big piece. But that was just plain impossible. More importantly…

"W-Wait, hold up. You're telling me that you guys just bought those?" Ruby asked, pointing to Fuuka's armguards, her own eyes wide open in shock and disbelief once more. "B-but... but… but…"

"Oookay. Ignoring Ruby for now, wasn't that really expensive?" Fuuka turned to Yang with a questioning look on her face. "I mean, you mentioned someone bought those from Mistral. I know there are only like, five or six people in ALL of Remnant who'd willingly spend time to make and sell custom-made weapons for someone else. There might be others but they're either not as well-known or they might not be open to requests from people they don't know. Either way, all of them are really expensive."

She raised her arm and deployed Ember Celica, showing the shorter girl her weapon. "I could make four or five copies of my weapons with the money I'd need to get them to make just one. And that's if I provide the designs for them. I could probably make seven or eight if I had to pay them to design the thing too, maybe more."

"Really?" Fuuka looked at her armguards in surprise as though seeing them there for the first time. "I knew they must have been expensive but… why is the price so different?

"But… But… But…"

"Nobody makes weapons like these for a living," Yang explained, seeing as Ruby seems to have gone into shock, most likely for multiple reasons. She tapped Ember Celica to show what she meant, and pointed at both Ruby's and Fuuka's weapons as well. "Since weapons like these are custom made, it takes a lot of time to design it to fit the user's fighting style or, if they're still young, what kind of style they were aiming to have in the future. Some, like mine and yours, also need to be fitted to our bodies. Then, once they know what kind of weapons they want to use, they have to find a way to design it so that it can shift between forms."

"Are there more than just the two forms?"

"But… But… But…"

"Sometimes, yeah." At that, Yang pointed to Ruby's Crescent Rose again, ignoring her sister's still catatonic but mumbling form. "That's Crescent Rose's travel form. Ruby can then open it up to either a rifle form, or a scythe form. So when she decided on what kind of weapon she wanted, she had to design how she was gonna carry it around, since you wouldn't want to carry around a huge scythe, and how it was gonna shift from one form to the other. Then she had to make the parts, fit them together, and test the weapon. If something's off, she'll have to either remake some of the parts at best, or redesign the whole thing at worst."

She then held up her arms to show the golden bracelets on her wrists. "Ember Celica's not as big and only has two forms. This," she paused and activated her weapons, allowing the parts to slide out from the bracelet and into its full form. "And its gauntlet form. It wasn't as complicated as Ruby's Crescent Rose but even something small like Ember Celica wasn't exactly easy to make."

"And you did all that within the past few years while you were in school, right? That's amazing." Fuuka could help but be awed, amazed at just how much work they put into their weapons. Elizabeth had explained some of the current culture to them, and the books she brought certainly helped, but to actually hear it from someone who had to do the work themselves was another thing entirely. "But wait, didn't you have teachers or family to help?"

"But… But… But…"

"Oh we did, but making your own weapon's sort of like a test," Yang explained. It was strange, though, to have to explain something that was practically common knowledge, even amongst the civilian population. "If we're stumped 'cause of a design flaw we're trying to fix, they might help us out by showing us where we went wrong but how we fix it is up to us. And even if they see something wrong with the initial design, they won't say anything and just let us build the thing and see it for ourselves."

"I see." And Fuuka really did. The entire thing was beginning to make sense the more Yang explained. "It does make sense that they'd want you to know your own weapon inside out since you can't really expect someone else to maintain or fix it for you considering it's so unique. And I guess that in some way it's also a test of resolve. I don't know much, but I heard back home that making a weapon is something that takes most people years just to be able to learn how to make a decent one, never mind something that could be considered the work of a master. I can't imagine how hard it must be to make something this complicated on your own."

"That's another way to look at it I guess." Yang just shrugged. Perhaps to someone who didn't have to go through it, it would seem like that. But to them, it was just another part of the life they'd chosen. Still, she had to admit that Fuuka might have a point. She could remember more than a few of her classmates who gave up on making a weapon and, consequently, the life of a Huntsman.

"BUT WHY WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!"

Fuuka jumped, a short scream erupting from her mouth, at Ruby's explosive question. Yang, however, just sighed. "Little late there Rubes. We haven't been on that topic for a while."

Something about what Yang said caught Fuuka's attention. And after repeating it in her head, her eyes shot open in surprise as she looked down at her watch. "Oh no, I'm going to be late."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yang asked, pulling out her scroll and glancing at the time. "We've still got about half an hour before the exam starts."

"No not that," Fuuka explained hurriedly, grabbing the bag on the bench and slinging it over her shoulder. "We usually meet half an hour before things like this. I'm sure everyone's together by now."

"Well, we're pretty much done getting ready. Mind if we tag along?" asked Yang, glancing at her sister who nodded even as she tried to calm down from hearing the shocking revelations from earlier.

"I don't mind. We usually have a quick meeting so we'll have to hurry," explained Fuuka as she and the siblings made their way to the exit. "Hopefully there's not much to talk about so we don't end up late for the exam."

* * *

"So you're actually older than us?" asked Weiss, trying to keep a victorious grin from overwhelming her facial features.

In front of her and to her left was Mitsuru Kirijo, the red-haired young woman she had met the day before. Much like the day before, Mitsuru was dressed in what Weiss learned was her previous school's uniform. Only now she did not wear the blazer, showing the white, long-sleeved dress shirt she had worn underneath it.

Moreover, this time she was able to see Mitsuru's weapon, a rapier much like her own, as she hadn't really paid attention to it the day before. Unlike Myrtenaster, the sword was incredibly simple in design but did not necessarily lack in aesthetics. It had a basket hilt, the elaborate design of the handguard standing out due to the simplicity of the rest of the weapon. The hilt itself looked to be shaped slightly, most likely designed for Mitsuru's hands. The blade was, long, thin, and double-edged, ending with a sharp point. Designed for thrusts but clearly capable of slashing and cutting as well.

It was strange to see such a plain weapon. Not only did it not look like it could shift into a different form, Weiss saw no indication that it held a hidden firearm or even a place for Dust. Rather, Mitsuru's firearm was a small pistol, held within a belt holster by her right hip. Again, it was a strange sight for Weiss. Rather than on a Huntress, it would be something you'd see on a town's local militia or police force, which, if Weiss was being honest, was rarely effective against anything more than the youngest of Grimm.

Still, she wouldn't say anything unless it became necessary. Besides, Mitsuru may simply be that skilled that she did not need anything more complicated or more varied in capability. After all, it would go against her plans for her school life if she was not even capable of forming a proper team. And one key member of that team was Mitsuru Kirijo.

While she may have made a mess of their first two meetings, she had done her best to make up for it that morning without being too overt in her attempts. It was hard to tell how well she was doing, however. Mitsuru always had a soft, polite smile on her face when she spoke to others, save for when she was speaking to members of the group she was with.

Weiss knew it was too much to hope for to be counted among that inner circle so quickly, but it did annoy her that Mitsuru didn't give away what she thought of her. Still, being on the same team with Mitsuru was definitely worth all that effort, especially with the third member Weiss had already scouted out.

In front and to her right was another red-haired young woman. She was dressed in bronze, brown and red, her choice of clothing resembling light armor that offered both protection and mobility. Her hair was a slightly brighter shade than Mitsuru's wine red tresses, and was tied in a ponytail. Attached to her back was a long blade and a shield.

Unlike Mitsuru, Weiss knew who she was the moment she saw her. Pyrrha Nikos, four-time consecutive Champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament, the girl hailed as the Invincible Girl who has never lost in any official match, and, as of recently, the top graduate of Sanctum. She had managed to speak with Pyrrha a little bit the day before, having encountered her in the dining hall, and managing to establish a bit of rapport with the girl to get her to be more receptive to the idea of forming a team with her.

She had spent most of the morning speaking with Mitsuru, seeing as they had yet to properly speak with one another. Once she had retrieved Myrtenaster, she was wondering who she should approach first with regards to forming a team. And as luck would have it, both Pyrrha's locker and Mitsuru's had been just opposite one another. Not only would she be able to ask them both, it would also allow them to meet one another. All in all, things were falling into place.

"I hardly think a year or two is that much of a difference," the redhead responded with a small smile. "But yes, I turned nineteen a little less than four months ago and Akihiko turns nineteen as well in a little over two weeks. We were essentially everyone else's seniors at our previous school. By the end of this year, everyone, save for Ken and Junpei, will be eighteen. Junpei will turn eighteen a few weeks after the new year, while Ken just turned twelve two months ago."

Technically part of what she said was a lie. Aigis was created not long before the event that birthed the Dark Hour and Tartarus. As such she was only, technically, twelve years old this year. In that way, she was the youngest of the entire group. Younger, even, than Ken by a few months. Had she been human, she would have been physically twelve but with the mind of a two-year-old, considering she had been in the robotic equivalent of a coma for ten years. Still, that was one complicated story they did not need to explain. For all intents and purposes, Aigis was an eighteen-year-old girl.

"Isn't it strange to be going to school with those you once saw as your juniors?" asked the other red-haired girl.

"Perhaps at one point it would have been a strange thing for me to consider," admitted Mitsuru. "But after all the time I've spend with them, it would be far stranger if we were separated now."

"Uh… I've been meaning to ask but uh… who's 'them'?" asked a tall, blonde boy.

And there it was. The one little wrench in her plans. Jaune Arc.

The tall blonde had walked up to them in the locker room, flirting with each of them shamelessly and even going so far as to offer them a spot on _his_ team. As if she would ever consider such an idea. Thankfully, it had been easy to dissuade him from further attempts at both recruiting and wooing Pyrrha. Mitsuru had easily deflected his attempts, needing no help from the Schnee heiress. Instead, Weiss found herself as his only target. Still, she'd be able to put up with it if it meant he did not get the chance to so much as try convincing Mitsuru and Pyrrha.

"SEES," Mitsuru answered, turning her head to the side. Following her gaze, Weiss found the other people they were sharing the area with.

Not long after Jaune's failed attempts at recruiting and flirting, Mitsuru had mentioned that she and the others had planned to meet half an hour before the exam. Not wanting to let even a single moment slip by, Weiss had asked to accompany her, if Mitsuru had no complaints of course. She did not, and it did not take any effort at all to invite Pyrrha along. Pyrrha extending the invitation further to Jaune, however, had been unexpected and definitely unwanted. But since Mitsuru voiced no complaints, Weiss could not voice hers.

They were standing in a small clearing not far from where they were told to assemble for the exam. Along with the four of them, there were eight others, nine if you counted the dog. Six of them were from the group that Mitsuru had arrived with the day before. And much like that time, they were wearing their uniforms. Though this time Weiss noticed they added their own touch to the uniforms.

Akihiko, the silver-haired one who Mitsuru mentioned was older than them as well, wasn't wearing the blazer but rather a red, button-up sweater vest. On his hands were fingerless gloves with two steel plates on each. One was on the back of the hand and the other, smaller one, was above his knuckles. The second one also had metal studs situated directly above each knuckle. He was leaning against a tree, each hand squeezing a handgrip.

Junpei, the dark-haired boy with a buzz-cut and goatee, wore a blue dress shirt rather than a white one and wore a cap on top of his head. Hanging from his hip was a long, thin, and slightly curved blade inside a sheath.

Beside him was Ken, the youngest of the group. His manner of dress was the same as the day before but she couldn't help but, once again, notice the tall spear on his back. First was the design of the blade. It was a straight, double-edged blade, similar to a straight short sword, but had two more blades protruding sideways from the base, just before the blade met the shaft. The two protrusions were only slight shorter than the spearhead itself but were curved slightly upwards, almost as though it was meant to hold something in place if the spear was stabbed into the ground or a wall.

The second reason was that the presence of the spear only made it seem more real that he really was going to attend Beacon with people older than he was. Those his age would only just be beginning to enter formal combat schools, not entering a Huntsman academy. A part of her worried whether or not he would be fine. After all, even one year of training could make quite a difference, never mind the five years he was lacking. Even Ruby wasn't that much younger than the rest of them.

Still, as Akihiko had said the previous night, the Headmaster had allowed him to join the initiation. With regards to the school, that was all Ken needed. None of the teachers could really complain if the Headmaster himself allowed it. As for their future classmates… Well, SEES certainly didn't seem worried. If they were, they didn't show it at all. And if he did pass then nobody had any right to complain about his skill. All that mattered after that was maintaining his grades to remain in Beacon.

Speaking to them were two students she had never seen before. Judging by their clothing, they were most likely recent acquaintances of Junpei and Ken. The first was a boy with long black hair in a ponytail wearing a green tailcoat with gold and black trims, and white pants. The girl, whose back was turned to her, had short orange hair and was wearing a black top and pink skirt. On the girl's back was a large gun-type weapon. Though judging by its size it clearly shot more than just ordinary bullets.

Not far from them were Aigis and Yukari. Aigis was wearing the same clothes as she had the day before, the same, as of yet, unidentifiable weapon strapped to her lower back. Asides from the strange hand grip, which she now recognized as something resembling brass knuckles like those some of her family's bodyguards used, the rest of it looked too bulky. Most likely the rest of it shifted into a different form.

Weiss did find it strange that she was still wearing those strange headphones. Was she going to wait until just before the exam began before she took them off? It didn't seem like she was listening to any music since she was clearly speaking with Yukari, though with a slightly concerned look on her face.

Yukari, on the other hand, had forgone the black blazer and wore a pink cardigan in its stead. Her hands were now clad in white gloves that flared open slightly past the wrist, and there seemed to be a strap running around her wrist to keep the glove in place. On her back was a black, cylindrical object and on her left thigh was a folded pink and white weapon that she couldn't identify by looks alone. The choice of pink, though, made Weiss curious.

And finally there was Chidori. The strangely dressed girl was, still, dressed strangely. The white dress she wore looked quite heavy, or at least cumbersome, that Weiss couldn't imagine fighting in it. Hanging from her left side was a hand axe with a chain. Of all the weapons she had seen so far, that was quite possibly the strangest choice of them all.

Still, she tried not to make any more false assumption. For all she knew the quiet redhead may very well be the strongest of them all. Not to mention, her unknown Semblance may be enough to compensate, perhaps even complement, the choice of weaponry. And sitting at her feet, content with having his head petted and ears scratched, was the white dog that came with them.

Looking at them all, at how different they all were, it was so hard to imagine how they had come together. The armband with the word SEES hinted at their shared past but did not reveal enough. Moreover, there was one other thing she had noticed that they all had in common.

' _I'm not wrong,'_ she thought, glancing at them all once more. _'They all have the same gun.'_

Indeed, each of them carried the same pistol that Mitsuru had. In fact, most of them carried it the same way, on a belt-type holster. Only Yukari's was different, her short skirt allowing her to strap the gun onto her thigh without making it difficult to reach. Another thing that was telling was which side it was on.

Mitsuru, Junpei, Chidori, and Ken had it on the side of their dominant hand, the right side of their hip except for Chidori, who wore it on her left due to being left-handed. To Weiss, this simply told her that they used the pistols with their non-dominant hand, reaching across their torso to draw the gun.

Yukari's being strapped to her right thigh while her primary weapon was strapped to her left most likely meant the same thing. Aigis and Akihiko wore it on their left and right hip respectively. And given that Akihiko used his fists, and that the grip on Aigis's weapons meant she could open her hand without dropping her weapon, this allowed them to use their dominant hands to draw the firearm.

It did make her wonder though. Did the pistol mean anything significant? Or was it perhaps given to them after having joined SEES, whatever the group was? It could be that, but something was telling her that the guns were more important that they first appeared.

"Sorry I'm late everyone."

The voice that suddenly called out to them pulled Weiss from her thoughts and she, along with everyone else, turned towards the school to find Fuuka jogging towards them, a familiar blonde girl and black-red haired girl following closely. Much like the rest, Weiss noted Fuuka's use of their school's uniform along with a few personal changes, the teal-green turtleneck for one. Strapped to her arms were thick armguards, most likely her weapons, as well as that familiar looking gun holstered by her left hip.

"It's fine," replied Mitsuru. "It's not as if it's an ironclad rule to meet exactly half an hour before." Then, turning to the trio with her, Mitsuru said, "Please go on ahead. We'll just be having a quick meeting before we follow."

One by one, those bearing the red armband walked to the center where Mitsuru was already waiting. Something about how they moved as one without being told kept Weiss from following. Looking around, she noticed that Jaune, Pyrrha, the siblings, Ruby and Yang, and the boy and girl that Junpei was speaking with had begun to move towards the exam site. But much like herself, their eyes were on the small meeting about to occur.

The members of SEES stood in a rough circle, they appeared to be relaxed but there was a strange tension in the air that the spectators couldn't explain. They were chatting about something but Weiss could tell they were simply waiting for everyone else to leave. The clearing was small so it didn't take everyone else very long to leave.

She wasn't sure if everyone else was as curious as she was. But as tempting as it was to turn back, none of them did. Weiss wasn't certain if she could have gone on ahead if someone decided to eavesdrop on SEES for whatever reason. For now, she would respect their decision and wait for them at the meeting place. There was still the initiation to think about after all.

* * *

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

SEES stood before a cliff overlooking a vast forest along with a few other dozen initiates. Far off to their left and right, another group of students could be seen. In front of them were Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch while the other groups similarly had two of the school's staff briefing them on the exam.

"Now then, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams, whether from family, friends, or other sources," began Goodwitch. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today."

There was some muttering from the crowd, and even a few who sounded worried for some reason.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," continued the Headmaster, his gaze steady and not looking at any one student in particular. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well with."

' _That does not seem difficult at all,'_ thought Aigis. In fact, she felt as though such a concept should go without saying.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after your landing will be your partner for the next four years."

' _Ah.'_ Now that she was aware of the catch, Aigis felt much better. After all, the Headmaster could have kept the conditions for the formation of their teams a secret. And while teams were formed in groups of four, being able to control one of three other teammates was better than simply going about things blindly.

"What?!" Other students didn't seem to think so considering a few cries of dismay she heard.

The Headmaster didn't even seem to notice, or possibly just ignored them, as he went on with his explanation. "After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. There, you will find the ruins of an abandoned temple containing several relics. Each pair must retrieve one and return here, to the top of the cliff. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to kill everything in your path or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of the initiation but our instructors will not intervene, regardless of what happens."

The seriousness in the Headmaster's eyes told Aigis all that she needed to know about the opposition. Grimm. She did wonder just how ready the other initiates were as she could hear some whimpers and a few worried mutterings.

"Are the any questions?"

"Yes um… sir?" came a timid sounding voice from Aigis's right. "What-"

"Good." Despite the lack of mirth on his face or in his eyes, Aigis was certain the Headmaster had done that on purpose. "Now, take your positions."

' _Positions?'_ Aigis wondered about that briefly before seeing the other students getting into a ready stance. _'Did we miss something? Perhaps this is something they've done in their previous schools?'_

"Uh… sir? This uh… landing you mentioned…" came that timid voice again. Their confusion and nervousness evident in their tone. "What is it? I mean, are you… dropping us off in the forest or something?"

It was then that Aigis remembered what they were told when they arrived at the cliff but before the briefing began. Looking down, she narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the strange, metal plate beneath her feet. Other than the school's emblem, she couldn't really see any reason why they would be asked to stand on it. At least, until she heard it. A strange clicking sound. But almost as soon as she heard it, another sound went off. Several of them in fact.

"No," the Headmaster responded to the question though Aigis paid it little mind. "You will be falling."

A glance to her left where the sound originated from showed that half a dozen students had just gone flying into the air. _'I see,'_ she thought, eyes narrowing in realization. _'These are the launchers Fuuka-san learned about.'_

"Oh. I uh… I see." More clicking noises reached Aigis's ears even at the boy to her right asked questions, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him. Or possibly hoping that ignoring it would make the problem go away. "So uh… did you… hand out parachutes for us?" he asked as even more people were launched into the air, including three members of SEES.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."

That was the last that Aigis heard of their conversation as the clicking sound came from beneath her feet and she had all of half a second to prepare as the platform shot upwards, shooting her forward and into the air at high speeds. Up ahead, she could already see many of the other initiates falling into the forest, Chidori, Yukari, and Ken among them. To her left, she could see Fuuka and Akihiko, who had been launched at roughly the same time as her.

Had they come to Beacon within the first month of their awakening, Aigis was certain they all would have been panicking. Months of fighting Shadows might have toughened them up but their bodies were nowhere near capable of falling from such a height and at their current speed. Even Aigis's mechanical body could not sustain a fall from this height without damage. And even now, after seven more months of hellish training, such a fall was past their capabilities.

But at least they weren't panicking. Moreover, the scroll that Ozpin lent them the day before had been a boon they did not expect. In the end, though, it made life, and their initiation, much easier. Aigis reached into the small pouch she carried and pulled out a long length of rope attached to a four pronged hook. In short, a grappling hook.

Far to her left, farther now than they had been earlier, she could see that Fuuka and Akihiko had also pulled out theirs. And just like her, they were waiting for just the right moment to use it.

It wasn't long before they reached the tree line and disappeared from each other's view. Unfortunately, Aigis didn't have time to worry about them. With sharp eyes, Aigis threw the hook towards a large tree trunk, holding onto the middle of the rope. The metal hook sank into the softer bark and the rope went taut almost immediately. Keeping her grip on the rope, Aigis allowed herself to be swung around, her movement directed by the rope and the hook. Slowly she circled the tree, her hand carefully allowing more of the rope to slip through.

Again and again she traveled around the tree, her speed slowly bleeding away. Once she was moving slow enough, she let go of the rope and flew through the air, landing on her feet several meters away. She immediately shut her eyes. Despite knowing that nobody landed near her, she dared not do anything that would risk their plans. As it was, there was no guarantee they would end up on the same team. Their choice of partners, at least, was easily manipulated. All they needed to do was wait.

It took a few more minutes of waiting before Aigis heard Fuuka's voice. Only this time…

" **Is everyone alright?"**

… Fuuka spoke directly into her head.

" **I'm fine."**

" **Just a few scratches from the branches on the way in, nothing too bad."**

" **More or less."**

" **Nothing I couldn't handle."**

" **I'm alright."**

" **No problemo."**

" **It seems we all made it safely, that's good."** Mitsuru was the last to speak, waiting until everyone confirmed their own safety. **"Now then, proceed as planned. Fuuka, we'll be in your care from now on."**

" **Understood. Aigis, could you walk forward just a bit?"** Aigis obeyed and took three steps forward then stopped. **"Alright. First, turn to your left, then take a few steps again."** Once again, Aigis did as instructed. After a few more trials, taking a few steps followed by turning a little to the right or left to adjust her bearing, Fuuka was satisfied. **"That's good. I'm directly in front of you now. Just keep going, I'm not far. Meanwhile I'll help everyone else."**

" **Understood,"** replied Aigis, running directly ahead while doing her best to keep an eye on her surroundings. Hopefully it wouldn't take her long to reach Fuuka's position. In what could literally be the back of her mind, Aigis could hear Fuuka giving the rest of the team instructions on how to reach their partners, guiding them the same way she had done with Aigis so that they ran towards one another.

Juno, Fuuka's Persona. A Persona with abilities specializing in information gathering. More importantly, Juno granted Fuuka abilities that could be used even without being summoned, though her range was greatly reduced. Still, even the limited aid it provided them was a significant improvement over running blind.

Right now Fuuka was keeping an eye on their locations, slowly guiding them to their predetermined partners. In addition, she was helping them avoid the Grimm she could detect to prevent any delays while also avoiding other students that had landed nearby. But even if they met up with a student all they had to do was avoid eye contact. After all, the Headmaster was quite specific about that little detail.

While they had been unable to discover how partners and teams were formed, Fuuka's information gathering abilities did, at least, discover one aspect of the test. The falling part.

Another of Juno's abilities, one that they discovered by accident after two months of training, was that she could connect to any electronic device within range and access it through Juno's abilities. It didn't take them long to capitalize on it.

With Aigis's help, Fuuka swiftly learned the art of hacking and had easily surpassed Aigis's own abilities. Then again, having a Persona that could scan the security measures of the device in question without being detected eliminated the need for caution in most cases.

And being able to use that ability without summoning Juno was definitely a bonus. Especially while they were in Ozpin's office the day before. While Mitsuru kept the Headmaster busy, Fuuka had been accessing the Headmaster's computer. The system was completely different from what they were used to, causing her to take longer than expected. Thankfully Ozpin had a few questions of his own, making it easier for Mitsuru to stall for time.

Unfortunately, what she found regarding the initiation did not directly state what it was or how it would work. But a few work orders sent to the school's maintenance department, followed by a little further investigation, revealed how they would be entering the initiation site. And while they had not known immediately that the small platforms were the launchers in question, just knowing they would be launched into the forest was a big help as it allowed them to prepare adequately.

The choice to use grappling hooks was risky for many reasons. If the trees were too tightly packed they might end up hitting another tree while the rope was winding down. Too widely spaced apart and they might not be able to throw the hook far enough to reach one. Depending on their trajectory they might end up flying straight into a tree instead. Some of them, such as Fuuka and Ken, might not be able to maintain their grip when the rope went taut, causing them to slip off the rope.

But they had spoken about the issue at length the day before and, quite simply, they didn't have many options without relying on their Personas, something they wanted to keep secret for as long as reasonably possible. Thankfully, the school's armory had the necessary items on hand to make what they needed, as well as gloves for better grip and to prevent the ropes from injuring their hands as it slid through their grip. It had cost them most of what little money Elizabeth had left them, but it was a small price to pay in the long run.

And now, it was all a matter of finding the partners they had decided upon in the short time after learning of how partners would be formed. Without a doubt, Fuuka and Juno more than made up for their lack of combat ability with their superior support capabilities.

" **Wait Aigis."** The android paused, wondering what it was that Fuuka needed to say. **"There's a student along the way. They'll be out of the way soon so just wait a few more seconds then continue."**

" **Thank you."**

After waiting out those few seconds, Aigis dashed off once again, knowing that Fuuka was nearby. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she found the teal-haired girl, sitting on folded legs with her eyes shut as she focused on giving support to the team.

Without Juno's physical presence, Fuuka's abilities were not only limited, but also required more concentration to use. As it was, Fuuka couldn't move while actively supporting them all. One or two, perhaps, but not the entire group. To anyone else who might have seen it, they might have assumed Fuuka had simply fallen asleep for whatever reason.

" **I'll be ready in a moment Aigis,"** said Fuuka, sensing her approach. **"I just need to make sure Junpei-kun and Yukari-chan meet with Chidori-chan and Mitsuru-senpai without any problems."**

" **Are there actually any Grimm in the way?"** Yukari asked over their connection. **"I mean, if the way's clear for the rest of us you and Aigis could start making your way to the temple and just check up on us in a few minutes."**

But before Fuuka could respond, Akihiko's voice chimed in. And by the sound of it, something had gone wrong. **"Aigis, I know we were saying it as a joke earlier but I think you really might need to carry Fuuka to the temple while she keeps in contact with us. On that note, Fuuka, which way do we need to go to get to the temple?"**

Aigis immediately responded, worried by the silver-haired boxer's tone. **"Akihiko-san? What's wrong?"**

The answer, however, came from Fuuka as she brought her focus to Akihiko's location upon hearing the worry in his tone. **"What the- Why are there so many Grimm? There's at least a dozen around you and at least thirty more on the way."**

" **WHAT?"** came the collective cries of worry and confusion from everyone else as they heard Fuuka's findings.

" **I don't know the answer any more than you do Fuuka. But unless those books we studied were all wrong then this isn't natural. Look, just point us in the direction of the temple. Quickly. Aigis, grab Fuuka and head straight to the temple. Get the initiation over with as soon as you can."**

Even as Fuuka got to work on locating the temple and directing the boxer to the temple, Aigis knelt down in front of her. With some difficulty, Aigis managed to wrap Fuuka's arms around her neck. She stood up a bit, just enough to reach underneath Fuuka and wrap her arms around the other girl's legs. Rising slowly, Aigis made sure that Fuuka wouldn't fall off before turning in the direction of the temple and running off.

" **Akihiko, what's happening?"** came Mitsuru's voice, the concern in her tone clear as day. **"Are you and Ken alright?"**

" **We're fine, for the moment at least. As for what happened, the Grimm did. There were just three of them at first. Beowolves, all of 'em pretty young. But one of 'em howled almost as soon as they saw us."** There was a sudden pause. They could hear the stress he was under even through a mental connection. Clearly he was having more trouble if he couldn't keep communicating with them mentally while still fighting. **"Sorry about that,"** he said after a while. **"Had to make an opening so Ken and I could get away. Anyway, five more came not long after. Then another dozen or so. All of them different kinds. None of the older ones just yet but I'm not looking forward to finding out if they're on their way. And from the sound of things there are a lot more chasing after us now."**

" **Alright, hang on as best as you can. We'll head over and-"**

" **No,"** Akihiko interrupted, surprising every member of SEES. The situation must have been serious if he was willing to interrupt Mitsuru. **"We're already making our way to the temple. Pair up and head there, avoid the Grimm wherever you can. If you can't avoid 'em, kill 'em quickly before they can call for help. Look, I don't know what's going on. Could be 'cause we don't have Aura or it could be something else entirely. All I know is that they're after us and I'd rather not find out if you guys will get the same treatment. All we need to do is get to that temple, grab one of those relics, and get the hell out of here. We'll fight our way out if we have to but we'll have a better chance if we manage to regroup rather than fighting on our own."**

"… **Alright, understood."** Mitsuru's response came after a brief pause, most likely from considering Akihiko's plan. **"Fuuka, please guide us. Aigis, we'll leave her safety to you. Everyone, hurry to the temple and keep Akihiko's warning in mind. Akihiko, Ken, I know we talked about it but just remember-"**

" **I know, don't worry. We'll do whatever it takes to make it through this."**

" **Good. Everyone be careful. We'll see each other at the temple."**

After that, everyone was silent. Only Fuuka's instructions and warnings could be heard through their connection due to everybody being on high alert and not wanting to distract anyone needlessly. And as Aigis ran through the forest, something told her that this was just the beginning. And while there was nothing wrong with hoping for the best, past experience told her that preparing for the worst was always the better option. Especially when death was a very possible outcome of their lack of preparation.

* * *

"WHAT?! YOU WANT SOME TOO?!"

The Ursa before her roared in response to her challenge only to suddenly groan as though in pain. It fell to its knees, its eyes no longer moving, before slumping forward, revealing a sickle-like weapon stabbed right into its head. With a tug on the ribbon attached to the sickle, the weapon came loose and flew back into the hands of its owner. In fact, said owner happened to be a very familiar looking black-haired girl.

Lowering her fists, Yang allowed her rage to dissipate even as Blake grinned at her for having stolen her kill. "I could have taken 'im," the blonde said with a shrug.

"Whatever you say," Blake responded, her weapon shifting forms into a katana before she sheathed it. "So, I guess this makes us partners then."

"Looks like," she replied with a smile. "Least it's someone I know."

"We just met last night."

"Still better than any of the hundred or so people I've never met."

"I guess," Blake conceded with a small grin. No need to mention that she had seen Yang earlier and had simply waited to see if she would be a good partner before showing herself. After all, they weren't partners until eye contact was made so it wasn't against the rules. "Anyway, we should head to the temple. Something tells me we don't want to stick around the forest too long."

"I'd say you were just being paranoid but yeah, I'm getting a bad feeling about this place too," the blonde girl replied with a worried looking frown. "Don't know if it's a good thing that I'm not the only one feeling it though. I just hope Ruby's alright."

"We'll find out soon enough," the black-haired girl said as she began to walk away, Yang following soon after. "Everyone's headed the same way so there's a good chance we'll meet her sooner or later."

"Yeah, but I can't help but worry," she said casually, trying her best not to let her unease dictate her actions. "I know she's skilled but she's still my little sister. Can't exactly stop worrying over her, you know?"

"Well, best thing we can do is get this over with. Sooner we finish the sooner you can see your sister again."

The two continued their trek in silence. And as much as Yang wanted to engage Blake in conversation to break the uncomfortable silence, the feeling of unease she felt made her reconsider. As far as she was aware there were no Grimm in the area, hidden or otherwise. In fact, the flora in their immediate area wasn't dense enough to hide even a Creep, let alone Beowolves and Ursa.

"I don't get it," Yang whispered to herself, eyes rapidly scanning the area from behind Blake. "Where are they?"

"Who? Your sister?"

The blonde was surprised by Blake's question. Moreover, she was surprised that Blake even heard her in the first place. Maybe she wasn't actually whispering like she thought. "Huh? Oh, no. I meant the Grimm."

Blake gave her a strange look, the kind that said 'Are you crazy?'. "And, you're looking for the Grimm… why?"

"Well… don't you just wanna get it over with?" Yang asked, still searching the area. She was unsure as to whether that question made her seem any less sane but it had to be asked. "I mean, you feel it too, right? Wouldn't it be better if we could get rid of whatever it is now?"

The black-haired girl stopped walking, causing Yang to nearly walk into her. Blake sighed as she turned to face Yang. "First of all, that's not why we're here. Find a partner, grab a relic from the temple, then get out. That's all we have to do. Second, before you say it, we may be Huntresses-in-training but that just means we answer to the real Huntsmen and Huntresses. And right now, we weren't sent here to hunt down Grimm. Third, even if I wanted to go along with that idea, which I don't by the way, we have no idea what's making us feel this way. For all we know it's just the fact that we're in a forest inhabited by Grimm that's making us nervous and not something trying to kill us."

"Aren't Grimm trying to kill _all_ humans? I'm pretty sure we're both human."

' _You are at least,'_ thought Blake, trying not to roll her eyes. "Well, not _us_ specifically and not here and now. Look, I just wanna get the exam over with. The sooner we get to that temple and grab a relic, the sooner we can leave."

"Aaaand if I say I wanna look for whatever it is?"

"… Then I guess I'm gonna have to look into other schools," Blake responded as though she were simply stating facts. Which, in a way, she was.

Yang frowned at the response. Clearly nothing she said was going to convince Blake to go with her to hunt down the Grimm that seemed to be stalking them, or whatever it was that was making them uneasy. She couldn't even play the 'We're Huntresses' card since Blake had already cut that off by reminding her of the chain of command they were expected to follow as trainees. They may be taking an exam but it was clearly modeled after a retrieval mission of sorts. And they were definitely being tested on more than just their combat abilities.

' _I could always just go off on my own, and meet up with Blake later.'_ The idea barely lasted a second before she discarded it. The Headmaster had mentioned they were being observed and graded. It would definitely count against her if she left her partner to go off on her own, especially when what she wanted to do had nothing to do with the exam.

So with a resigned sigh and slumped shoulders, she gave in. "Fine. Let's get going then."

Blake just nodded as she turned and resumed walking north. Inwardly, however, she was relieved. Very much so. Regardless of whether or not they found whatever was making them feel so anxious, Blake felt that it could only end badly. Moreover, what she had said about looking to the other schools was nothing more than a bluff.

She really didn't want to test her luck with the other academies. She was fortunate enough that Ozpin allowed her in despite her past. There was no telling what the other academies would say, or do, to her. And it wasn't something she could keep hidden after all. Hiding it from her peers was one thing but from the staff? That was a disaster and a nightmare just waiting to happen, especially if the academy she chose wasn't as Faunus friendly as Beacon, never mind how accepting they would be of a former member of the White Fang, deserter or no.

Their journey through the forest was made in complete silence. And as uncomfortable as it was for them, both knew that they couldn't allow themselves to grow complacent. Not with whatever it was out there that was causing their unexplained discomfort.

Soon enough they reached an open field, the remnants of an old stone structure standing before them. "Think this is it?" Yang asked, turning to her partner.

"Won't know 'til we check it out."

They approached cautiously, both aware that Grimm could very well be nearby, ready to pounce. As they approached the structure, they noticed a multitude of pedestals. It looked decidedly out of place within the old, crumbling walls. More importantly, on top of the pedestals were boxes just small enough to fit on their palms. A closer inspection revealed Beacon's crest printed on top of each box.

"Are these the relics?"

"Doesn't look like a 'relic'," Yang commented, picking up one box and shaking it. "There's something inside it though. Think we're supposed to open it?"

Examining the box in Yang's hand, Blake shook her head. "I doubt it. There's a keyhole but no key. I'm guessing we're just supposed to take these back. We'll probably find out whatever's inside once we take it back to the Headmaster or one of the teachers."

"And if we were actually supposed to look for the key as well?"

Blake just shrugged. "Guess we'll both be looking into other schools then."

Yang couldn't help but laugh despite Blake's negativity. And when Blake frowned at her, she just laughed even harder. Eventually she sobered up and held up her hands in front of her in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Blake said nothing but the frown disappeared from her face. "Anyway, we've got what we came for, hopefully."

Blake hummed in agreement. "Let's get out of here before…"

"Before what?" Yang asked. But when she looked at Blake, she found the girl looking around slowly. "Something wrong?"

"Shhh," was all she got in response. After a moment, Blake spoke again. "Can you hear that?"

Yang strained her ears, trying to listen for whatever it was that caught Blake's attention. Whatever it was though, it was either gone, or Blake had really good hearing. "Sorry, I've got nothing," she said with a shake of her head.

"It's coming this way," Blake said, one hand slowly reaching up for her weapon. "I don't know what it is but get ready."

Yang deployed Ember Celica without any complaints. All things considered it was better to be safe than sorry, or dead. "What does it sound like?" she asked, keeping her voice low.

"Footsteps, or something like it. Lots of it too," Blake said. Quickly, she added, "Too many to be the other students. Not unless most of them are running this way all at once."

"Yeah, not likely," agreed Yang.

Given the size of the forest it was indeed unlikely that a large group, one large enough that their collective footsteps could be heard approaching, would be running towards the temple all at once. And the fact that Blake mentioned running implied that they knew exactly where they were going. So unless they were all running blindly in the same direction, which just so happened to lead to the temple, Yang doubted it was their fellow initiates.

It didn't take long before Yang, too, could hear the soft rumbling of countless feet running through the forest. Whatever it was, Blake was right. There was a lot. And though she hadn't thought to ask why, she now knew why Blake hadn't suggested they run. The footsteps were coming from the south. The same direction they needed to go in order to return to Beacon. Better to fight in an open space for the moment than amongst the trees, which could potentially hinder them more than help them. Once they determined the situation, then they could consider running.

As the sounds came closer, Yang saw Blake draw the sword from her back. Unlike earlier, it wasn't a slim katana, but rather a wide, cleaver-like blade. She didn't dwell on it though. Whatever was coming towards them was almost there. It wouldn't be long before they came into view just before they could cross the tree line.

And when the source of the sound finally came into view, Yang's eyes widened in shock. And she knew, even without looking, that Blake was most likely the same. The first thing that came out of the forest were two people. Two very familiar looking people.

Running towards them were Ken and Akihiko, looking like they had decided to run the entire distance to the temple from wherever they landed. And looking at them, she would believe it if they told her that they did. Sweat was pouring down both their faces and Yang could see how hard they were breathing even from a distance. But the most important thing she saw was the red liquid flowing down on Akihiko's face.

Blood. His blood. Coming from a wound on his face. It didn't take long to figure out where the wound came from. Rushing out of the forest not far behind the pair were five Beowolves. And from the look of things they had been chasing the two for quite a while. Whatever happened in the forest it was enough to drain Akihiko's Aura to the point that he had been wounded. It was literally just a small scratch – head wounds were notorious for bleeding a lot even from just a small gash – most likely received by dodging a little too late but definitely negligible as long as it didn't get infected.

Yang didn't know if Akihiko was just that weak or if they had been overwhelmed, but right now that didn't matter. She glanced at Blake. A nod from the girl was all she needed before they both shot forward, weapons at the ready. In just a few seconds, they closed the distance between them and the fleeing duo. And another second later, they were in front of the Beowolves.

With a roar that almost sounded inhuman, Yang punched the first one she reached, snapping its head to the side. Another punch sent it flying back, crashing into a tree. She hopped back as the one beside her lunged at her with its claws, missing her completely. Clasping both hands together above her head, she brought both fists down on its head, completely shattering its bone-like mask. It slammed down onto the ground, bouncing once as its earlier momentum carried it past her.

She barely spared it another glance as turned to look for her next target. But of the five that had come out of the forest, none remained. Just a few feet from her were the already dispersing bodies of the other three, all dead by Blake's hand. She relaxed, seeing the threat taken care of.

"Look out!"

She spun at the warning and saw the shattered mask of the Grimm she thought she had killed coming towards her. But before she could bring up her arms, she saw a blade pierce the side of its head, exiting through the other side. Turning her head, she saw the blade connect to the shaft of a spear. And holding the spear was none other than Ken, the same person who had shouted out the warning.

His breathing was labored but Yang knew it wasn't due to something like fear or from killing his first Grimm. No, there was a hardness in his eyes that showed he had done this before. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. There was no hesitation in his movements as he pulled out the spear, allowing the Grim to slump down to the ground, completely lifeless and already begin to disintegrate.

"Are you alright?"

Yang wanted to laugh at his question. Oh wait, she was. "So-Sorry," she gasped out, seeing the frown on his face. "It's… It's just that I should be asking you that," she finally managed to say, getting her laughter in control. "You look like you just ran here all the way from Beacon."

Whatever Ken was going to say in response was interrupted when Akihiko approached, his expression tense and serious. "Don't relax just yet. There's still more of them."

"In that case we'll just take care of 'em like we did these guys."

"Uh… Yang?"

The blonde brawler turned to Blake, wondering why she sounded worried. Instead of an answer, all she found was a wide-eyed Blake staring in the direction of the forest, mouth slightly agape. Wondering what it was that caught her attention this time, Yang turned and couldn't help but stare as well. Only this time, she felt a sliver of uncertainty enter her.

There, standing just past the tree line, were over two dozen Grimm. But it wasn't the sheer number that made her feel worried. No. It was the presence of four Alpha Beowolves and three Ursa Major. Movement above them caught her attention. She shifted her gaze higher and saw easily a dozen human-sized Nevermores settling down on the branches of the trees, and just like their brethren on the ground, their red eyes turned to face them. Turned to face their prey.

"Wha… What the hell?" she gasped out in shock.

"They've been chasing us almost as soon as they saw us," said Akihiko. It took her a moment to realize that he was now standing between her and Blake. Ken joined him as well, standing between them with his spear at the ready. "There were only a few of them at first but one of them howled and called the rest. We took out at least two dozen before we were overwhelmed and had to run."

"Two… Two dozen?" Blake couldn't hide her surprise at that. "And there's still this many?"

"This isn't all of them." This time it was Ken who spoke. "There was a lot more than this. I don't know if they gave up or if they're just waiting behind this group. But there should be at least twice as many as there are now."

Yang and Blake glanced at each other, both of them seeing the fear that began to creep into the other's expression. How could they not feel fear after all? It was one thing to face a few dozen Grimm. It was another thing when that many Grimm was accompanied by multiple Alphas and Majors as they could see. And they weren't even sure that there weren't any more hiding behind this group or that the three kinds of Grimm before them were all that there was.

"Ken, you ready?"

Amber eyes and lilac eyes snapped to the silver-haired boxer at this words. Was he really thinking of fighting?

"Whenever you are, senpai."

"What?!"

It took the two girls a moment to realize that they had both screamed out their question. Incredulous and disbelieving eyes looked at the two standing in between them, wondering whether they were brave or simply insane. And as she pondered that, Blake realized one more thing. _'They're not afraid.'_

She could be forgiven for not noticing earlier given the situation. But looking back, she realized that not once did the two show any signs of being afraid. Sure they were running away, but the expressions on their faces were hard and determined with only a hint of worry. They hadn't been running. They had been retreating. They knew they were at a disadvantage and so they ran. And now that they had a better chance, they turned around to fight.

When Ken had killed that Grimm just now, there was no hesitation in his movements. When Akihiko explained their situation, he walked up to them with determination. And now, seeing them stand between her and Yang, she didn't see two people who were afraid to die. She saw two people who knew they could die but chose to fight regardless.

' _Who are they?'_ she couldn't help but ask herself, watching in morbid fascination as both Ken and Akihiko fell into a fighting stance, eyes filled with nothing but determination glaring at the Grimm as though daring them to attack. _'And how does a boy so young have eyes like this?'_

"H-Hey," Yang stammered out, holding her hands out towards the two. "I know you wanna fight but your face is bleeding." Blake's eyes snapped to Akihiko's face, noticing that, indeed, the silver-haired boy had a cut running across his right cheek. "It's dangerous to fight when you're out of Aura."

"She's right," said Blake, keeping half her attention on the Grimm in case they decided to act at that moment. _'What are they waiting for?'_ she wondered idly as she spoke to Akihiko. "Look, the relics are just behind us. Just grab one and we can try to make a run for the cliffs. There's no need to risk our lives here."

"No need?" When Akihiko turned his eyes to meet hers, Blake couldn't help but shiver. His gray eyes looked as cold and sharp as a steel blade, seemingly piercing right into her very soul. "You said it yourself. The relics are just behind us. The relics we need to pass. The relics that _everyone else is trying to find!"_

Blake heard a gasp from Yang. "Ruby…"

Akihiko continued to speak, not even acknowledging Yang. "If we leave now then what happens? We don't know whether these things will follow us or if they'll decide to chase after whoever they meet along the way." The enraged boxer turned away from her and returned to staring down the Grimm. "If you wanna leave then go ahead. I won't stop you. But I'm staying and I'm not leaving until my friends get here. Doesn't matter if I don't have Aura. As long as I can stand, and as long as I can move, I'm gonna keep fighting."

Blake turned to Ken, hoping that he could talk some sense into his partner. But, as a part of her had already expected, the young boy looked as resolute as the young man. "You can't convince me to leave either," he said without looking at her. "Not just because we're partners, and not just because we're friends."

"Ken."

"Yes, senpai?"

"Back me up."

His words shocked Blake and Yang even more than they already were. They had been expecting them to wait for the Grimm to make the first move, to stall for as long as possible for their friends, or other students, to arrive to increase their chances. Instead he chose to make the first move.

"Got it."

Before either Yang or Blake could stop them, both Akihiko and Ken charged forward, the former running ahead. In response, several Beowolves, Ursa, and Nevermore charged forward to meet the two.

"Damn it," cursed Yang. Against just a few Grimm she might not have been too worried despite Akihiko's current lack of Aura. But against a dozen? With his lack of Aura all it took was one mistake, one moment of inattention, and he may very well die. Making a quick decision, she turned to Blake. "Sorry Blake," she said, causing Blake to turn to her in confusion. But by then it was too late. Yang was already running towards Akihiko.

Yang knew she wouldn't make it. Even now the two ahead of her were just several steps away from the Grimm. She just hoped she made it before anything truly bad happened. But just before Akihiko and Ken reached the approaching Grimm, someone else intervened.

"LET'S BREAK SOME LEGS!"

Another Ursa broke through the tree line far to their left. And riding on its back while yelling out the strangest war cry Yang had ever heard was an orange-haired girl. And sitting behind her, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but there, was a black-haired boy. Vaguely, Yang remembered them from the locker room and the clearing just before the exam.

With one hand holding onto the Grimm, the girl aimed her weapon with the other hand and fired. Several canisters shot out of the large barrel, all flying towards the Grimm. Seeing this, Akihiko and Ken leapt back just as the canisters struck the Grimm and promptly exploded, pink smoke burst out from they now identified as grenades.

The girl fired several more shots as the Grimm she was riding closed the gap between them and the Grimm. When they had gotten close enough, her weapon changed forms, the parts moving and shifting until what remained in her hand was a large hammer. Springing up from her seat, she hopped onto the Ursa's head and used it as a springboard, leaping high above the Grimm that survived her initial assault just as the Ursa smashed into their lines.

The black-haired boy jumped off as well, wielding a pair of bladed pistols as he engaged the Grimm in close quarters. Akihiko and Ken soon joined them as the girl dropped from the air, her hammer smashing a Beowolf's skull into paste. Seeing the new arrivals, more of the Grimm joined the fight but Yang noted that the Alpha Beowolves and Ursa Majors did not move from their places. Instead, they seemed to be observing the fight for some reason.

Yang readied herself once more, preparing to charge into the fray only for a hand to grab her wrist. As she expected when she turned, she found Blake standing behind her. "Let go, Blake."

"We don't stand a chance against that many," Blake insisted. "There are literally dozens more behind what we can see and I can still hear more of them coming this way."

"How can you even hear that?" Then, realizing what she had just asked, Yang shook her head and pulled her arm away from Blake's grip. "You know what, forget it. Look, if you wanna run then just go. But I'm not leaving without Ruby."

"Then let them take care of it," Blake said, pointing to the quartet who were fighting against the slowly increasing number of Grimm. "Besides, their friends are still coming. The other students are still on their way as well. With that many people your sister will be fine. We have what we need, let's just leave already."

"Leave?" Yang's face transformed into a vicious snarl, and her eyes turned as red as a Grimm's. "Do you even realize what you're saying? You're asking me to risk my sister's life! Maybe they can handle it, maybe they can't. But either way, I can't take that chance. Not when it's Ruby's safety on the line. So either help us… or…" Yang paused, noticing that Blake was no longer paying attention to her but was looking up at the sky. "What are you looking at?" she asked, following Blake's line of sight.

"…aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA-gck!"

Only to see Ruby, falling from the sky, just as a blonde boy smashed into her from the side and into the side of a tree.

"…"

"Did your sister just-"

"Didn't happen."

"But we just-"

"Didn't see a thing."

"But Yang, she-"

"I totally didn't see my sister fall from the sky and get hit by a flying boy. Nope, not at all. You must be seeing things Blake. I know you're stressed but try not to let it get to you." If anything, Blake had to admire Yang's ability to say all that with a straight face and in one breath. "Oh look, Ruby's here. Ruby! Over here!"

All of a sudden, the thought of trying her luck in another school sounded like a good idea. A very good idea.

"Yang!"

"Ruby, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," replied the younger sibling, pushing her sister away. "I should be asking you that. That's a lot of Grimm."

"Way to state the obvious sis," teased the blonde, receiving a punch in the shoulder for her trouble. "Anyway, there's a lot more Grimm than you think. We have to-"

A loud crash from the opposite side cut off their conversation. Turning, they saw a red-haired girl running directly towards them, with a very large, and very angry Deathstalker chasing after her. And now both were running straight for them. Ruby, Yang, and Blake scattered, avoiding getting run over by the Grimm.

Pyrrha continued to run but her eyes widened when she saw four people in front of her holding off dozens of Grimm. "Look out!" She shouted out a warning to the quartet holding back the Grimm just as she ran off to the side. Unfortunately, the Deathstalker had seen the other four and decided they were easier prey than the one that kept running away.

Turning at the warning, Ken's eyes widened when he saw an enormous scorpion heading straight for them. "Senpai! Ren! Nora! Move!" he yelled out, seeing that the others didn't seem to have heard the earlier warning.

The trio he had called out to just barely saw the Deathstalker approaching them. Scrambling out of the way, the trio narrowly avoided the Deathstalker's charge, causing it to crash into the line of Grimm. Seeing the new addition, Akihiko called for a retreat. And though Nora looked ready to fight regardless, some words from Ren placated her as the quartet rejoined the rest.

"Where'd you guys come from?" Akihiko asked, noticing the addition of Ruby and Pyrrha to the group. And just behind them, he saw the white-haired girl, Weiss, sitting on the back of a lightly armored blonde boy. "You know what, never mind. These things don't look like they're giving up any time soon. No matter how many we kill more of 'em take their place. And the big ones haven't even come out yet. So if you guys are planning to fight you better get ready. If not, then you better get moving. Ken and I will keep them busy while you run."

At that moment, Blake finally snapped. "YOU'RE STILL THINKING OF FIGHTING?!" she screamed out, much to everyone's surprise. "LOOK AT THAT! There are literally dozens of them and I can see at least two dozen Beowolf Alphas and Ursa Majors, never mind the ones we can't see. And you… You're probably completely out of Aura by now and you still want to fight? Not only that, but Ken's wounded as well. AND YOU'RE THINKING OF DRAGGING HIM INTO THIS?! FORCING HIM TO FIGHT?!"

Blake's last few statements caught the newcomers off guard, their eyes quickly scanning over Akihiko's and Ken's forms. Sure enough, both were injured, but not very badly. Their clothes were torn in some places and they both had several thin cuts on their faces and bodies, all of them bleeding lightly. It wouldn't be enough to endanger them but the fact that they had lost enough Aura to be wounded was very troubling.

"Don't go dragging other people, especially if they're your friends, into a hopeless situation. If you wanna throw your life away then at least-"

"STOP IT! PLEASE!"

Everyone froze at the interruption and turned to face the one who had yelled for them to stop. Hard, brown eyes gazed back at them full of determination. And despite belonging to a twelve year old, none of them could bring themselves to speak up. "Please," he began in a softer, but still firm, voice. "Don't… Please don't talk about senpai like that. He's not forcing me to fight, or even to attend this school. I chose to do this on my own. So please, don't think badly of him. It may not seem like it but senpai knows what he's doing. And I trust him."

Everyone's eyes shifted between Ken and Akihiko after that, wondering what the older boy had to say. But instead, he remained silent, back turned to them as he kept an eye on the Grimm. For her part, Blake couldn't help but see something, or rather someone, else in Ken and Akihiko's place.

" _Don't talk like you know him! You don't know the first thing about him! It may not seem like it but what he's doing is for the best. I trust him."_

The unwanted memory that the boy's word's brought up caused her to clench her hands into tight fists. _'No,'_ she thought bitterly. _'You're wrong. He doesn't know what he's doing. And sooner or later, someone is going to pay for his choices. And it won't be him.'_

"Hey uh… Yang?"

"Yeah Ruby?"

"Do Grimm normally just stare like that?"

Had it been any other time, Ruby's question could have been seen as nothing more than childish curiosity. But this time, however, it reminded everyone of their current dilemma but also brought up a very good point. More Grimm could be seen now and some of them had stepped past the tree line. Roughly a third were older and larger than the rest. And as Ruby had so innocently pointed out, all of them were just watching.

Grimm were aggressive creatures whose only purpose was to kill humans and faunus. Older Grimm would sometimes leave them alone but only if they were at the age where they were capable of judging their chances of survival and deciding whether to risk it or not. But to see dozens of Grimm just standing there, watching them like scientists observing an experiment, was incredibly unnerving.

They were grateful, of course, that they weren't being swarmed. But it did bring up the obvious, though worrying, question of when they would attack. It wasn't a matter of if they would attack. They knew for a fact that the Grimm would attack sooner or later. It was only a matter of when.

"Akihiko!"

"Akihiko-san!"

"Akihiko-senpai!"

Everyone turned at the sound of new voices and found three- no, four people familiar joining them. Running towards them, having just exited the forest, were Mitsuru, Yukari, and Aigis. Fuuka, however, was being carried on Aigis's back, seemingly unconscious.

As soon as the quarter joined them, Ruby and Yang were the first ones to act. "Hey, is she alright?" Yang asked, turning her gaze on Aigis. "Is she hurt?"

"Fuuka-san is fine," replied Aigis. But rather than on Yang, her eyes were focused on the Grimm. "Akihiko-san, are these the same Grimm that were chasing you earlier?"

"Yeah. Don't ask why, but they've been standing there just watching us. They only attacked when Ken and I did but as soon as we pulled back they just went back to waiting."

"Could they be attempting to contain us?" asked Mitsuru, sharp red eyes evaluating the situation. "Have you tried to see how far they'd let you go?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Haven't been here long enough to try. Still, I've got a few ideas why they're acting this way but we can talk about that later. For now, let's wait for Junpei and Chidori. They're almost here anyway."

"Wait, you know where they are?" Akihiko and Mitsuru turned to Ren, who had asked the question. "Sorry, it's just that you actually sound like you know where he is, and not just assuming he'll be here soon. Am I wrong?"

The eight students not part of SEES were treated to an interesting sight as Mitsuru and Akihiko turned to one another and seemed to have a conversation despite not saying anything. Akihiko looked at Mitsuru with a questioning look, to which the redhead seemed to ponder the unspoken question. Then she raised an eyebrow while the expression on Akihiko's face looked like he had just shrugged. Then he looked at her with a small grin as though he had just said something amusing.

Mitsuru looked like she was thinking about something for a moment before nodding as though coming to a decision. "Fuuka," she said without even turning to face the girl who seemed to be unconscious on Aigis's back. "Connect with them."

Yang was confused. Was she really talking to an unconscious girl? "Hey, why are you-"

" **Can everyone hear me?"**

The present members of SEES could barely contain their amusement as their eight acquaintances frantically looked around, shouting questions like "Who's that?" or "Where did that come from?" The looks on their faces were amusing even as some of them drew their weapons.

" **S-Sorry,"** they heard the voice say, even as it giggled. **"I didn't mean to scare you all. Though it was pretty funny seeing you all react like that."**

Having spoken to her at length earlier that day, it came as no surprise when Yang was the first to recognize the voice. "Wait, Fuuka? Is that you?" She turned to the girl on Aigis's back and saw a faint smile on her face. "And… are you actually talking to me inside my head or am I going crazy?"

They all heard the sound of giggling again before the voice now identified as Fuuka spoke once more. **"No, you're not going crazy. If you are then everyone else is too. But yes, I am talking to you all inside your heads."**

"That's so cool!" squealed Ruby. "Is this your Semblance? What else can you do? Oh, can you read minds? Wait… please tell me you can't read minds. That would be so cool but-"

" **No Ruby, don't worry,"** Fuuka interrupted gently. **"I can't read minds. This is only a part of my power. Unfortunately I can't access my full power at the moment so I have to remain still to be able to use it. It's why Aigis-chan is carrying me right now. I was using my power to guide everyone here while trying to avoid the Grimm. Akihiko-senpai and Ken-kun weren't the only ones being chased."**

At Fuuka's words, everyone was reminded of their situation. And as amazing as Fuuka's Semblance was, they didn't really have time to find out what else she could do if mental communication was only a part of her full power.

"So you can tell where the Grimm are?" asked Weiss, noting Fuuka's words.

" **I can, yes,"** responded Fuuka. **"Right now it's as Akihiko-senpai said. The Grimm are just gathering there. I can't sense any of them trying to maneuver around us or anything like that."**

" **About that."** The newly connected blinked in surprise when they heard Mitsuru's voice speaking this time. **"Can you give us an estimate as to their numbers?"**

The group waited with bated breath while Fuuka counted. Or at least, they assumed that's what she was doing. Only the SEES group knew what she was capable of after all.

" **There are almost two hundred Grimm gathered here. And I can sense about fifty or sixty more following Junpei-kun and Chidori-chan."**

Fuuka's words were stated calmly, but the reactions outside the SEES group was anything but calm. Most of them cursed, a few looked about ready to panic, while one looked almost excited at the prospect of fighting so many Grimm.

" **What about Junpei? How far are they?"**

" **There are no Grimm in front of them so they should be here within a minute."**

"Alright, in that case get ready to fight." This time Mitsuru spoke out loud.

The members of SEES nodded. Fuuka opened her eyes and stood as Aigis slowly lowered her to the ground. Mitsuru drew her rapier and joined Akihiko and Ken, facing the Grimm. Turning to the other three, they watched as Aigis and Yukari drew their own weapons.

Aigis slipped her fingers through the holes on her weapon's hilt and drew them from the pouch. Once they were out, the weapon unfolded revealing two blades roughly a foot in length attached to the bottom of the hilt. Aigis joined the other three and fell into a ready stance, both blades held in a reverse grip.

Yukari grasped the handle of her weapon and pulled it free from the straps holding it to her leg. When the weapon unfolded, it was revealed to be a pink and white bow. Unlike a normal bow, however, the limbs of the bow were wide, single-edged blades, allowing it to be used for close-ranged combat as well. Reaching over her shoulder, she unlatched the clasp on the cylinder on her back and opened the top, revealing it to be a quiver full of arrows.

They turned to Fuuka expectantly, wondering what her weapons were, only to find her just standing there, her eyes closed with her face scrunched up in concentration. **"I'm ready, everyone,"** they heard her say in their minds.

" **Alright,"** Mitsuru responded. "But before that, will any of you be fighting?" It took them a moment to realize that Mitsuru was talking to them out loud, and not a member of her group, and that she had turned to face them. "As Blake has pointed out to Akihiko earlier, the relics are just behind you." Those who hadn't known that spun around to find that, yes, there were several pedestals with small boxes on them, presumably containing the relics. "If you do not wish to fight, I suggest you retrieve a relic and prepare to flee. We'll draw their attention and hold them off while you run."

" **And I can guide you to help you avoid the Grimm, or at least warn you if they manage to get too close or cut you off,"** added Fuuka.

"Then why not just come with us?" Once again, it was Blake who spoke up against fighting. "Why are you so insistent on fighting? Even with this many Grimm, if we all go together I'm sure we can get away."

"She's right, Mitsuru." This time it was Pyrrha who spoke, walking past the others to stand in front of Mitsuru. "If there are indeed that many Grimm with more on the way, you'll eventually be overwhelmed."

"And even if you weren't overwhelmed outright," added Weiss, stepping up beside Pyrrha. "You're still just human. Eventually your Aura will run out and you'll grow tired from fighting. The smart thing to do would be to take what we came for and run. Besides, given their wounds both Akihiko and Ken are either low or out of Aura."

"She's right. Our objective is to grab a relic and get back to the cliffs." They all turned to Ruby, who had decided to give her own opinion on the matter. "There's no point in fighting these things. Especially not so many of them."

Mitsuru looked at each of the students before her, their eyes filled with determination but, at the same time, imploring her to reconsider her stance. "I see. And I trust all of you share their opinions?" she asked, turning to the four who hadn't spoken. They nodded in response, as she had expected. "Very well. In that case, retrieve your relic and prepare to run. As I've already stated, we will hold off the Grimm and prevent them from pursuing."

Whatever sense of victory they felt when Mitsuru first replied to them was completely shattered as she finished her statement. A glance at the other five showed that their minds, too, were unchanged.

"I know you don't understand," said Mitsuru, speaking gently. "But this is simply something we have to do. While you are taking these exams to prove your capabilities to the school, we choose to fight here to prove something to ourselves."

"To yourselves?" asked Weiss.

Mitsuru thought for a moment before she nodded, coming to a decision. "Yes. And that is why we can't run. To us, this initiation is more than just a test to see if we are worthy of being in this school. This is also a test of our resolve."

"A test of… resolve?"

Before Weiss could question Mitsuru further, Akihiko's voice cut in. "Mitsuru, they're here." When they looked in the direction where he was looking, they saw Junpei and Chidori running towards them.

"Ta-Ta-Ta-Daaa! Junpei Iori is here! Let's get this party started!"

"In case you didn't notice, Junpei, you're the only one who's excited about all this," Yukari commented flatly. "Try to read the mood."

"What, you scared?" he taunted back, falling in line with the rest and drawing the sword hanging from his hip.

"Yeah right," she scoffed in turn. "I'm just tired of patching you up whenever you're done screwing something up."

Junpei barked out a laugh. "After the hell we've been through I'm not gonna be screwing up with something this easy. By the way, looking forward to playing with Shagara?"

"It's Sharanga you- Gah! Dammit Junpei! You made me say it!"

"Alright! Hey Chidorin, our next date's on Yukaricchi!"

"Wh-Wha… I never agreed to that stupid bet!" Junpei just laughed harder. Even the others joined in, showing varying levels of amusement. "Argh! Stupei!"

The students couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was as if SEES didn't care that they were standing in front of a horde of Grimm that was ready to kill them. And if that wasn't strange enough, the Grimm seemed to be content to leave them alone for the time being. But as though Junpei's arrival was a signal, they noticed the Grimm growing more agitated.

Fuuka, of course, noticed this as well. **"Get ready everyone,"** she said to them all. **"I can sense something changing with the Grimm. They might be getting ready to attack."**

"Alright," said Mitsuru. But before she turned back to the Grimm, she addressed the eight students before her once more. "If you are going to run, now's your best chance. Wait until their focus is on us then circle around and past them. Fuuka will guide you for as long as you're within range." She turned and walked away, but paused just before reaching the other group. "Be careful." She spoke without turning around, then rejoined SEES.

"Is everyone ready?" She received various responses from the group, all positive. "Very well." The students all noticed a change in her tone and demeanor at that very moment. "Fuuka, we'll be relying on you to provide support. Akihiko and Junpei will act as our vanguard first. Ken, Chidori, and I will take advantage of any openings you create. From there, we proceed as usual. Yukari, Aigis, if the Nevermores attack I want you two to focus on them to keep them from overwhelming us from the air. Is that clear?"

Another chorus of affirmatives came from the group.

"Alright, let's go!" Akihiko and Junpei surged forward. Ken, Chidori, and Mitsuru followed a second later to give them time to engage the Grimm. Yukari and Aigis followed, the android-in-hiding running ahead of the archer.

And seeing their foes rush forward, the Grimm responded in kind. But just as there were more of SEES this time, they responded in kind. Dozens of Beowolves shot forward, followed closely by the larger but slower Ursa. And from the treetops, a large flock of Nevermore glided down as well.

And when the two groups met, chaos ensued.

Without Aura the members of SEES were far more vulnerable than the rest of their future classmates. Moreover, Grimm, as Elizabeth explained, all aimed to kill. And even the younger, smaller Grimm were easily capable of killing them. Beowolves were swift and agile, and had sharp fangs and claws. Creeps had large mouths with sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Ursa had sharp claws combined with a powerful and heavy frame. Nevermores had sharp talons and very hard beaks. And Boarbatusks could easily crush them to death with a single, powerful charge.

And that one, undeniable fact was the basis of their training with Elizabeth. She and Ryoji would attack them and their goal was to avoid getting hit for as long as possible. A single solid hit marked them as 'dead', no matter how weak, leaving the others to fight on their own until everyone was eliminated. When they got better at dodging – which they were forced to focus on since some attacks just couldn't be blocked safely– the two attacked even more vigorously, forcing SEES to adapt.

In order to dodge better, they were forced to learn how to anticipate their opponent's next move by watching their movements. Using this, they learned how to intercept their enemies, preventing them from reaching their intended target or even preemptively attacking to prevent the attack in the first place. In this manner, they minimized the need to dodge, and thus the risk of getting hit, even further.

And from there, they developed something that even Ryoji had referred to as insanity. A way of fighting beings stronger than themselves that was both incredibly dangerous, but amazingly effective. Even Elizabeth had praised their new strategy, though she did also refer to it as insane. But more importantly, she also told them, "If you could properly use such a way of fighting, then I believe you shall have little to fear."

And so they continued to train. For seven months they trained against two monsters who held back just enough to avoid killing them. Their bodies, their minds, their very souls were tempered by trials that far surpassed anything they had ever encountered. But in the end, there was only one possible outcome for those who survived a hell that few would ever experience.

Junpei cleaved off a Beowolf's arm before beheading it with a single swing of his katana as it recoiled in pain then jumped aside as a second one attempted to do the same to him. Sadly for the Beowolf, this left it open to a spear thrust from Ken, stabbing clean through its head. And even when a third Beowolf took advantage of his spear still lodged in the Grimm's head, a swing from Chidori's axe cut off its hand at the wrist. And when it reeled back, Junpei leapt back in to cut its head off.

Akihiko and Mitsuru, having worked together longer, were in a world of their own. Akihiko was fast but also powerful, and Mitsuru was agile and made up for her lack of strength with swift, shallow cuts to avoid getting her blade stuck, and incredibly precise thrusts to fatal areas. Much like the other trio, one would draw attention while the other finished it off. And when they drew attention, the other would intercept and kill it to give them time to recover from the attack. Even with just two of them, they were killing the Grimm faster than the trio of Junpei, Ken, and Chidori.

Yukari also displayed a remarkable increase in her archery skills, shooting arrows one after another, firing barely a split second after the arrow was properly nocked and drawn, and pulling a new arrow from the quiver almost as soon as the previous arrow was released. Standing less than ten meters from the main fight, it was rare that she missed despite the Nevermores being in constant motion or even actively avoiding her arrows. And when she did miss, Aigis was quick to follow-up.

With physical capabilities far above what the rest of SEES was capable of, Aigis was nothing but a black and blonde blur on the battlefield. At times she would leap up, slashing at the Nevermores in range with her blades. But more often than not, she used the other Grimm as footholds and springboards, aiding not only in her ascent but also by distracting them for her friends.

And as the seven combat members of SEES fought, their eight spectators watched in awe at the ease with which they tore through the Grimm's ranks. Many of them had seen full-fledged huntsmen and huntresses fight before, even while outnumbered. And though those men and women were leagues above in ability, they still couldn't tear their eyes away from SEES's amazing display of teamwork. Teamwork that more than made up for their lacking and still-developing individual ability.

Their movements were crisp and polished, seamlessly transitioning back and forth between offense and defense. And like a well-oiled, oft-used machine, each member knew their roles by heart and they played their parts well. The only sounds coming from them were shouts, grunts, groans, and the occasional curse. Not once did they hear orders or even words of warning. It was almost like a well-choreographed stage play, with even the Grimm being killed merely part of the presentation as they were slaughtered so easily.

"Wow." The breathy exclamation from the blonde boy summed up all their thoughts as they continued to stare, transfixed by the beautiful yet deadly dance in front of them.

" **Aren't you going to run?"** Fuuka's question pulled their attention from the fight and back to the teal-haired girl still standing motionlessly in front of them. **"Right now the Grimm are focused on us. If you run now you should be able to escape without drawing attention."**

' _That's right'_ , they realized. With SEES occupying the Grimm, they were free to take the relics they needed and return to the cliff. None of the Grimm, even those still watching from the sidelines seemed to be paying them any attention. And yet…

They all looked to one another and, for the most part, they seemed to come to an unspoken agreement. Almost as one, they drew their weapons and looked at the back of Fuuka's head, knowing that she would somehow know they were looking at her.

"We're fighting," said Yang, as she and the others stepped forward and past Fuuka. "It wouldn't feel right if we left you guys to fight this by yourself."

"Besides," added Ruby, pausing long enough to face Fuuka. "We may still be in training, but it's a Huntress's job to help people, even if they're fellow huntresses."

Weiss just sighed. "As idealistic as that is, I can't exactly disagree."

"We'll stand a better chance this way." At Blake's words, her partner turned to her, silently questioning her on her change of heart. "I still think we should run. But I'd feel guilty if something bad happened when I could have stayed to help."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "And as Ruby said, this is the kind of life we chose. And more often than not, what's easy and what's right are never the same thing."

"I just wanna break some legs!"

"And I'm just here to keep Nora under control."

Six of them just stared at the odd reasoning but accepted it. Either way, it meant two more people to help. And with the seemingly endless army of Grimm, they were going to need it.

Everyone turned to Jaune expectantly, wondering what he had to say about it. Jaune, on the other hand, was uncomfortable with the sudden looks. Truth be told, he would rather be running but now that everyone was choosing to stay he couldn't very well leave, not without a good reason. A very, very good reason. "The more the merrier, right?" he asked jokingly with what he hoped was a confident grin. Some of them just laughed at his words but took it anyway.

" **I see,"** came Fuuka's reply to their conviction. **"Well, I can't stop you if you really want to help. But I suggest you don't help Mitsuru-senpai and the others directly."**

"Hey, just because we didn't wanna fight earlier doesn't mean we can't handle ourselves."

" **It's not that,"** Fuuka explained, trying to placate Yang. **"We've been training like this for seven months and we've been fighting together for even longer before that. It's just that they're used to fighting this way now. It'll only make things harder if they have to adjust to fighting with the rest of you."**

Weiss considered Fuuka's words for a few seconds before clarifying it for everyone. "So it's not that you think we're incapable, just that it would be more of an inconvenience for them since they don't know how we fight. Is that about right?"

" **Exactly. Anyway, you should-"** Fuuka's voice suddenly cut off as she gasped verbally. Whatever it was, it caused her to lose her concentration briefly. **"Hurry! The older Grimm are charging."**

The eight of them turned back to the fight in a hurry and saw that Fuuka's words were true. A dozen Beowolf Alphas and Ursa Majors had broken off from the group alongside a dozen other Grimm and another flock of Nevermores, and were charging straight at the seven members of SEES, who were still occupied with nearly two dozen other Grimm. Not wasting any time, all eight of them rushed towards the battle. One or two wouldn't have been a problem given what they saw of SEES's capabilities. But a dozen all at once while fighting off the smaller ones?

Even if they could handle it, they wouldn't be in any condition to face those still waiting on the sidelines, which were still increasing as more and more came from the forest.

"Alright! Let's start things off," Yang shouted as she came within range of a Beowolf. "With a YANG!" She punched the Beowolf squarely in the chest, firing Ember Celica at the moment of impact. The Beowolf flew back and smashed into one of the advancing Alphas, temporarily knocking it out of the fight.

All around SEES, the eight initiates charged into the fray, taking on the Grimm not yet engaged in combat with SEES as requested by Fuuka. Each one worked with their partners, knowing that they would have to get used to working with them. Their teamwork was shaky at best, but they managed. Only Ren and Nora showed a level of teamwork equal, perhaps even better, than that of SEES.

But as the Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training fought, they soon discovered the reason why SEES had been fighting so silently.

" **Aigis, behind you!"**

" **Ken, two to the right!"**

" **Now Mitsuru!"**

" **I'll handle this Junpei-kun."**

" **Yukari-san, the three on the right!"**

" **Eighteen more Grimm are joining, five Nevermores!"**

" **Leave the Nevermores to me, Aigis."**

" **Understood!"**

" **Junpei, look out!"**

" **I've got him covered, senpai!"**

All that time SEES had been communicating through their connection with Fuuka. And now the trainees were part of that connection. But as helpful as it was for Fuuka to warn them of changes in the fight, it was also incredibly disorienting. Hearing half a dozen people shouting different things all at once was hard enough. But to hear it in your head where you couldn't block out the voices that weren't aimed directly at you?

All of a sudden, their respect for the group called SEES grew. They could only imagine how focused they were, how much training they had to do, to be able to fight properly while literally hearing voices in your head that didn't belong to you, all the while shouting your own thoughts over the connection.

But as hard as it was, they didn't have time to complain. Even after their collective efforts killed four of the Alpha Beowolves and three Ursa Majors, there were still several more trying to kill them, not to mention the group that had just joined the fight. Still, they were doing better than they expected. Hopefully the number of Grimm would eventually drop and they could leave. Another group of initiates coming to retrieve a relic didn't sound bad either.

Unfortunately, while the aid of eight more fighters allowed them to maintain their momentum, their arrival also provoked a response from the Grimm. In response to their arrival, more Grimm surged out of the forest with a primal roar that shook the entire forest. And along with the new wave came the Death Stalker that had been chasing Pyrrha earlier.

" **Senpai, the Death Stalker is approaching along with about two dozen more Grimm, all of the older variety."**

Various curses rang out, both in their heads and out loud, at the news that Fuuka delivered. Considering they were already outnumbered two to one, the addition of that many more Grimm would be much more than they could handle. Carefully but swiftly evaluating their options, Mitsuru came to a decision.

" **Fuuka, we'll buy you time. Prepare to use Oracle. Center it around the Death Stalker."**

" **Understood senpai. I'll let you know as soon as I'm ready."**

"Oracle?" Weiss asked, standing the closest to Mitsuru at that moment.

"One of Fuuka's abilities. As I said, we'll need to buy her time to prepare it. It should only be a minute or two at most."

While two minutes was hardly a long time, everyone there silently agreed that even a minute would be difficult given the opposition. It only took ten seconds for the new wave of Grimm to arrive and throw everything into further chaos. While the eight Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training were still fairly fresh, SEES had already gone through nearly fifty on their own so it was no surprise that they were beginning to grow tired.

But more than that, Blake was beginning to notice something about the group. They were weak. Not in the sense that they were incapable, they had proven without a doubt that they were. It was simply that compared to the rest of them, SEES were physically inferior.

None of Akihiko's punches even came close to matching Yang's in power. Junpei's sword strikes were strong enough to cut off limbs and heads but could not cut clean through their torso, not like Ruby, despite her smaller frame. Mitsuru was swift on her feet but compared to Weiss, who was fast but not even the fastest in the group, she was slow. Ken and Chidori were the same, skilled but lacking, while Yukari was clearly more of a ranged fighter and Fuuka was specialized for a support role.

All in all, despite their considerable skill, Blake just couldn't see them as huntsmen and huntresses. _'They're more like highly trained civilians. Almost as though their Auras were awakened really late and then only received training when that happened. And to make up for their lack of training, they emphasize their teamwork.'_

And the more she watched them, the more she was convinced that they were, indeed, civilians who had, for whatever reason, decided to be huntsmen and huntresses all of a sudden. In fact, it reminded her a bit of some members of the White Fang, ordinary people who had chosen to take up arms.

Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to ponder over her thoughts. Outnumbered nearly three-to-one, everyone was beginning to struggle. Barely anyone was attacking, focusing more on not getting hit by the dozens of Alphas and Majors, as well as the Death Stalker's occasional attacks.

After what seemed more like an hour, Fuuka's voice finally called out to them again. **"I'm ready senpai!"**

" **Alright, everyone retreat, now! Use your firearms to keep them at bay but be sure to get as far away as possible. Fuuka, do it."**

Everyone nodded and began to pull away from the Grimm, though Nora needed a little convincing by Ren before she left. Everyone who had the option shifted their weapons to their gun-forms and fired at the Grimm as they attempted to give chase. The sound of gunfire filled the air, accompanied by several grenades and trails of Dust courtesy of Nora and Weiss respectively.

All of a sudden, there was a bright light. Caught off guard, the rate of fire slowly died down until it stopped completely, the eight trainees captivated by the light that suddenly appeared over the Grimm. And even they weren't immune it would seem. The light took the form of a large, round orb, and the Grimm continued to stare at it even as it began to descend upon them. And the moment the light touched the Death Stalker's body, the world turned white.

SEES had known what to expect but the others did not so some of them were unable to react in time, their eyes blinded by the flash and their faces pelted by dust and debris blown away by the explosion, and a few even falling back in surprise combined with the force of the explosion. When the dust and light cleared, those caught off guard could only gape at the damage.

Where once stood over three dozen Grimm was now a large crater littered with dead Grimm, all ripped apart and all beginning to disintegrate. At the edges of the crater were a dozen or so Grimm that had survived, Alpha Beowolves and Ursa Majors that were merely missing limbs or only had large portions of their bodies burned off. Either way they wouldn't be too much of a problem. But the real surprise lay right in the middle of the crater.

The Death Stalker that had been at the center of the explosion was now missing most of its tail and had large cracks running all over its body. Half of its left pincer had been blown off completely while the right was full of cracks and looked close to shattering. With one attack, the most dangerous of the group had been effectively crippled.

"Wha… What the hell?" Yang breathed out, her jaw hanging open at the destruction before her. What even made it more amazing was the knowledge of who did it.

She, as well as seven others, turned around in shock to stare at the teal-haired girl who had caused the explosion. "Fuuka… what…"

"That was Oracle," Fuuka explained to the gaping teens. "It's pretty much the only offensive ability I have since I'm not much of a fighter. Unfortunately it wasn't at full power so I wasn't able to get them all."

"That… wasn't even full power?" Yang's voice had been reduced to a whisper and no one could blame her. The attack they had just witnessed was powerful. More powerful than anything they were capable of. And it wasn't even at full strength? Just what else were they capable of?

Beside Yang, her partner was thinking along the same lines, much like everyone else she mused grimly. That attack had caught her off-guard. When Oracle had first been mentioned, she hadn't expected this, not from their support member of all people. And if she was capable of this and more, just what kind of Semblances did the rest of SEES have? In fact, how did such a powerful ability connect with her Semblance of telepathy?

"Well senpai?" Junpei asked, interrupting everyone's thoughts. "We pretty much did our best out there and this is all we could do. I'm pretty much at the end of my rope here."

Looking at the members of SEES, Blake could easily say that the same held true for most of them. With the exception of Fuuka, Yukari, and Aigis, everyone else looked tired. And while only Akihiko and Ken were wounded, mostly the scratches from earlier, the others didn't look to be in any condition to continue fighting either. Not Junpei, nor Mitsuru, nor Chidori.

Yukari looked fine but she was nearly out of arrows and Blake didn't think she would do that well up close. Not for very long anyway. And Fuuka had been playing support the entire time save for that last attack, which, though powerful, took too long to prepare.

It was Aigis who intrigued her the most. Out of all of them, only Aigis showed physical capabilities roughly equal to the rest of them, perhaps even higher in some aspects. She was faster and stronger than the rest of SEES. It was as though she, unlike SEES, had been training to be a Huntress from a younger age like everyone else on Remnant who aimed to be one. And even now she looked ready to fight, her face hard and determined and showing no sign of fatigue. But that made it that much stranger. Why then was she following Mitsuru's lead? Why was she not the leader?

Mitsuru hummed in agreement with Junpei's words and turned to the rest of SEES. "As Junpei said, it would seem this is all we're capable of."

"True," agreed Aigis. "But it is also much better than what we were capable of before. I believe we are-"

"Hey, don't look now but I think the Grimm are getting ready to attack." At Akihiko's words, everyone turned to face the Grimm and saw that they were approaching. Slowly and cautiously, but approaching nonetheless. Still, none were attacking for the moment but he wasn't going to turn his back on them just yet. "Don't know if I'm right, but Fuuka's Oracle probably got them worried. Doesn't look like they're gonna go with the wait and see approach anymore."

"Then it seems we have no choice," declared Mitsuru, making the students wonder whether they were going to run now. "SEES, get ready. You know what to do." A chorus of affirmatives returned her order as she turned to the eight students with them. "For now, I'll ask you to stay back."

As expected there were words of confusion and cries of disbelief at her request. Understandable. They had to join in to keep SEES from being overwhelmed and now they were being asked to stand aside? Even after SEES had all but stated that they were no longer at their best? Most of them were worried, but a few were shifting between anger and worry, not knowing which would be more appropriate in this situation.

Fortunately, Mitsuru could see the conflict in their eyes and had already planned her response. "I can see that you're worried. But we are not completely helpless just yet."

"But you're tired," commented Weiss, drawing on her lessons as the Schnee heiress to cover up her worry and indignation at being told to stand aside. "It's clear to us that you're not in any condition to fight, not against these odds. Besides, I don't think I'm the only one to notice that none of you are actually that physically capable." While none of the rest had wanted to say it, they did agree at some level, Blake especially. "The level of strength and speed you've all displayed are below what most Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training are capable of at your age."

Weiss hadn't wanted to say it in that manner. She had simply wanted to let Mitsuru know that she, and the others as well, were concerned for them. But she had been unable to stop herself from mentioning her thoughts on their capabilities. And, as Mitsuru herself had said the day before, willpower wasn't enough to erase years of tutelage as an heiress. Before she knew it her tone had gone from worrying to condescending, her words becoming harsh rather than concerned.

"You don't have to tell us that." The response came from the pink-clad archer as she stepped forward to stand beside Mitsuru. "We _know_ we're weak. But that doesn't change anything."

"Besides," continued Junpei, walking forward towards the Grimm. "We've still got a couple of aces up our sleeves."

It took them a moment, but the other group eventually realized what Junpei was talking about. "Your Semblance," stated Ren. "All this time we've been fighting, none of you have used your Semblance."

In response, Junpei and several others from SEES just grinned as the others joined Junpei. Some were mischievous and playful, some morbid and dark, and some manic and excited in appearance. But they couldn't hide their excitement. Not even Mitsuru.

"Well then, I believe we've wasted enough time as it is." As Mitsuru had stated, the Grimm had taken that time to close in on their position. And now, all that stood between them and the sixteen students was a scant ten meters. "Go ahead everyone."

"Understood."

As one, the members of SEES drew the pistols they carried. And while some of them wondered how a pistol was going to help, they also could help but be curious. "Pistols?" Ruby, ever the weapons enthusiast, couldn't help but ask. "Uh… how are pistols going to help?"

"Yeah." Yang nodded. "Not to put you guys down but those tiny guns of you aren't exactly gonna help against the Alphas and Majors."

Mitsuru and Fuuka, the only two standing behind the rest of SEES, chuckled in response. For some reason their laughter sounded quite ominous to the students' ears. "Don't worry," said Mitsuru. "Those aren't real guns."

"Not… real?" asked Ruby. She glanced at the pistol in Mitsuru's hand as it hung by her side. It certainly looked real enough, and from the outside it seemed to have all the right parts. Though she did note that it was missing a safety feature, which definitely wasn't a good idea. Still, as far as she could tell it was real. "If it's not a real gun then what is it?"

Fuuka giggled, remember a time when she had asked a similar question. "Call it… a good luck charm."

The already confused group of eight were only further confounded by the girl's mysterious statement. But their confusion soon gave way to concern when several Alpha Beowolves howled and charged forward. And as fast as they were, the ten meter gap between the two groups meant almost nothing. But that concern soon turned to panic when Aigis suddenly aimed her not-gun. Not at the Grimm, but at her own head.

"What the… NO! STOP!"

Ruby attempted to use her Semblance to stop the blonde from killing herself but it was too late. The eight students felt their hearts stop for that one moment, as, with a shout of, "ATHENA!" Aigis pulled the trigger, and the sound of a gunshot echoed loudly in their ears as though the gun had been right next to them. Some flinched and grimaced, some screamed, but all them could only watch in horror. Time seemed to slow down as they watched Aigis's head jerk violently to the side from the gunshot.

But then they saw something strange. Rather than blood, something that looked like shards of glass erupted from the other side of Aigis's head. The shards then seemed to float upwards, and began to swirl around the space above Aigis. And in that space, motes of bluish-white light began to appear. First in one spot, then in others, and then they began to grow in size. Slowly, the lights gained form and color.

Horror turned into fascination as a tall figure appeared, two or maybe even three times the height of a normal human being. It was dressed in a flowing white robe, a golden helm upon its head with a long red crest. In its right hand was a tall spear, with a wide, triangular spearhead that was more than half a human's height. And hovering around it was a wide, steel ring, blue with gold and silver accents running the entire length of the band. Those not standing directly behind the figure could see a large, round shield at the front of the ring.

The figure pointed its spear to the right, then, with one swift motion, swiped it all the way to the left. And though the motion did not touch the Grimm, the results were destructive. A powerful force, barely visible to their eyes, shot out from the spear as it cut through the air, the blade of air smashing into the Alpha Beowolves that had been approaching and sending them flying back and cutting deeply into them, decapitating and dismembering many.

And then, another person raised the not-gun to their heads. "CAESAR!" Akihiko yelled as he, too, shot himself in the forehead. Once again, they bore witness to the same phenomenon as blue lights gathered and formed another figure. This time it was a tall, white figure wearing light armor and a cape with a red inner lining. In its left hand was a globe and in its right was a double-edged sword.

Unlike the one that Aigis had called out, this one raised its sword up in the air and held it there. Then, without warning, multiple bolts of lightning shot down from the sky and struck the Grimm that the first figure had knocked down. When the flash from the lightning had cleared, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that those Grimm wouldn't be getting up again.

As though spurned on by the deaths of their brethren, the entire line of Grimm, easily numbering over a hundred, perhaps even two, charged forward. Alpha Beowolves, Ursa Major, along with countless Beowolves, Ursa, and Nevermore, all rushed towards SEES, aiming to kill them before more of those strange constructs could be called forth. But they had reacted too slowly. Even as Akihiko had finished off the first wave, the others were already calling forth their own.

"ISIS!"

"TRISMEGISTUS!"

"KALA-NEMI!"

"HECATE!"

Four more constructs came into view above their respective summoners.

The upper-half of a woman with wings for arms, a human head set into a bovine one, two long horns growing from the top of the bovine head, and a large red plate held between the two horns.

A vaguely male figure that was colored red, with wings attached to its shoulders, and two more wing-like objects, each one connecting the hand and calf on each side. On its head – or perhaps it was its head – was a red and gold helm with what looked to be a white bird's head with a golden beak, two white and gold wings attached to its head and a red gem clutched in its beak.

A large, humanoid figure with shoulders connected to its torso with a strange sphere-like casing that surrounded its upper body.

And finally, a female figure that, unlike the rest, looked to be made of flesh rather than steel, dressed in skimpy clothing, gloves, straps, and boots, all made of leather. What stood out the most, were the three heads, one a horse, one a wolf, and what was likely a lion judging by its blonde mane.

A large tornado erupted in the middle of the Grimm's formation, tossing the smaller ones around like rag dolls and tearing them apart with razor sharp winds. The Nevermores, especially, suffered great casualties. And though the larger, heavier Grimm continued to charge, they found their movements halted when the space right in front of them erupted into flames. Those not immediately killed by the flames were unable to act as the red figure flew in through the flames, the wing-like blades attached to its arms and legs cutting through entire groups of Grimm with ease. Others found strange, glowing strips of paper appearing on their bodies. And once in place, they glowed once more and most of the Grimm they were attached to immediately disintegrated.

The first two that had been summoned had not been idle. The spear-wielding Athena charged into the fray, smashing Grimm aside with her shield and stabbing through their bodies with her spear brandishing it with skill that made Pyrrha envious. Alongside it, the sword-wielding Caesar began cutting them apart, occasionally calling forth bolts of lightning to strike down large groups of Grimm.

The students watched in awe as literally dozens of Grimm died in just a few seconds, their numbers culled by the strange constructs that SEES had called forth. "What… What _are_ those things?" Weiss gasped out, unable to tear her eyes from what was essentially a massacre. It was ironic that the Grimm, known to be creatures that slaughtered humans, were now being slaughtered in turn, helpless against these strange new beings.

"We call them, Persona," answered Mitsuru as she watched the battle unfold. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted a flock of Nevermores circling around the battle to target SEES directly. Without hesitation, she raised her evoker up to the side of her head, and fired, the strangeness and suddenness of the action catching the spectators off-guard and causing a few of them to flinch and scream in surprise. "Artemisia!"

Another figure appeared, this time over Mitsuru. A feminine form appeared above her, dressed in a dark blue dress, tall, black heeled boots, and a red opera mask with a long, pointed nose covering the upper half of its face. It work black armor with gold accents and sharp spikes jutting from the hips and shoulders, and gold faulds and spaulders with decorative spikes. And in its left hand was a spiked, segmented whip with a sharp point. With one swift motion, it caught the middle of the whip with its other hand, seemingly not bothered by the spikes, and held it taught in front of her.

Weiss wondered what it would do. It was too far from the Nevermores to strike with the whip, and it didn't seem as though it was going to approach. Then she saw it. Ice. The very element that she favored. Large shards of ice began to appear on the bodies of the Nevermores and began to spread, throwing them off balance. And before they even fell to the ground, their bodies were completely uncased it ice, leaving them easy targets for the others.

"Fuuka, how many are left?"

And finally, Fuuka placed her own evoker to her head and fired. And while nobody screamed this time, they still couldn't help but flinch at the sight of someone seemingly committing suicide. Unlike the others, this time the light formed around Fuuka, taking the form of a large, glass globe around Fuuka. On top of the globe was the upper half of a black-skinned woman with long, messy black hair, a red top and gloves, and two wings on its back with three eye-like designs on each wing.

" **There aren't many left,"** Fuuka replied, her voice once again echoing through their heads. **"Only a few dozen remain. But that large Nevermore is still circling above us."**

Nine sets of eyes suddenly turned skyward, eight out of surprise, and one calmly. The eight had forgotten about the giant Nevermore entirely. Surprising, since two of them had ridden it to reach the temple. But as Fuuka said, it was just circling around the area but its head was turned to face the battle the entire time as though watching for the opportune moment to strike. Or perhaps, even observing them, searching for a weakness.

"Let everyone know to remain alert. It will either strike once we are done with those on the ground, or it will leave."

And it wasn't long before the battle ended in a complete victory for SEES. In less than two minutes, six Personas had slaughtered what seemed to be close to two hundred Grimm, more than a third of them significantly older than the rest. And they remained standing there in the exact same place where they began, having not moved from the spot the entire time.

Above them, the Giant Nevermore screeched, drawing everyone's attention and causing them to tense in preparation. But their worries were unnecessary. It circled around one more time before leaving, clearly not liking its chances of success.

Once Fuuka gave them the all-clear, they allowed their Personas to disperse, turning into motes of light once more before disappearing altogether. SEES gathered together, standing with victorious grins in front of eight students still recovering from everything they had just seen.

"That was…" Weiss paused, unable to find the appropriate word for the situation.

Akihiko just grinned as he spun his evoker around his finger. "Heh. All in a day's work."

* * *

Just past the tree line, hidden within the shadows of the forest, stood eight people, weapons drawn and ready to attack. But, upon seeing the Nevermore flee, they relaxed and stood down.

One of them whistled, impressed by what they had just seen. "Damn, if I didn't see it for myself I wouldn't have believed it." The voice was male, rough and fairly low. "And those kids are just firsties. The hell are they feeding kids these days?"

A short, feminine laugh rang through the area. "You do know you sound like an old man, right?" she asked, turning to the male with a teasing grin. "I mean, those 'kids' are only a year younger than us, save for that boy."

"Can't believe the Headmaster let a kid that young in," came the reply. "Still, it looked like he was doing well enough. He'll have a hell of a time playing catch up with his studies though."

"Well, I guess we'll see. Still," she paused, watching as the group of sixteen retrieved a relic for each pair and began to make their way back to the cliffs. "I honestly thought Ozpin was insane when he told us not to interfere. Now though… think he knew what they could do?"

"Maybe he just had an idea. He did say to jump in only if they decided to run or if he gave the signal. Nothin' at all about what to do if they decided to fight like they did just now. Still, glad I decided to do this. That was one hell of a fight."

"A fight?" the woman scoffed. "That was a massacre and you know it. I've never seen that many Grimm in one place before, let alone that many Alphas and Majors. I don't think any of those kids took a major hit this whole time. And when they used those things…"

"What were those things anyway?" asked a new voice, this one female as well though higher in pitch and speaking with a slightly different accent. "I've heard of Semblances sometimes being the same between parent and child, but none of them looked even vaguely similar to one another. The only ones who might be related are the boy and the girl with brown hair but they don't look that similar at all."

The woman sighed. "I've got no idea what the hell those things were. Could be a Semblance but could be something else. Like you said, they don't look related to one another. Besides, did everyone notice how they brought those things out?"

There were nods from all the other seven. "Yeah. For a moment there I thought they lost their nerve and just decided to end it on their terms," replied another one, male as well but with a smoother voice. "And then 'BANG', those things just pop up from out of nowhere."

"They looked pretty solid too," mentioned a young woman sitting on a branch. "They weren't hard-light constructs and while I've heard rumors back in Atlas that the Schnee family had some sort of summoning ability, none of them look the part. Whatever it is, it's pretty damn powerful."

No one else said anything after that, simply trying to digest all the things they had just seen. But after a moment, two of them received messages on their scrolls. "Looks like Ozpin wants us to get back to our patrols. The Grimm here may be gone but I doubt that's all of them."

"Gonna have trouble concentrating after what we just saw though."

"Still you gotta admit," said the woman as she and the others walked away. "This year's gonna be an interesting one."

* * *

 **And it definitely will be interesting. Not only do we have Persona-users at Beacon, we also have the Vytal festival coming up this year. And you all know what that means. Just imagine the headlines. "PUBLIC SUICIDE ATTEMPT!"**

 **Hahaha, anyway…**

 **Okay, I'm pretty sure that there will be some complaints about some stuff in this chapter. I will address the two most likely that I can see some people complaining about, that being SEES's physical capabilities, and RWBY/JNPR's reaction to seeing all the Grimm.**

 **First, the landing strategy. Some of you may be saying that SEES should be capable of it or that they could have simply used their Personas.**

 **But consider the height they fell from. SEES has always relied heavily on their Personas. True, they aren't physically weak, but they didn't train for years like their fellow classmates. In the previous chapter and even here, I mentioned that Elizabeth focused their training on helping them catch up physically. But seven months of training, no matter how intense, cannot instantly make up for YEARS of training. They may have the experience of fighting against stronger enemies, but their bodies can only grow so much in that time. So, in the end, SEES is still, overall, physically inferior to their fellow classmates.**

 **Now, before anyone says that their Personas make them stronger, I'd like to remind you that the 'Stats' you see in the game are just that, 'Stats in a GAME'. The way I see it, SEES grew physically stronger through fighting, not because their Personas grew stronger and passed on that strength to them. In the end, discounting the ridiculously superhuman things they can do in P4 Arena and Ultimax, their capabilities are still within human limits.**

 **As for using their Personas to help with the landing, I stated in the story that they had already agreed to keep the existence of their Personas a secret for as long as possible. Semblance manifests differently for each people. The only ones who have similar Semblances that have been confirmed in canon are the Schnee. And they're related by blood.**

 **SEES, despite the different Personas, will be seen as having the same Semblance, something along the lines of 'Summoning', despite not being related by blood. That will lead to too many questions. True, the secret is out now but they knew that the secret wouldn't have lasted long and were ready. They simply didn't want it revealed from the very beginning.**

 **Moreover, the decision to rely on their own abilities as much as possible was, as explained in the story, done to test themselves against their new classmates and the Grimm. They are not necessarily expecting to seriously fight their classmates, but they do want to see how they stack up against the people in the world they've found themselves in. After all, they've experience firsthand that not all their opponents will be inhuman in appearance. Obviously SEES, minus Aigis, is physically inferior due to having significantly less training. But that doesn't mean they can't and won't try their best to catch up and constantly test themselves.**

 **As the story progresses, the difference in strength and ability between SEES and the RWBY world will become more apparent beginning with SEES's lack of Aura, and RWBY's specialized Semblance + Weapons vs. Persona's wider range of abilities. SEES will not be overwhelmingly powerful, but they won't necessarily be underdogs either. It's simply that their abilities are so different that it makes it difficult to make an exact comparison of strength.**

 **For example, someone like Junpei would have very little options against Ruby and her speed. Sure he has Marakukaja and Spring of Life, but if he can't even hit Ruby then eventually she'd whittle down his defenses and strength until he can't fight any more. There is a way for him to win. It's simply that it's not as straightforward as it usually is for him.**

 **Although SEES pretty much dominated the fight once they revealed their Personas, don't forget that, unlike the Shadows, the Grimm are pretty much only capable of physical attacks. SEES didn't have to worry about the Grimm firing off elemental attacks or reflecting their own elemental attacks back at them. The Grimm may have numbers, but in an open space they're pretty much fish in a barrel with SEES's AoE attacks. I already have something in mind to even the odds again but that won't come into play until much later.**

 **As for the RWBY cast's reaction upon seeing all that Grimm, hopefully you remember that they are only 17. And while they are more or less the same age as SEES, SEES have come close to death many times, facing Shadows well beyond their individual abilities, and were faced with the possibility of extinction.**

 **Some of them have faced danger before (Weiss and Blake) and even come close to death (Yang and, possibly Ruby, not sure if she was awake to see the Beowolves attack when she was younger), but all of them save Jaune have had their Auras unlocked for a long while now. So even facing Grimm, they have the luxury of knowing that their Aura is there to help protect them. SEES did not have such a luxury. Persona or no, if they get hit they will get hurt and possibly die, even in one hit. In short, SEES is much more aware of their mortality.**

 **Moreover, none of them have ever faced the Grimm in such numbers before. True, the Red Trailer specifically showed Ruby slaughtering dozens of Beowolves but younger Grimm are known to be aggressive and reckless. It's why I specifically made mention of the Alphas and Majors. Not to mention the Grimms' strange 'watch and wait' behavior, the reason for which will be revealed in future chapters.**

 **But here, when it was just Blake, Yang, Akihiko and Ken, they were up against two dozen with several dozen behind them or approaching, plus several older Grimm were visibly present, acting as a deterrent from any reckless attacks. And from Blake and Yang's POV, Akihiko was out of Aura while Ken was still young.**

 **Even when the rest of RWBY and JNPR joined them, they were still heavily outnumbered and there was at least three older Grimm for one of them. It's why I made sure to specifically mention how many Alpha Beowolves and Ursa Majors the characters could see at certain points, to give everyone a proper perspective as to how outnumbered and outmatched the characters felt.**

 **Even if they are strong enough to fight them, they know that sheer numbers will eventually overwhelm them. Especially since they have no idea whether more are coming or when they will arrive, or if arriving students will even decide to help after seeing all the Grimm. A dangerous situation with lots of unknown factors.**

 **There were a couple more things I wanted to point out but I think I've gone on for too long already. I'll either address them individually as the questions come or, if I feel the need to, address them in the next chapter's opening AN.**

 **Quick reminder, still looking for Intermission and Omake ideas as well as help forming the new team names. PM me if you're interested in helping with any of these.**

 **As always, please let me know what you think especially now that we've taken a huge step away from canon. Do you like what I've done so far, do the characters seem way to different, did I mess up a detail here or there, please let me know and I'll see what I can do to correct them. Especially from the point where Akihiko and Ken join Blake and Yang. I had no problems writing this chapter but while I was proofreading it, almost the entire battle felt strained, like it wasn't up to my usual standards. I did what I could but the feeling just won't leave. So I'd like it if you guys and girls could let me know what you think of the entire fight scene.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'll be working on the next chapter of It Wasn't Supposed to be This Way next so it'll be a while before the Team Formations. See you all soon!**


	5. Ch 4 - We are SEES

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait. After the last chapter I had planned on updating my other story first. But after writing a few thousand words, inspiration dried up. I tried waiting to see if I could get inspired again but, in the end, nothing really happened. So rather than force it, I switched back to this.**

 **So to those here who read my other story, I'm sorry. I'm not giving up on it but until my muse comes back from wherever or I get a new muse from somewhere that story won't be moving along much.**

 **Made a mistake in the last chapter regarding the ages of SEES. The ages I listed were their ages in 2009, which is when the game took place. I forgot to add in another year, making the seniors 19, the juniors 18, Junpei 17, and Ken and Aigis 12 (Though only because she was created in 1998).**

 **Bet a lot of you didn't know that Junpei was actually the youngest of the juniors, huh? His birth date is listed as January 16, 1993.**

 **Anyway, with this chapter you'll finally get to see how the teams will be formed. A great big thanks to** **Metal Vile** **and** **Twin Overlords of Chaos and Order** **(who is actually a classmate of mine back in high school) for their help coming up with the teams names. Sole credit for the name of Mitsuru's team goes to** **Metal Vile** **as well. Seriously guys, I really appreciate the help.**

 **When you see how the teams are set-up you'll understand just how hard it was to come up with good names with the choices of letters we had.**

 **With the revelations of the previous chapter you can expect a lot of questions to be flying SEES's way from multiple sources and on multiple topics. So you'll be seeing SEES explain quite a bit of their history and the technical details of their abilities in this chapter.**

 **Not a lot of action in this one but this chapter will set-up quite a lot of future events.**

 **Enjoy the chapter everyone.**

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 **Chapter 4 – We Are The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad**

 **September 6, XX13**

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark."

The four young men stepped up to the stage when their names were called, and stood in a line before Ozpin, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Dressed in a black suit and vest, and dark green pants, only the spotlight made him visible in the otherwise darkened amphitheater.

One the screen above the stage, the faces of the four students were displayed, one of their initials displayed beneath their names to spell out CRDL.

"The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, the four of you shall work together as Team Cardinal, led by Cardin Winchester."

Polite applause came from the rest of the students as the newly formed team bowed and walked off the stage.

"Akihiko Sanada, Lie Ren, Ken Amada, and Nora Valkyrie."

The four strode up to the stage, three bearing neutral expressions while one bore a small grin. Above them, photos of their faces along with their names appeared as each name was called. The names then faded away, save for one initial from each of them which were then enlarged and formed the acronym ANKR.

"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, the four of you shall work together as Team Anchor, led by Akihiko Sanada."

Akihiko nodded resolutely, a small grin on his face as Ken, Ren, and Nora congratulated him. Before long, the four of them were walking off the stage as the next team was called.

"Junpei Iori, Jaune Arc, Chidori Yoshino, and Pyrrha Nikos."

As they walked up to the stage, Junpei was openly grinning, Chidori's face was its usual blank mask, Jaune looked a bit nervous, while Pyrrha had a small, polite smile on her face. On the screen above them, the initials of their names were taken to spell out, JACN.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, the four of you shall work together as Team Jacinth, led by Junpei Iori."

The grin turned into a look of shock as a finger rose up, pointing at his own face as though asking for confirmation. "M-Me?" he asked with a strained, high-pitched voice.

From somewhere off the side of the stage, a feminine voice cried out, "Him?!"

"Congratulations, Junpei-kun." Chidori reached up to place one hand on his shoulder, a soft smile replacing the blank expression on her face.

Likewise, Jaune and Pyrrha congratulated him as the three carefully led the still dumbfounded team leader off the stage.

"Aigis Arisato, Weiss Schnee, Fuuka Yamagishi, and Ruby Rose."

The four girls stepped up to the stage as their names were called. Much like when ANKR had been called up, there were three neutral expressions and one smile amongst the four of them. On the screen, beneath their portraits, was the word ASYR.

"The four of you retrieved the white bishop pieces. From this day forward, the four of you shall work together as Team Azure, led by Aigis Arisato."

For some reason, Weiss didn't feel the urge to protest Ozpin's choice of leader. She thought that she would feel even just the slightest bit, but the moment Aigis's name slipped past Ozpin's lips, Weiss felt the urge die out before it even formed despite the fact that she was not made team leader.

She had not gotten on a team with Mitsuru as she had hoped. Moreover, she was stuck with a girl two years her junior as her partner, one that was far more immature than her apparent age. True, Ruby had shown that she was capable enough in combat when they had fought together earlier, but that seemed to be the only consolation.

But she _was_ placed on the same team as Fuuka and Aigis. Fuuka's support abilities would be incredibly useful on the field and her Oracle ability, even while underpowered, was a powerful and useful ability if used properly. And then there was Aigis. She was, undoubtedly, the strongest among the eight members of SEES without her Persona. With it, her deadliness only increased. She was also quite intelligent, if her deductive display the day before was any indication.

She may not have gotten the team she wanted, nor had she been assigned to be the leader, but she was, oddly enough, satisfied by what she had.

"And finally, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yukari Takeba, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long."

As the last four students stepped up, the previous portraits were replaced by theirs along with their names. And like the others, their names faded away as one initial from their names was enlarged and arranged to spell out KYBT

"The four of you retrieved the black rook pieces. From this day forward, the four of you shall work together as Team Cabernet, led by Mitsuru Kirijo."

Mitsuru smiled politely and gave a shallow nod to show her acceptance while her new team congratulated her. Once they stepped off the stage, Ozpin took his place at the center and addressed the students.

"To the ten new teams, be proud of what you have accomplished. Today, you have taken another step towards your goals, your dreams. However, remember that this is just that, one single step. This school shall do its utmost to help you along your path. But many who have walked the same path have stumbled and fallen to the wayside even before they leave these halls. Be wary, or you may just find yourselves among that number."

And just like the day before, he walked away, leaving them to puzzle over his cryptic words while Glynda took his place at the microphone. "Now then, before you leave I would like to remind all new students that you are now official students of Beacon Academy and, more importantly, Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training. As such, we expect you to act in a manner befitting your station." She paused, looking at the various first-years in the auditorium as though expecting trouble already.

When she was satisfied by what she saw, she continued. "Team leaders will receive a notification from the school within the next few minutes. On it you will find the details of your team's dormitory assignments, a map of the school, and your class schedules, including any electives your team members may choose from. Electives must be chosen before this coming weekend otherwise you will have to wait until the next year to take it."

"Classes will officially begin Monday next week so I recommend taking this time to settle in, familiarize yourselves with the campus, and make any final preparations for your classes and your time here at Beacon. Please note that some facilities will not be open and available for use until next week. You're dismissed."

Once those final two words were uttered, many of the students, both new and old, began making their way to the exit at the back of the room. Four of the newly christened teams, however, remained where they were, waiting for the crowd to disperse so as to ease their own exit.

"Well, we're in," stated Yukari.

"What? Did you think we wouldn't?" joked Junpei, walking up with his own team in tow.

"Well," began Fuuka, "There was always the chance that we wouldn't make it in time to get one of the relics. There weren't a lot of them to begin with. Certainly not enough to pass everyone taking the test."

"Heh, then we'd just take them from whoever managed to get one," Akihiko declared with a faintly manic grin, shocking many of those around him. "The Headmaster said it himself, 'each pair must retrieve one and return to the top of the cliff'. Never said we had to take it from the temple, just that we'd find it there."

Chidori hummed in agreement but looked at Akihiko with a bit of shock but also approval. "I'm surprised. I did not expect anyone else to consider that idea." This drew various looks from SEES, to which she merely gazed back at them with a neutral expression.

Weiss looked at Akihiko with mixed shock and apprehension, as though afraid to voice her opinion because of his grin. "I… don't think the Headmaster would have appreciated us fighting, let alone injuring the other students for the right to pass." The fact that their Personas, as they called it, would have decimated even multiple full teams within seconds went unsaid. Especially since the mere sight of a Persona would have shocked the inexperienced initiated enough that they would most likely be unable to react to the first, and possibly last, attack.

"Actually, I believe Akihiko is right." Everyone turned to Mitsuru, one of the last people they expected to side with the boxer's perspective. "There were roughly 200 students in the hall yesterday during the opening ceremony. As I recall, there weren't that many relics to begin with. And with only ten passing teams, that makes for a total of 40 students, only about a fifth of the original number. So think, why limit the number of students to be accepted after allowing so many to take the exam? Why not simply take the 40 best applicants and allow them direct entry?"

"I think I understand." Everyone turned to Fuuka, who had responded barely two seconds after the former heiress posed the question. "Rather than 'culling the herd', isn't it more like 'natural selection' taking place?"

"Natural… selection?" Seeing that most of SEES seemed to be nodding in understanding, Weiss looked at those not part of SEES but nobody seemed to know what it was her new teammate was talking about.

"Isn't that where plants and animals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more?" Yukari asked, to which Fuuka nodded.

"Uh… what's that mean again?" asked Junpei, looking almost as confused as half the group.

"Ugh… seriously?" Yukari asked, half-exasperated, half-disbelief. "We learned this last year, remember? Well, two years ago now I guess."

"You really expect me to remember that?" On his part, Junpei didn't look the least bit ashamed of his lack of knowledge. "I can barely remember what our last exams were about and that wasn't even a year ago."

"Think of it like this, Junpei-kun," interjected Fuuka, seeing that the two were about to get into one of their arguments again. "In a forest, there are orange beetles, and brown beetles. Because their color stands out more in the forest, the orange beetles are more likely to be eaten by birds or other animals. Even if more orange beetles are born, they're population drops faster than the brown beetles. Eventually, when there are no more orange beetles left, only brown beetles can be born. Because the brown beetles were more adapted to the environment, they're the ones that survived and continued to thrive."

Junpei nodded slowly along with the others who had not known about it. "Okay, I get that. But what does that have to do with the exam?"

"I believe Fuuka-san means that the students are like the beetles," explained Aigis. "But rather than natural selection, I believe that survival of the fittest is the more suitable term. In this situation, we would be more like predators fighting over a piece of territory. We, that is, the ten teams who passed, survived and managed to claim our territory because we were stronger than the others. So rather than simply looking at transcripts and records, the Headmaster decided to place us all on equal footing and allow our abilities to speak for themselves."

Understanding dawned on those who had not yet understood what Mitsuru had been getting at. But at the same time, a look of distaste appeared on a few. And one of them decided to let her feelings be known.

"But isn't that unfair?" Everyone turned to Ruby, the second youngest among their number, as she voiced her opinion on the matter. "I mean, everybody worked hard to get here. Even getting accepted to take the initiation is pretty hard. Shouldn't that be enough?"

It was Akihiko who shook his head first, drawing everyone's attention. "Life's never fair. Taking something for yourself means someone else can't take it and not everything can be shared or divided in a way that can be used by more than one person. And if there isn't enough for everyone, it means someone will always walk away empty-handed. If you worry too much about them, you'll be the one walking away empty-handed. It's a harsh way to think about it, but sometimes it all comes down to who wants it more, to what you're willing to do to get what you want."

"But still-"

"Um... I don't want to interrupt but I just got a message from the Headmaster," said Fuuka, holding up the outdated Scroll Ozpin had lent them yesterday. Inwardly, she and a few others were grateful for the interruption. "He wants SEES to meet him in his office."

"Did he mention why?" asked Mitsuru, nodding and beginning to walk towards the exit, which was now considerably clearer and less congested. The rest of SEES followed immediately with the rest of their teammates following after a slight delay.

"He said it's about the initiation," responded the teal-haired girl. "Since he did say we would be monitored at that time, I'm assuming it's about our Personas. He also said he wanted to talk about our situation in general."

"Well, can't say we weren't expecting this," Yukari sighed as she spoke, walking alongside her partner. "Still, I was hoping we'd be able to get some rest before being interrogated."

"To be fair, interrogation implies we did something wrong." Yukari certainly had to concede to Aigis's words. "As it is, it is understandable that they would have questions. Our Personas are things they have not encountered before."

"Hey, mind if we come along?" SEES paused and turned around to face the blonde brawler as she spoke for the others. "I mean, this way you won't have to explain things to us again afterwards, right?"

The members of SEES turned to Mitsuru for answers.

" **Well, that's certainly the most polite demand for answers I've heard,"** Akihiko said, once he felt Fuuka connect with the group. **"Still, do we let them? We don't exactly know what the Headmaster will be asking about beyond our Personas."**

" **True, but personally I don't see anything wrong with it,"** said Fuuka. **"After all, the only thing we won't be telling anyone is that we're actually from thousands of years in the past. Everything else fits well enough with the cover story we came up with."**

"Perhaps we should keep moving for now," Mitsuru said out loud. She knew it would take a while for everyone to voice their opinions. It would only draw suspicion if all eight members of SEES remained in the same place without saying or doing anything for too long. While she didn't necessarily distrust their new teammates, there were still some things that were best kept among themselves for the moment.

Once they were moving again, Mitsuru slowed down enough so she could walk beside Yang. "I understand your point. But you do realize this meeting will be about more than just our Personas, correct?"

"What do you mean?"

While Mitsuru spoke with Yang, and their other teammates, Yukari quickly voiced her opinion. **"Most of you already know how I feel about things like this. Hiding something important, especially from people we'll be working with, isn't going to end well."**

" **That's true I guess. 'Sides, it's like Fuuka-chan said, we don't really have much to hide,"** said Junpei. **"So long as we leave most of the talking to Mitsuru-senpai so we don't say anything wrong by mistake we should be good, right?"**

It was a good thing that SEES was walking in front. Though they communicated mentally, they relied solely on Fuuka to maintain the connection. By forming a human wall, they could hide the fact that Aigis was guiding Fuuka by the shoulders. With her focus dedicated to maintaining their connection, her legs walked without aim as her eyes gazed blankly ahead, leaving it to Aigis to ensure Fuuka did not get into an accident.

"We aren't from anywhere on your maps," reminded the red-haired girl. "Even the Headmaster admitted that the island we came from isn't on any map he has ever seen. Moreover, we didn't know there were places like Mistral, or Vale. Our maps are incomplete, far more so than yours seeing as we only had our own island on it. In a way, our home doesn't exist to you just as yours doesn't exist to us. If we're going to attend Beacon, we will need identification and such. The Headmaster has graciously volunteered his help in this matter."

"By the way," Mitsuru said, increasing the volume of her voice so that those ahead could hear her. "Has anyone seen Koromaru?"

"Not since this morning," replied Fuuka, temporarily breaking the connection. "Do you want me to contact him?"

"Please do. Once we're finished meeting with the Headmaster, I'd like to proceed to the dorms. I'm sure everyone could use some rest after today."

" **Even if we don't let them come now, all it means is we'll be telling the story again at a later time,"** said Akihiko once Fuuka re-established the connection. **"Best to just get it over with."**

" **I don't think it matters much if we let them listen in either,"** added Ken. **"Even if we do tell them everything, what's the worst they could do asides from not believe our story?"**

" **They could have us locked up for experimentation,"** joked Junpei. **"Or maybe they'll think we're crazy and just plain lock us up."**

" **D-Don't say things like that!"** Yukari had to resist the urge to throttle the cap-wearing boy next to her. **"B-Besides, it's not like we're telling them everything."**

Junpei's laughter echoed through their minds at Yukari's reaction. **"And I thought you were just scared of ghosts."**

" **I-Idiot. Anyone would be scared of being turned into an experiment."**

"Koromaru? Who's that?" asked Yang.

"The final member of SEES," Mitsuru answered with a mysterious smile. "For… certain reasons, he was unable to join us as a student. But since he has nowhere to go, we've obtained permission from the Headmaster to allow him to stay on campus. He won't be allowed to enter most buildings, however."

Behind them, the three girls who met SEES the previous morning were trying to remember who else had been with the group at that time. But none of them could remember seeing a ninth person. The name sounded familiar but they couldn't match the name to a face.

"Does he not fight?" asked Pyrrha. It made her curious to hear that there was a member of the group known as SEES that had not been able to join the initiation.

From what she had seen from the eight members she knew, each one of them was fairly formidable in combat. Certainly they were no match for most trainees in terms of physical ability but those summons, their Personas as they called them, were downright terrifying, able to eliminate large numbers of Grimm in mere seconds. Any trainee would be wary of facing those head-on.

Earlier, out of curiosity, she had attempted to subtly reach out to Mitsuru's Persona with her own Semblance, Polarity, only to fail. Despite their appearances, there was not a single shred of metal in their bodies. Seeing that they were formed from light of some sort, it was possibly that they were formed directly from SEES's Aura. Considering they were the group's Semblance, it made sense.

So what other reason could there be for one of their own to not be able to attempt the initiation other than the fact that they could not fight? But it was stranger still considering that Fuuka, a support member, was able to join the initiation. And despite not having joined them in direct combat, her Oracle ability was still terrifying in its own way to be able to cripple an old Death Stalker despite not being at full power.

"Koromaru is quite capable actually but… well, you'll see," came Mitsuru's vague response. "It's best to see it for yourself."

' _Perhaps he is injured then, or handicapped at worst,'_ thought Pyrrha. After all, if those guns, their Evokers, were all that was needed to call forth their Persona then he would only need one hand to do so.

" **I believe we can allow them to accompany us,"** said Aigis, the last of SEES to state their opinions for Mitsuru to consider. **"As I recall, nothing that we planned to share with the Headmaster needs to be kept from others. Therefore, I foresee no problems should they attend the meeting with the Headmaster."**

And with Aigis's opinion, every other member had shared their thoughts. And that was all Mitsuru needed seeing as it was unanimous. "Back to what we were talking about earlier. If you have no problem sitting in on less exciting matters then I see no reason why you could not join us," she said to Yang, glancing over her shoulder with a small smile to show that she was speaking to everyone else as well. "After all, we'll all be working together from this day on."

The others smiled back with nods of their own, a few speaking words of acceptance as well. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined with a bark and a short, stifled scream.

"Koro-chan!"

From in front of the group, coming from the direction of Beacon Tower, a dog with pale gray fur and a white underbelly ran up to the group, barking excitedly. When he reached them, the members of SEES called out to him with various greetings in turn as he literally ran circles around each member of the group.

"Is this…"

"Koromaru, yes." While she did not say or even show it, Mitsuru was most definitely amused by the look on her teammate's face. Not to mention the looks on the others as they remembered what she had said just moments ago about Koromaru.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Well, save for one at least. With a squeal of excitement, Nora ran up to join SEES as they greeted Koromaru, who now sat on his haunches before them all.

"Koromaru-san says he is glad we are safe," said Aigis, playing the part of translator, then asked, "Are you well? Did you encounter any problems while we were gone?" Koromaru barked out a response even as Nora knelt down and started petting him. Without needing to be asked, the hidden android translated for the rest of the group. "He says he spent some time exploring the area, but stayed outdoors as we asked. He also found a rabbit earlier and played with it."

"A rabbit?" asked Ken, turning to face the albino Shiba Inu with a curious, but slightly worried, expression. "Did you…"

Koromaru barked once more even as Nora started nuzzling her cheek against his. "He says he chased it around the school for a while. It would seem rabbits here are quite fast to be able to match and almost outrun Koromaru-san."

Ken let out a sigh of relief, his expression mirrored by Yukari and Fuuka. Considering it was a school, it would be problematic if Koromaru hurt a student's pet. Then again, didn't Goodwitch say pets aren't allowed? A wild rabbit perhaps?

"Wait, you can understand him?" Nora's question turned all the attention to Aigis in that instant. Part of them was too busy trying to make sense of the fact that the final member of SEES that Mitsuru was talking about was a dog to realize that Aigis had been speaking for Koromaru this whole time. "That's so cool! Reeeeen, why don't you speak dog?" Behind Mitsuru, the black-haired boy just rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement. "Ooh! Can you teach us?"

Likewise, Aigis just shook her head in amusement, remembering the time when she had revealed this same ability to the rest of SEES. "Canines do not have what we call a language. But speaking is not the only way to communicate," she explained, repeating what she once told SEES.

"Aw…" The orange-haired girl pouted for a second before grinning once again. "He's still cute though."

While the disappointment didn't last long, Aigis felt a little bad for Nora so she decided to give her a little consolation. "However, you should be able to tell what he is feeling if you pay close attention. I believe Shinjiro-san used to be able to communicate with Koromaru-san well enough in the past despite not understanding him the way I do." She couldn't help but smile at the bright smile on Nora's face as she began speaking with Koromaru.

"Hey Blake, what's with you?"

Once again, their attention was redirected, this time towards the black-haired girl who was peeking around her taller partner's arm. "D-D-Dog…" she whispered, trying not to draw the white beast's attention. Unfortunately for her, Koromaru's sharp hearing caught the familiar word and turned to her, causing her to yelp and hide herself completely behind the blonde.

"B-Blake?" Yang stammered as she felt Blake grip the back of her vest and use her like a human shield. "W-What are… Are you afraid of dogs or something?" Judging by the way Blake's hand was shaking slightly even as it gripped her vest tightly, she was. At the very least, dogs made her nervous.

"Oh there's no need to worry," said Fuuka, kneeling down to pet Koromaru. "Koro-chan's very friendly. He won't hurt you, will you boy?"

Koromaru barked, as though in agreement. Behind Yang, Blake yelped again and pulled Yang closer to her, catching the blonde off guard and causing her to stumble backwards. "H-hey, Blake!"

"S-Sorry," Blake whimpered, praying with her entire being that the dog would remain quiet.

Now that Koromaru was silent and wasn't in her direct line of sight, she could think just a bit more clearly. And now that she could think, she realized there was something very strange about the pale-furred dog. To begin with, dogs, well canines in general, very rarely made her feel afraid. Apprehension, yes. Agitation, yes. But fear? This was only the second time. The first was when she was faced with a very fierce pack of wolves when she was younger, too young to be able to fight back properly.

It was one thing she hated about being a faunus. As much as she hated it when people compared faunus to animals, the fact that some behavioral traits that animals had were also present in faunus was something she hated even more as it gave some humans reason to justify their mistreatment of faunus by pointing out similarities between faunus and the animals whose traits they bore.

Case in point, cats and dogs did not get along. Similarly, feline faunus and canine faunus felt agitated within each other's presence. They didn't even need to see one another. Somehow they could feel the other nearby, like a sixth sense warning them of something they did not like. The same even went for a feline faunus and actual dogs, or canine faunus and actual cats.

But now this dog, a smaller than average dog at that, was making her feel afraid. Why? It made absolutely no sense. A bark followed shortly by a scream caught her attention. And then she was suddenly facing Koromaru. A split-second later, she was facing the sky, the back of her head hurting from hitting something hard.

"Blake!"

"K-Koro-chan!"

As she lay on the surprisingly soft ground, save for whatever her head had hit, Blake tried to piece together what had happened while ignoring the concerned faces looking down at her. After a moment of thought, she realized that she was the one who screamed just then. The bark had come from behind her, causing her to scream and spin around only to find that Koromaru had somehow made his way behind her without being noticed. Of course, she tried to get away from the dog only to crash into something, which led to her current predicament.

"Blake, are you alright?" asked Ruby, her concerned face not far from Blake's own.

"Y-Yeah," she stammered out. "J-Just… just keep that… that… animal away from me." As much as it hurt her to call it an animal the way humans called faunus animals, she was not in the proper state of mind to care.

"If you're fine then maybe you could get off me now? Being a bed isn't as comfortable as being on one you know."

So that's why the ground felt so soft. "S-Sorry." Also, clearly Yang's head was pretty hard in more ways than one.

Blake was quick to roll off her partner and teammate, but also made sure to back away from Koromaru, who seemed to be pouting as he was being scolded lightly by Fuuka. "You shouldn't scare people like that, alright Koro-chan?" Koromaru whined in response, looking piteously at Fuuka.

"He says, he only wanted to play with… the cat?" Fuuka, as well as everyone else, looked questioningly at Aigis at the strange explanation. With all attention on the blonde, nobody noticed Blake freezing up. "What do you mean, Koromaru-san? I don't see a cat anywhere."

Koromaru barked once more then turned to face Blake, who remained in place this time but flinched and looked ready to run at a moment's notice. Aigis turned to Blake with a confused look on her face before turning back to Koromaru. "I believe you must be mistaken. Do you perhaps mean to say that she smells _of_ a cat? After all, if she is not fond of dogs perhaps she is more of a cat person."

Everyone seemed to be in agreement with Aigis's question – though Blake couldn't help but wince at how close Aigis's statement came to the truth – but Koromaru barked once more, shaking his head lightly almost as though disappointed that Aigis was misunderstanding him instead. "I… see?" Aigis turned to Blake once more, this time with a curious and scrutinizing expression on her face.

Blake shuffled uncomfortably, fighting her instinct to run away. Between Koromaru, who was undoubtedly able to notice her true nature, and Aigis, who had displayed exceptional deductive abilities the day before, she felt that her secret was in danger of being exposed. As she considered trying to distract them, the choice was taken away from her as someone did it for her.

"Maybe we can do this later," suggested Akihiko. "The Headmaster's expecting us after all. It'd be rude to keep him waiting long." When the other agreed, he knelt down next to Koromaru and rubbed the top of his head. "Sorry, but mind waiting for us for just a bit longer? We just need to get this done then we'll be done for the day." Once more, Koromaru responded, his acceptance of the situation carrying across his tone to Akihiko despite being unable to understand him in the way Aigis did. "Thanks. We'll try not to take too long."

"Well, let's not keep the Headmaster waiting. The sooner we finish here, the sooner we can all retire to the dorms and rest." Everyone agreed with Mitsuru though Blake was mainly grateful to be able to get away from Koromaru, even for just a little while since they would reunite with him later on.

The group passed the threshold separating the inside of Beacon Tower from the outside and proceeded to the elevator. Considering there were sixteen of them, they decided to take two separate elevators, Teams ANKR and JACN in one, and Teams ASYR and KYBT in another.

Once inside, Fuuka spoke with the AI in the elevator and let it know their destination. When she presented the borrowed Scroll, the AI responded with, "Perfect. Thank you Headmaster."

The words that came from the speaker confused half the elevator's occupants. "Headmaster?" Ruby asked, turning to the girl beside her. "Why'd it say that?"

"Oh, that's because the Headmaster only lent us this Scroll. We don't have Scrolls where we're from you see, so he lent us one to use for the moment," she explained.

"Isn't that inconvenient though?" asked Weiss as the elevator ascended. "There are eight of you after all. Didn't you have time to buy one before coming to Beacon?"

Fuuka shook her head. "Since we had to study a lot of things before coming here we didn't really have time to learn about some things like the Scrolls. Even if we did, the money we used is different from what you use here. Elizabeth-san gave us some for a hotel and for our meals after she dropped us off in Vale two days ago, but we don't have very much left now. We didn't even realize how much Scrolls were integrated into society until yesterday so we never considered buying one for ourselves."

"Wait, something's not adding up here," interrupted Yang. "I get that you guys are from somewhere really far away, enough that things are really different there compared to here. But… why'd you guys come here in the first place?"

"Yang!"

The blonde turned to her little sister and gave her an apologetic look, glancing at the four members of SEES to show that she meant it for them as well. "Sorry, but it just doesn't make much sense to me. You said earlier that your home wasn't on our maps, and vice versa. If it's just to come learn about a new place, why go through all this trouble? Actually, why you? Why not a bunch of diplomats and officials?"

Glancing around the small space, Mitsuru could see the curiosity in their eyes. Even Ruby, Blake, and Weiss clearly wanted to know, though they tried not to make it obvious. Ruby, it seemed, was trying to apologize to them for Yang's lack of tact.

"It's alright," she said to Ruby when the younger girl gave her older sister a sharp look. "To be honest, we were expecting this question already." The four girls gave her expectant looks, though three tried to disguise exactly how expectant they were. "Let's wait until we reach the Headmaster's office so that the others can be there as well. Moreover, I believe the Headmaster may know some details but possibly not all. This way, we can also explain our circumstances to him to prevent any misunderstandings."

Yang looked disappointed but seeing as they were almost to the Headmaster's office, she didn't push the subject. Judging by the redhead's tone, it was going to be a long explanation, one that was better shared in an environment more comfortable than an elevator.

It wasn't long before they reached their destination, Beacon Tower's top floor. The doors opened, allowing them to step into the waiting room just before the Headmaster's office. And, just like the last time SEES came here, Glynda Goodwitch was waiting for them by the door.

When the blonde teacher saw the unexpected students, however, she raised an eyebrow in question. "We felt it would be better to allow them to accompany us," explained Mitsuru, answering the teacher's unvoiced query. "Since we will be working with them from this point, I believe they should know more about us and our circumstances."

"If you feel that way then I have no room for objections," acceded Glynda, finding no reason to deny them. Opening the door like she did last time, she stepped aside and allowed them entry. "Please go on ahead. I will follow shortly."

"Thank you."

One by one, the sixteen new students stepped into the Headmaster's office, earning a similar response from Ozpin when he saw them all entering. "Well, this is certainly unexpected. I assume you wish to save yourselves the trouble of explaining things a second time?"

The red-haired leader nodded her head. "That, and I believe they should be made aware of our circumstances as well. Besides, I see no reason to hide anything."

Ozpin merely nodded, seeing Glynda enter the room behind the students, eight more chairs, which he recognized from the waiting room, floating in front of her via her Semblance. "Pardon me," she said, causing the students to turn around then move to the side as they understood the implied request.

Within seconds, the seats were rearranged into two rows of eight then divided into two, each half angled to face the Headmaster's table in a wide and shallow V shape. Once everyone was situated, with SEES choosing to sit together on one side rather than with their new teammates, he turned to Mitsuru. "I assume you are aware of, or at least suspect, the reason why I called you here so soon after the initiation."

A nod was the response he received. "Our Personas."

"If that is what you call those… constructs you summoned, then yes, though that is merely one part of what I wished to speak to you all about."

Mitsuru nodded once more before she began to speak. "Do you have time to spare, Headmaster?" At Ozpin's unasked question, she explained. "I believe the best way to explain our Personas is if I give a brief history of our homeland since it is connected to our Personas."

"Well, I do not believe I have any pressing business today. At least, none that can't be handled at a later time." He glanced to the side at Glynda, who shook her head to show that he was not mistaken.

Taking that as a sign, Mitsuru began her tale. "To begin, our home, a country called Japan, is somewhat similar to yours. Culturally we are different, yes, but beyond that we are not so different. The most obvious differences I can see are technological and martial in nature. And, politically as well, though that does not have a large bearing on our current situation."

Glancing around to see that everyone was paying attention, Mitsuru began her explanation. "Technologically, we are behind. Scrolls, for example. While we have cellular phones with touch-sensitive screens, they are used mainly for communication. We have yet to develop anything similar to the screen of your Scrolls, which seem to be made of a tangible form of light. Moreover, according to what Aigis has learned, Scrolls seem to work as a form of identification and as a data storage unit, as well as many other things. Then, as you've been made aware of yesterday, AIs are not as widely used in our society."

"Does this mean that AIs are used, just not as widely?" asked Weiss.

"Yes." This time, it was Aigis who spoke. "In a way, you could say that I am one myself."

"I see." While others had already turned to stare at the blonde, it took Weiss a moment to process the response. When she did, she blinked. "Wait, what?"

A few members of SEES grinned at the stunned look on their faces even as Aigis nodded with a small smile of her own. "It is as I said, I am not human. To be precise, I am the last of the seventh generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons created by the Kirijo Group in order to combat the Shadows, what you call the Grimm."

SEES, as well as Ozpin and Glynda, watched as the eight students took a moment to process this new information, some of them looking dubiously at Aigis. Seeing this, Aigis stood and began to undo her blazer like she had the day before, turning their dubious looks into one of shock. And upon removing the article of clothing completely, bearing her obviously mechanical features, the looks of shock only worsened.

"As you can see, I am completely mechanical," she responded, her smile not fading though clearly straining to hide her amused reaction to their shock.

"That's…"

"That's so cool!" Weiss was interrupted by Ruby's sudden squeal as she looked at Aigis in almost the same way that Nora had looked at Koromaru earlier. "Can you transform? Oh, do you have built-in weapons? I saw you using knives earlier but it would be so cool if you could transform part of your body into a weapon. What about-"

"Chill Rubes," said Yang, placing a hand on her younger sibling's shoulder as it looked like she was about to pounce on the blonde android. "I know you're a weapons nut-"

"Yaaaang!"

"-But maybe you could just ask her later? I mean, you two are teammates now after all. Heck, she's even your team leader."

At Yang's reminder, Weiss couldn't stop her thoughts as they darkened slightly. Her thoughts turned to the robot army of her homeland, Atlas. Even after years of development, no matter how sophisticated the weaponry or how advanced the AI was, none of their creations could match a trained Huntsman one-on-one. Even outnumbered by over a dozen-to-one, a trained Huntsman's Aura and Semblance was more than enough as an equalizer. And now she was supposed to trust one to lead a team? The team she was on? Suddenly, having Aigis as her team leader did not sound so appealing any longer despite her, its, previous display of ability.

No one in the office, save for one, noticed Weiss's expression as they focused their attention on Mitsuru as she resumed her explanation. "As Aigis has already stated, she is the last in a line of Anti-Shadow Weapons developed by my family. And as far as I am aware, the ASWs are the closest we have to an AI."

"But wait, how is it she can utilize a Semblance like yours if she is not human?" asked Pyrrha, only to cringe later as she realized how her words sounded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It is fine," responded Aigis, turning to Pyrrha with a small smile even as she slipped her arms through the blazer's sleeves and began to redo the buttons. "It does not bother me. After all, I cannot control the fact that my body is a machine. But I can control how I act, how I behave, and how I interact with those around me. In fact, it is thanks to everyone else that I am the person I am today. Because of them, I understand now that being human is about more than just one's body."

There were some strange looks at Aigis's statement. It was understandable though. Being an android was one thing. Being an AI was one thing. For an android to claim that it had a soul was another thing entirely.

The soul was a metaphysical concept. It wasn't something that could be created by human hands. And yet there stood Aigis, a man-made machine that claimed to have a soul. Not just sentience that could have come from a well-developed AI, but a soul like any human being. Anyone would have trouble coming to terms with such a fact.

Throwing a quick smile Aigis's way, Mitsuru turned to Pyrrha. "To answer your question, Aigis has what the Kirijo scientists referred to as a 'Papillion Heart', which is essentially her power source and the source of her artificial psyche. It's why she is not truly an AI but simply the closest we have. Rather than an advanced program like what an AI has to simulate a personality, Aigis's personality comes from her Papillion Heart and develops as she grows and learns."

"While her initial ability to process information and make decisions is the result of her programming, that ability has grown in response to her experiences. Moreover, Aigis is now more than capable of processing and even feeling emotions, something that cannot be programmed. After all, you could program an AI to display emotions in response to certain emotions displayed to it, but you cannot program an AI to _feel emotions_ and to display that same emotion. So in the strictest sense of the word, Aigis cannot be considered an AI. None of us here understand it completely, simply that she is capable of growing like a real human mentally and even emotionally."

"Yeah, you should have seen Ai-chan back when we first met her," interjected Junpei. "She was pretty much what you'd expect from a robot, no emotion and all that."

"I do not comprehend, Junpei-san," Aigis responded with a halting, flat tone. And when they turned to face her, the expression that greeted them was equally blank. Even her eyes were empty. "Am I to behave in some other manner?"

The eight students and two teachers were, at varying levels, shocked and disturbed by Aigis's sudden shift in behavior and expression. Had they not met her beforehand, they would have doubted she could express emotion at all with the way she was behaving now. Like a doll with a voice recorder, her lips moved but her expression and eyes were devoid of any form of emotion.

Junpei, and a few other members of SEES, just chuckled. "See? She can actually tell jokes now."

And then the moment passed, Aigis smiling softly once more and her eyes alight with amusement as though her previously emotionless display was nothing but an illusion. "I don't know what you're talking about Junpei-san. Perhaps you are tired from earlier and are seeing things?" That earned a few more chuckles from SEES, and a few, though nervous sounding ones, from the others as well.

"But I still don't understand," said Pyrrha once the moment of amusement had passed. "A Semblance is an extension of one's Aura. And Aura is the physical manifestation of one's soul. And while it is often said that even plants and animals have Aura, I have never once heard of… well…" she paused and turned to Aigis with an apologetic look before continuing. "A machine that showed signs of having an Aura."

"That is where it gets complicated," Mitsuru answered. She noted, however, that Pyrrha did not bring up the fact that a machine could not have a soul, simply that it could not have an Aura. Was it simply because she was focused on the topic of Aura? Or was there something more to it? "You see, to begin with, none of us where we are from _have_ Aura."

The moment those words passed the redhead's lips, everyone else froze and turned to her in shock, even Ozpin and Glynda. Just by the looks on their faces, Mitsuru and the other members of SEES could imagine the most common thoughts going through their heads.

The first was, obviously, how SEES could have no Aura but still have a Semblance. And the second was most likely the realization that SEES had fought hundreds of Grimm without Aura just a few hours ago. And one by one, the ten began to pale as they came to that realization.

"No… Aura?" Glynda was the first to recover, eyes wide and breathing slightly heavier than it was earlier, her shoulders trembling slightly. "You… Do you mean to say that you not only entered Beacon, but also fought all those Grimm without the protection of Aura?" When Mitsuru nodded without hesitation, Glynda's shock slowly turned into a mix of concern and fury. "What… WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

From his place behind his desk, even Ozpin was caught off guard by his deputy's sudden outburst. He had known her for many years, even from before he had joined Beacon Academy's staff as a teacher, but this was a sight that he very rarely saw. While Glynda was not known to hide her feelings on most matters, she did maintain a very tight grip on the more powerful emotions humans were capable of.

The handful of times she did lose control were a result of a slow build-up of emotions without an opportunity to calm down. To see her lose her temper so swiftly like this showed just how furious SEES's actions made her.

"DID YOU NOT REALIZE THE DANGER YOU WERE IN?" Her arm whipped out to the side so swiftly that her crop made a sharp, cutting sound as it flew through the air. In front of her, the sixteen students had frozen in their seats, all of them displaying varying degrees of shock, and even fear in some cases. "I HAD THOUGHT THAT YOU WOULD KNOW BETTER THAN MOST CONSIDERING YOU LOST YOUR HOME TO THE GRIMM, BUT THIS IS JUST-"

"Wait, what did you say?!" Yang burst out, interrupting Glynda's angry tirade. "They… They lost their…"

"You heard correctly, Ms. Xiao Long," Ozpin answered calmly, taking the sudden break in Glynda's tirade to send her a meaningful look to calm her down. And as much as Glynda wanted to continue, to drive her point home, she was also not fond of uncontrolled bouts of emotion. Especially not from herself. Once he saw Glynda take a very deep breath, he returned his attention to the sixteen students before him. "Before coming here, or rather the reason they came here is because they lost their home to the Grimm."

"And yet they still went through with the initiation despite their lack of Aura, knowing full well what the Grimm are capable of!"

No one could blame Glynda for her sharp, angry words. Despite being trainees, they knew the danger posed by the Grimm, especially to those without an awakened Aura to protect them. And though their homes were destroyed by the Grimm, the members of SEES still fought without Aura. But that brought up another question.

"But how did you use your Personas without Aura?" asked Ren, voicing the question that was running through most of their heads. "Like Pyrrha said, a Semblance is an extension of someone's Aura. Without Aura, you shouldn't be able to use a Semblance."

There were nods of agreement all around. And though it looked like Glynda still wanted to say more regarding SEES's foolhardy decision, she kept it to herself for the moment. "Ms. Kirijo?" Ozpin prompted, gesturing for Mitsuru to explain.

The red-haired leader of SEES nodded, preparing herself to explain their unique situation. "Unlike here where you are able to awaken one's Aura with ease, we have no such method of awakening one's power." She raised a closed fist up to her face, her fingers resting just beneath her lip. Thinking for a moment, she then said, "Have you ever seen or heard of a time when someone displayed strength or capabilities beyond what they are normally capable of? Such as someone lifting an object many times their own weight or moving several times faster than normal despite never once displaying such capability in the past?"

There were a few nods from the group while Ozpin looked thoughtful, as though slowly piecing together what Mitsuru was leading up to. "It is not unheard of for such things to happen. When placed in a stressful situation, sometimes people are able to draw out a sort of inner strength, one that they are unable to repeat under ordinary circumstances. There are even some who claim that everything else around them seemed to move at a much slower pace," said Ozpin, drawing a nod from Mitsuru. "Do you mean to say that your abilities, your… Personas, were awakened at such a time?"

Again, Mitsuru nodded. "Correct. Every member of SEES, everyone who has ever awakened a Persona, awakened their powers under… _extremely_ stressful situations."

The stress that the redhead placed on that word did not go unnoticed by anyone. "What do you mean by extremely stressful?" asked Ren. Though by the expression on his, and a few other faces, they had at least some idea of what she meant.

"Death." Mitsuru's casual answer caused several to flinch, both at the answer and how she said it. A few others turned to stare at SEES in horror as they slowly pieced together more of SEES's mysterious past. "To be precise, the fear of imminent death, one's self-preservation instinct at its strongest, is what drew out our powers. I myself awakened it roughly ten years ago when I, my father, and several others were attacked by Shadows. By Grimm. None of those with us were capable of fighting them off and the Grimm turned its attention to my father. I leapt in front of my father, desperate to protect him despite my young age. Just as the Grimm came close enough to kill me, my Persona manifested for the first time and killed the Grimm."

SEES had heard the tale before, during one of their conversations during their seven months of training, but that did not stop them from feeling sorrow at what their leader had to go through in her childhood. In the course of their lives prior to joining SEES, Ken's experience came the closest, having witnessed his mother's death just a few years ago at the hands of an out-of-control Persona. But despite being present for it, he was not in as much danger as Mitsuru, who had boldly, perhaps foolishly, leapt in front of a charging Shadow without regards for her own life.

The others could only stare at Mitsuru in horror, some in pity or sympathy, at what she had gone through, but Yang's expression had a hint of admiration mixed within.

She could still remember the day she and Ruby had been attacked by a pack of Beowolves after a foolish decision on her part. At that time, she had embraced Ruby in an effort to protect her but also out of fear, the feeling of her younger sister bringing a small measure of comfort despite the threat of death. And yet Mitsuru had leapt in front of the Grimm without hesitation to protect her father, knowing that she would die. If not for the awakening of her power at that moment, then she, and those with her, _would_ be dead.

"Everyone here awakened their powers under similar circumstances, though asides from Akihiko, most of them have only been using their power a little over a year," she continued to explain despite the looks they were giving her. What happened was, literally, ancient history, even though it had only been a decade from her perspective. Besides, she had long come to terms with her past. There was nothing to be gained from dwelling on it. It stung, but it no longer hurt the way it used to. "All of us also made the choice to fight after awakening our Personas, despite having no aspirations to be soldiers."

"I see, that's why you aren't that strong," said Blake, her earlier theory now being proven true. "Unlike Huntsmen and Huntresses, you didn't train or prepare from a young age. But what about you? No offense, but since you 'awakened' earlier, I thought you'd be stronger."

Mitsuru shook her head and mentally prepared herself. This is where she would have to be careful. A discreet glance at the other members of SEES showed that most of them realized it as well. This is where the truths began to blend into bigger lies, sometimes even into outright lies, than the ones they have said so far. "Among those who have awakened their Personas, there are two groups. The first are like your Huntsmen, those who are trained from a young age. Eventually, they are put through a situation that will awaken their Personas. Unfortunately, for reasons that were never discovered, not everyone can awaken a Persona."

"Put through… you mean…"

She nodded. "Yes. They are put into a situation that evokes a great amount of fear into them, a situation that threatens them with inescapable death. They will either awaken their Personas, or they will suffer great injury, perhaps even die."

"That… How could you do that?" Blake's horrified whisper matched the expressions on the faces of their fellow students. Glynda had a similar expression while Ozpin, once again, looked thoughtful. "Why would... Isn't there…"

The redhead shook her head morosely before gazing directly into the black-haired girl's amber eyes. "No. No one, not even the scientists who have studied Personas since they were first discovered know why not everyone has the potential to awaken a Persona, nor the reason why it only awakens during such dire situations and nothing less."

"As such, this is the only known way of successfully awakening one's Persona. In fact, the number of Persona-users is so small that it constitutes less than one percent of our country's entire population. No, it would be more accurate to say that it is less than a fraction of that already insignificant number. Not only because of the uncertainty of success, but also because the uncertainty of success scares away all but the most courageous."

It wasn't completely a lie considering SEES and Strega were the only Persona-users they were aware of, which was far, far less than one percent of Japan's population. If there were others, the Kirijo group had no knowledge of them.

"Is that why…" Everyone turned to Ruby as she hesitantly began to speak. "Is that why you lost your home? Because there were so few of you even though your Personas are strong?"

Mitsuru's expression fell, along with the rest of SEES. Despite having known for over half a year that the world they knew was gone, they have yet to completely come to terms with it. Seven months was quite a long time but when most of your time was occupied by training, studying, and sleeping, you had very little time to actually think about other things.

The few opportunities between all those activities that they managed to find time to talk to one another was often filled with important discussions. Even when broaching the past, they rarely spoke of what they felt. And when sleeping, they were often so tired that they fell asleep moments after lying down, those few moments spent thinking about the day or the day to come.

"Yeah," Akihiko replied despondently. "One night. That was all it took to wipe out everything. Not even a full day, but just a single night. And in that one night we lost everything. Friends, family, classmates, our homes, the city, the entire country, everyone we know, and everything we've known, all gone. It's literally a miracle that we survived."

"How _did_ you survive?" Everyone turned to the Headmaster at that question, some shocked that he had asked so directly. "I apologize if it is too soon to ask or if it sounded demeaning, but I've been quite curious as to how eight children survived such a disaster."

"It's fine," replied Mitsuru, a small, pained smile and a nod letting the Headmaster know he had not overstepped any unspoken boundaries. "Before I answer, I should explain the second group of Persona-users. If the first is similar to your Huntsmen and Huntresses, those who chose that path, the second is more akin to a militia. That group is SEES, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad."

"I see. So your group, SEES, is made up of those who do not aim to completely devote themselves to the elimination of the Grimm but possess the ability to do so, am I correct?"

A nod. "Correct. The eight of us, for example, still attended school as normal but trained during our spare time for the times when our strength would be required. Now and then, we would venture out to fight the Grimm, sometimes as part of our training and sometimes out of necessity."

"And how does this connect to your survival?" The Headmaster's tactless words elicited a glare from his deputy, which he ignored.

"We had a member who was… special," she finished after a pause. "Minato Arisato."

At the familiar name, their gazes turned to Aigis, who shook her head and explained. "Minato-san was born human. I merely bear his name in memory of his actions."

"He joined us a little more than a year ago," continued Mitsuru. "His power, however, was a little different from ours. Unlike us, who can summon only a single Persona, he was able to summon several different Personas."

"I take it such a thing has never happened before."

"No, he was the first person to do so. While he could only summon one at a time, sometimes two but with a heavier strain on his body, he displayed over a hundred different Personas, each one unique and with varying abilities, though some bore similar abilities to others much like how both Ken and Akihiko's Personas are capable of lightning-based attacks," explained Mitsuru. "Though I was the leader of SEES in Iwatodai there was a need for a support-type Persona during field operations and even for training, a role which my Persona could fill to a limited degree prior to Fuuka's own awakening. As such, I appointed him as field leader due to his unique ability."

"When that night came…" She paused, and at that moment, a dark look of despair, but one that bore a steely resolve underneath, appeared on the faces of SEES's members. "We knew there was no way we could win. But we could not simply stand by and watch everything disappear. And so we fought. We fought against the Grimm that threatened to destroy everything we held dear, that threatened our very way of life. But just as one cannot stop a natural disaster, we could only stave off Death for so long."

"Despite all our best efforts, it came to a point where we could no longer fight." Her mind went back to that fateful night, the feeling of raw power bearing down on her entire body, her very soul, nearly crushing her against the roof of Tartarus despite having stood tall just seconds prior. "As much as we wanted to, our bodies could no longer stand." She struggled to stand, and around her she could see the rest of SEES attempting and failing to do the same. "Our end was near. Despite the will to fight burning within us, we could not move. We may as well have been dead already."

Around her, her audience looked captivated by her tale. Like listening to a narration of a tragedy, they could imagine SEES lying on the ground of a broken city, helpless before a horde of Grimm as endless as the sea. Yet despite standing at death's door they refused to back down, fighting with all they had to stand. And even when they had nothing left to give, no strength left to even move, they continued to stare defiantly into the glowing crimson eyes of the Creatures of the Grimm despite their helplessness, as though trying to convey their conviction to their soulless foes. That though they may die, they would not die broken.

"Then, just as Akihiko said, a miracle happened." There was a shift in SEES's demeanor at those words but none of them could place it. They had not moved an inch but there was something distinctly different. "Minato stood. Slowly, but smoothly as though he were still well-rested." In her mind's eye, she could see her blue-haired junior rising to his feet, completely ignoring the heavy weight pressing down on everyone else.

"Then he stepped forward, never once looking back, heedless of our cries." His body rose, floating up to the strange, mechanical being that had emerged from the moon. "We cried out for his safety, for his survival." It was strange. Despite no longer seeing him she could feel his presence. She could feel him fighting. And she prayed with her entire being, that he would make it through whatever trial he was facing, that he would succeed and survive against that which could not be beaten.

"Then, everything faded." But not long after they all fell unconscious as a result of his actions. "When we awakened, we learned that he had utilized his unique power to put us all to sleep and seal us away, his power somehow hiding our presence from the Grimm."

"And then you came here," finished the Headmaster.

Mitsuru nodded, the memories of January 31st, 2010 fading from her mind. Idly, she realized that they day they had awakened was February 1st by the new world's calendar. To them, they had fallen unconscious during the Dark Hour between the 31st and the 1st. Strange that, asides from a difference of thousands of years, they had awoken the day after as though they truly had simply fallen asleep.

"Elizabeth-san never explained to us how she knew Minato, nor how she came to be aware of our location. But she came to us not long after we awakened from our slumber and made us aware of Remnant, or rather, the rest of Remnant."

Nobody spoke after that, SEES's teammates and the two teachers still trying to digest Mitsuru's near unbelievable tale. In fact, many of them would have doubted the tale, perhaps even completely denied it, if not for the fact that they had seen, with their very own eyes in fact, evidence in the form of Personas.

And then, there was also the revelation of how their Personas were awakened. The thought of having to come close to death in order to awaken a power that might not even be there shook them to their core.

For them, awakening one's Aura was incredibly easy. So easy, in fact, that it was unlocked as soon as they entered a combat school. Some children who began training before that point might even get it unlocked sooner by parents. And from that point, it was only a matter of time before they discovered their Semblance.

They couldn't imagine having to face such an ordeal, having to risk their very lives, just to be able to become true Huntsmen and Huntresses. What more if they failed to awaken their Personas but survived somehow? Would they risk trying again on the off-chance that they could awaken it the second time? Or did failure mean the end of their dreams, that they could not awaken that power at all no matter how many times they tried? Thinking about it, failure to awaken their power would almost certainly lead to the end of their dreams as they may no longer be alive to fulfill it due to the process necessary to awaken it.

Still, something about the awakening process bothered Ozpin beyond how… horrifying it was, for lack of a better word. And as his eyes roamed the members of SEES, it clicked in his head. "Tell me something," he began, breaking the tense silence that had enveloped the room following Mitsuru's tale. "You mentioned how your Personas were awakened through an extreme moment of stress, through facing imminent death. Does this also have something to do with those guns of yours being used to summon them earlier?"

Immediately, all attention was on SEES as their teammates remembered the way SEES had brought their not-guns to their heads and fired to summon their Personas. It also brought to mind the way those strange, glass-like shards erupted from the opposite side of their heads when they fired, making it seem like a morbid parody of a suicide attempt.

The former Kirijo heiress nodded at Ozpin's keen memory, as well as his equally sharp intellect for putting the pieces together. "That's correct. Unlike your Semblances, which you can call upon at will, our Personas can only be summoned during a similar period of stress."

"But didn't you say those guns aren't real?" asked Ruby. "Why would you be afraid of a fake gun?"

Rather than an answer from Mitsuru, it was Akihiko who answered. By drawing his Evoker and pointing it directly between Ruby's eyes. The sudden motion, and the sight of a gun barrel suddenly aimed at her, caused Ruby to yelp, flinch, and draw back, one hand reaching behind her where Crescent Rose lay. Sitting beside her, Yang had reacted as well, Ember Celica deploying and one hand reaching up to grasp the gun by the barrel.

Even the others had reacted, some reaching out to stop Akihiko, some drawing away at the seemingly violent motion, others reaching for their weapons. Jaune had even raised his arms, hiding behind them and protecting his head. Admittedly, even Glynda had twitched at what seemed to be an unprovoked attack aimed at a student. Ozpin's eyes merely narrowed slightly.

The members of SEES reacted as well, mostly with varying expressions of surprise, and mostly due to the suddenness of the motion rather than what Akihiko had done, though Yukari and Mitsuru looked at Akihiko with a hint of disapproval. A few had even shown confusion for a brief moment.

But just as quickly as soon as it happened, the moment passed and everyone remembered that the gun was fake and did not fire bullets, despite sounding like it did.

"Do you get it now?" Akihiko asked as he watched everyone begin to settle down, hands pulling away from their weapons and shoulders relaxing. Still, he kept the Evoker aimed at Ruby, causing her to squirm in discomfort while Yang glared despite letting go of the barrel.

"It's a natural part of being human to be afraid of death," he continued to explain. "Logically we know it's fake. We've used it hundreds of times in the past and we're still alive. But it weighs just as much as a real gun, it feels like a real gun, and even sounds like a real gun. And when you have the barrel of a gun touching your head, when you hear the sound of that same gun going off, you can't help but feel afraid, even in that short instant, that it's not a fake, that it's the real thing, and that you're going to die at that very moment."

All of a sudden, his arm shot to the side towards the door and his finger pulled the trigger, causing the sound of a gunshot to echo loudly throughout the room. Nearly everyone flinched at the loud sound, and several hands went towards their weapons once more. When their faces turned towards Akihiko once more, he merely grinned and placed his Evoker against his head without another word.

Seeing the pale faces of some of their teammates as they tried to imagine being in that situation, Mitsuru stepped in. "As much as I disapprove of his methods, Akihiko's explanation is accurate." She paused long enough to glance at the boxer with a mild glare, though he merely shrugged it off, looking completely unrepentant as he holstered his Evoker. "The fear of death is present in all living beings. Our minds know that our Evokers cannot kill us, but our bodies, our very souls, react instinctively to any threat to our lives."

"It's why sometimes you can feel afraid even without knowing why, why you sometimes hear a voice within you telling you to be careful. Because that instinct to survive can feel that something nearby is a threat to your life. And in that moment of fear, combined with the knowledge of our power, we can draw out our Personas from within us."

Despite Akihiko's demonstration, there were still some doubtful looks directed their way, especially from Yang. Thus, there was little surprise when she said, "It doesn't seem that hard. I mean, we've faced Grimm before and even knowing we could die I've never felt that afraid. Heck, even Ruby's gone up against a few dozen Beowolves by herself without any problems. How hard can it be to shoot a fake gun?"

Taking her words as a challenge, Akihiko once again drew his Evoker but this time he held out the grip towards the blonde. "You tell me," he said with a dark looking grin on his face. And though the others looked at him with disapproval or shock, nobody said anything. Not to him, and not to Yang when she accepted the Evoker without any hesitation.

As Yang held the Evoker in her hand, one finger already resting on the trigger, she couldn't help but compare it to a real gun, turning it over this way and that for a closer examination now that she had it. Just as Akihiko said, it certainly felt like a real gun in terms of construction and weight. Still, the bottom of the gun, the Evoker, was solid, indicating the distinct lack of a magazine, which meant there was absolutely no way to load a bullet into it. Other than that, the only other thing that stood out was the word S.E.E.S. engraved on one side.

With that thought in mind, she grinned cockily at Akihiko, who was still grinning at her, and raised the gun to her head, the cold, steel barrel touching her warm skin.

Second passed where nobody moved, all eyes watching the buxom blonde who was holding a gun to her head. The seconds ticked by and turned into a full minute. It was then that those who could see her face began to notice the changes.

Yang's grin had slowly faded, looking decidedly uncertain rather than cocky, her pupils began to dilate ever so slightly, and her breathing had gotten heavier, heavy enough that Blake and Ruby, who sat on either side of her, could hear it.

The grin eventually disappeared completely as she began breathing through her mouth, her hand now shaking slightly even as sweat began to appear on her forehead, and her eye grew unfocused, as though seeing something they could not. Now and then they could see her expression and her hand tense briefly, as though preparing to shoot, but nothing ever came of it.

Eventually she grit her teeth, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath, everyone else tensing as the prepared themselves to hear the sound of a gunshot. But the moment passed and Yang suddenly dropped her arm to the side of the chair, violently releasing the breath she had been holding. Her eyes opened wide, pupils dilated in horror, her breathing was ragged and shaky, and her face was pale and covered in sweat, looking as though she had just experienced something truly horrifying.

Blake and Ruby were quick to reach for the blonde, asking questions and trying to ascertain her well-being. The others looked on with worry, restraining themselves from crowding the girl, while SEES gave her understanding looks. Even Akihiko's grin had faded. Some of them did not have as much difficulty summoning their Personas for the first time but that did not mean they could not understand what it was she was feeling.

Even Chidori, who once held no fear of death, now found herself feeling fear whenever she summoned Hecate. But she immediately understood why. Unlike the times when she believed that death was nothing to be feared, when she had no significant reason to live, she now had something to live for, someone to continue living for. Thus, when confronted by the possibility of death, she too felt that same fear just like the rest of them.

"Not as easy as it looks, huh?" Junpei asked softly, eyes gazing at the blonde with sympathy. He remembered when they had first explored Tartarus, just him, Yukari, and Minato. Despite all his bravado going in, it had taken seeing Minato summon his Persona so effortlessly before he could muster up the courage to summon his own for the first time. _'Wonder how long it would have taken me if I hadn't been so jealous of Minato showing me up back then,'_ he couldn't help but muse grimly as he watched Ruby and Blake check on Yang.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Yang nodded shakily towards her partner, trying to get her rapidly beating heart under control. "I… I-I'm fine. I just…" She took several deep breaths to steady herself. "Guess it _is_ hard to shoot a fake gun," she gasped out with a faint grin, her words directed towards Akihiko, who nodded, accepting her unspoken apology.

She couldn't help the newfound respect for SEES blossoming within her. _'Is this what they feel every time they use these things?'_ She mentally shook her head, unable to imagine herself in their position.

The silver-haired boxer was right. About all of it.

She knew it wasn't a real gun. She had seen for herself that it couldn't kill anyone. But despite hiding it from the others, she couldn't deny the sliver of doubt that appeared within her the moment the she felt the Evoker's full weight upon taking it from Akihiko's hand. And even after examining it, fulfilling the sudden, subconscious need to search for additional reassurances that it was fake, the doubt, the fear that had already taken root, did not disappear.

And it only grew worse the moment she felt the barrel touching the side of her head. The moment she felt cold, hard steel resting against her temple, she froze. Despite her grin, she suddenly felt afraid. It was like a voice began speaking to her at that very moment, telling her that she was going to die soon. And whenever she attempted to pull the trigger, she could hear the voice screaming at her to stop, freezing her finger in place and telling her that she would die if she went through with it.

At first she tried telling herself that it was fake. That it definitely wouldn't kill her. She even brought up the memory of SEES calling forth their Personas to justify this. Instead, her mind's eye focused on the way their heads recoiled the moment they fired, the way glass erupted from the opposite side of their heads in place of blood. And then her traitorous mind replaced that image. Rather than glass-like shards, blood erupted from their heads, followed by their now lifeless bodies falling to the ground, dead.

Then she tried to remind herself that, unlike SEES, she had Aura. Moreover, she hadn't taken a lot of hits during the initiation. Coupled with the uneventful journey back and the time they spent waiting for the remaining initiates who managed to retrieve a relic, she was absolutely certain that her reserves were back to full. And at full strength she was confident she could take multiple shots at point blank without fear, never mind just one. Only the concussive force behind the shots would punch through her Aura but she was no stranger to pain. But no matter how her mind tried to justify it, her body refused to calm down and pull the trigger.

Then at some point, her fear seeped into her conscious thoughts and she started to think, 'I'm going to die if I do this. I don't want to die,' again and again. Her eyes no longer saw Akihiko's grin but a reflection of herself holding a gun to her head, as though staring at a mirror. Only this reflection fired the gun, causing blood to burst out of her head even as she fell lifeless to the ground, her reflection's eyes staring blankly at her. Then all of a sudden, her reflection was seated at the chair, gun held up to its head once again. It barely lasted a second before it fired, repeating the scene of its suicide once more.

Without even realizing it her breathing had grown ragged. Nearly her entire body was shaking from fear and breaking out into a cold sweat. No longer able to bear the terror gripping her heart, she threw her hand down to the side, almost throwing the gun away. So great was her fear that it had taken her a while before her mind even registered Blake and Ruby's presence beside her, their hands holding her steady and their voices asking her questions.

It took some time to calm her down but no one begrudged her that time. After seeing her face and the way she was shaking, not even Weiss could bring herself to mock the blonde brawler. Once he was certain that Yang was alright, Ozpin turned to her and said, "May I?"

Yang glanced at Ozpin and his outstretched hand. Then, seeing his eyes glance briefly at the Evoker still in her right hand, she turned to Akihiko. It was his after all.

Akihiko, in turn, turned to face Mitsuru, uncertain as to whether to allow it. He had only extended the challenge to Yang because he knew for certain that she would not pull the trigger. After all, it was one thing to face the possibility of death in the form of an enemy. It was another matter entirely when it could come from your own hands.

Ozpin, however, was an accomplished Huntsman. One renowned across the whole of Remnant. If there was one person in the room outside of SEES who could overcome that fear and actually pull the trigger, it was him. And that was a problem in itself, a problem that Mitsuru was aware of.

Her response came almost as soon as he had finished turning to face her. But when Mitsuru nodded, he had to stop himself from speaking up. If her response came that quickly, it meant she had already considered the matter, most likely having anticipated it already. All he could do now was trust in her decision.

Seeing this, Yang rose from her seat and closed the distance between her and Ozpin's desk. She placed the Evoker in his awaiting hand the same way Akihiko handed it to her and returned to her seat, wondering if he would be able to do it. He was a Huntsman after all.

Much like Yang, Ozpin turned the gun over several times, carefully scrutinizing every detail of the weapon. Idly, Yang wondered whether he was doing it strictly to examine it or if, like her, he felt the subconscious need to reassure himself of its inability to kill.

When he finally began to raise the Evoker up to his temple, many of them held their breaths, wondering what would happen. Would he fire immediately? Would he hesitate for a moment before firing? Or would even he, a full-fledged Huntsman, fall prey to the fear of death just as Yang did? The barrel touched the side of his head, and remained there just as he shut his eyes.

A minute passed before he opened his eyes and lowered the Evoker. Somehow, they were disappointed to see no change in his expression.

"It is as you say." Ozpin sighed as he placed the Evoker down on his desk. "Despite knowing that it cannot kill me, I cannot help but doubt what I know, what I have already seen. It seems that it is one thing for death to come from an enemy, and another thing for death to come by one's own hand," he added, unknowingly mirroring Akihiko's earlier thoughts. "All of you must have exceptional willpower to be able to pull the trigger."

"Dunno about willpower but it's pretty much do or die for us." Junpei shrugged visibly enough to catch Ozpin's attention from the second row. "Some of those Shadows, er... Grimm, that we fought were pretty huge. Would have been stupid for us to take 'em on with just a sword. It's like Akihiko-senpai told me back when I first joined. Without our Personas, we're screwed."

At those familiar words, Akihiko let out a mix between a chuckle and a scoff. "I remember that. Hell, I was actually sure you wouldn't be able to do it that first night." Again, Junpei just shrugged shamelessly, causing Akihiko to chuckle. "You were pretty full of hot air back then. You've come a long way from those days when you had trouble with even the smaller Grimm."

"We all have," added Mitsuru, her eyes glazing over as she lost herself in her memories, several members of SEES following suit as though urged on by her words. Even Chidori, who had only been part of SEES since their awakening in Remnant, could not help but think back to the past. From her time in Strega, to the time she first met Junpei, and to his frequent visits to the hospital, the same visits that changed her for the better.

As he watched them reminisce, Ozpin could see the bittersweet expressions on their faces. He wondered, however briefly, if they would answer if he voiced his curiosity. Even without having to ask, he knew they would not. Not at this point in time anyway. Whatever it was they had experienced clearly had great meaning to them all. A very deep, very personal meaning.

"Question!"

SEES was startled out of their thoughts by Nora's sudden yell. And even as Ren tried to get her to settle down, it was too late.

"Sorry," he said, turning to the group opposite them.

"It's fine," said Mitsuru, waving off Ren's apology and concern. "This really isn't the time to be thinking about the past anyway. What was it you wanted to ask?"

Nora took a moment to stick her tongue out at Ren, who merely rolled his eyes at her childish behavior, before voicing her question. "I was just wondering. If you're part of SEES, why are you still fighting?" She ignored the shocked looks coming from those on her side of the divide, especially from those who had only gotten to know her recently. "I thought SEES was pretty much like a volunteer group. Why not just live normal lives?"

Everyone turned to SEES expectantly, even the Headmaster and his deputy. But SEES did not hesitate, all of them gazing back with clear resolution in their eyes.

"It's true that I have that option, but that was before I came to realize something."

The first response came from an unexpected source, even for SEES. Thus far Mitsuru had taken the lead during the conversation not only due to her position as the leader of SEES, but also as the one most knowledgeable about both their cover story and the more technical details about Personas in general. So to hear the youngest of them all suddenly speak, when he had been silent the entire time, was a surprise for everyone. And despite sitting at the front row beside Akihiko, their eyes had passed over him, his age and appearance making them forget that he was just as capable as those around him.

"And what might that be?" asked Ozpin, curious as to the twelve-year-old's reason for fighting. Yesterday, when he had asked him why he wanted to enter Beacon, he had said that there was something he had to do, a goal he wanted to accomplish alongside his friends. Now he might just hear what that something was. More importantly, Ken had said 'I', meaning what he was about to share was his own personal reason rather than the group's.

"I want to live." His answer confused all but the members of SEES. Nobody wanted to die, after all, so why was he stating something so obvious. He definitely caught the confusion on their faces as he spoke again soon after. "It might sound like a strange thing to say, especially since I chose to continue fighting. It might be even more confusing now that you know we don't have Aura like the rest of you do, meaning we're more likely to die if we were careless for even a moment. If anything, we should be living normal lives like normal people, staying away from such a dangerous profession."

"But that's precisely why I can't just sit back and let someone else fight!" Ken's exclamation startled his audience as his fiercely resolute gaze landed on each of them for a moment. "The Grimm are dangerous but they aren't the only ones threatening our lives. Even in the city, there is no absolute guarantee that we won't get hurt. I don't want to live a life where I hide away whenever something dangerous happens. That's not living. That's just existing."

"I want to live without regrets. I want to be able to make a choice and face the consequences, no matter how harsh, rather than turn away because I'm afraid of getting hurt. I want to be able to say that I never turned away from the future, no matter how scary it is."

His powerful, heartfelt words shocked many in the room. None of them expected such words from a twelve-year-old. One would think that a boy as young as he was would choose an easier life, especially after what he had gone through. Go to a normal school, having normal ambitions, living a normal life. That was what they expected from one his age. But the boy before them spoke like someone who had lived more than twice his apparent age, like someone who had found a reason to live beyond simply living.

"But why fight?" Ozpin continued to prod. "You have power. Even if you choose to not become a Huntsman, you are far from weak or incapable of fighting back. You could live a life of your choosing while still having the power to fight back when necessary."

"Yeah, but that's just us." The answer came not from Ken, but from Junpei. There was a strange look in his eyes they couldn't properly identify, a strange mixture of sadness and resolve. "There are tons of people out there who can't fight. There are guys out there who just run away when things get tough. And there are even people who are so afraid of everything that they actually think dying is better than living. I can't just sit back knowing there are people like that out there."

While what he said may not have come as much of a shock to SEES, or even the teachers, the rest of the students were visibly disturbed by some of his words. People choosing death over life? Were there truly people in the world who believed it was better to die?

In some ways it made sense. Better a quick end than long years of suffering. But a part of them just couldn't accept that such people truly existed. As SEES had stated earlier, the instinctive desire to continue living, to survive, was an inseparable part of them. But what madness, what insanity, could lead people to desire otherwise? To ignore such a primal and deeply ingrained instinct?

"So you mean to be a hero?" asked Ozpin.

Before Junpei could answer, the sound of giggling flowed through the air. Turning to the girl beside him, he asked, "Eh? What's up Chidori?" His red-haired girlfriend took one look at him, before collapsing into a giggling fit. "Hey… what the…"

As much as they wanted answers, most of them were suddenly too busy watching Chidori. Even for SEES, this was the first time they had seen the young woman that had once been their foe openly display such emotion. Her smiles were rare but they had seen it more than once. Giggles and chuckles weren't new either, but the way she had let her laughter loose on this occasion, not once trying to hold it in, was certainly new.

Their teammates were equally enamored by the girl's tinkling laughter. It was so different from the normally stoic and indifferent girl whose voice they rarely heard. Even the few times she showed emotion was limited. A small smile, a short giggle, a quick scowl, nothing that lasted more than a few seconds.

As Chidori finally got control of her laughter, she cleared her throat and looked straight into Junpei's eyes, her amusement dancing in her own. "In the darkest hour, unknown to all but a few, the chosen ones stand against the forces of evil! Our hero, Junpei, fights to protect the world from these terrifying monsters!"

For a moment, everyone simply stared at the girl who had recited such a ridiculous sounding line. Junpei was wide-eyed and slack-jawed, remembering when he had first heard those words. After all, he had been the one to say it to her in the first place. The silence was broken when someone began snickering.

"S-Seriously Junpei?" asked Yukari, doing her best to stifle her laughter. "Did you… Actually say that?"

"He did," Chidori responded before Junpei could even attempt to defend himself, glancing briefly at Junpei with a grin. "It was during our third meeting. I asked him what he did to feel alive. That was his answer."

"I'm pretty sure my answer was 'breathing'," Junpei said with a chuckle, causing Chidori to elbow him lightly and eliciting some amusement from the others at his joke. "But yeah, I pretty much told Chidori that I felt alive when I was playing hero."

"I dunno about the 'playing' bit, we could get killed after all," said Yukari, sobering up with her own words. "But I guess when you think about it, we are heroes in a way. Even if we did fail that night."

Before their mood could drop due to Yukari's reminder, Fuuka spoke from her place next to Yukari. " _Nana korobi, ya oki_."

"Huh? What does that mean?" asked Jaune, sitting at the end of the second row opposite SEES, the closest one to Fuuka.

"Seven falling, eight getting up," Yukari explained absentmindedly, barely realizing she had translated the phrase literally. She turned to Fuuka with a sigh. "You're right. That night was the worst but it wasn't the first time we failed. And the only reason we got that far was because we got back up each time we failed."

"That's the spirit Yukaricchi!" exclaimed Junpei, reaching across behind Chidori to give the brunette a supportive pat on the back. One that nearly pushed her off her seat. Yukari glared at Junpei and tried to reach for him, causing Chidori's eyes to widen comically as she found herself caught between the two.

Watching all this happen before her, Glynda couldn't help but wonder exactly what kind of lives the members of SEES had lived before coming here, both individually and as a group. She had been a Huntress for a long time and had trained many Huntsmen and Huntresses over the many years she had been teaching at Beacon. So watching the group in front of her, one thing stood out most to her.

All of them were bound to one another by chains. But it was not the type of chain that held one down. Rather, it was a chain that linked them together, uniting them. They were akin to stone pillars chained together. Each pillar was strong on its own, but if one of them were to fall, the chains connecting it to the others would prevent it from falling completely and may even be used pull it back into place to be repaired.

And just by their interactions, she could already see that those same chains had only been strengthened by their experiences, their ordeals. It would take an extraordinary force to damage those bonds, let alone shatter them. Even if most of them were knocked down, so long as one remained standing that one would pull the rest of them back on their feet and they would return stronger than ever.

But as much as it made her glad to see that they had such fine friends in one another, she felt an equal amount of despair at the thought that they were only children. It was bad enough that children were trained from a young age to become the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses. But to see children the same age as trainees, and one as young as those entering combat school for the first time, with eyes like that…

She couldn't help but wonder if there was some other way they could do things. Was there some way other way they could fight the Grimm, some way that did not rely on children giving up most of their childhood to learn how to fight? Or was the future doomed to be just like the past several hundred years, a never-ending war against the darkness?

She knew it wouldn't last. Ozpin knew it wouldn't last. While the main cities of each kingdom were thriving, the same couldn't be said for those that lived outside the walls. With each passing year, more and more of the outlying towns and villages were being lost to the encroaching Grimm. It may not be today, tomorrow, or even within the next few years, but one day only the strongest, most well-defended cities would remain.

And what then? Would they hide away for the rest of their years? Would the humans and faunus living behind the walls remain there for the rest of their lives now that nothing but death awaited them beyond? If such a thing were to happen, then only one of two future awaited them. The Huntsmen would either find a way to end the Grimm threat once and for all, or the Grimm would overcome their defenses, killing them and eradicating every last human and faunus alive.

No. There had to be a better way. There had to be a more effective way to fight back against the Grimm, to make it so that children would no longer have to sacrifice so much of their childhood learning how to fight. As it was, it was amazing, almost unbelievable, that SEES had turned out as well as they did. Others who had gone through less had turned out much worse. _'Still,'_ she thought as she watched Mitsuru calmly put an end to their shenanigans, _'As futile as it may be, I can only hope their lives will only get better from this point on.'_

"Hey uh…" Everyone turned to Jaune when he began to speak. He recoiled a bit seeing everyone turn to him but swallowed the lump in his throat to ask his question. "What… What happens if… if _we_ use those guns of yours?"

"I'm curious as well," admitted Ozpin, turning to face Mitsuru. "What _would_ have happened had I pulled the trigger earlier?"

There were curious looks all around at Jaune and Ozpin's question. Certainly, it was an interesting one. A Semblance was the result of having someone awaken one's Aura. A Persona was the result of someone awakening their powers during a stressful situation. A Semblance could be used at will. Personas needed to be 'forced' out by experiencing a stressful situation in the form of SEES's Evokers. Would anything come of an Aura-user using an Evoker?

The Aura-users in the room couldn't hide their curiosity. As difficult as it may be to pull the literal trigger, most of them couldn't help but imagine summoning a powerful Persona just like SEES on top of their own Semblances. But none of them was more hopeful than the blonde swordsman who had brought up the topic in the first place.

For the only son of the Arc Family, the possibility of being able to wield something so powerful was a godsend. As the only one amongst his siblings who had a low, almost no, aptitude for combat, Jaune knew he would never be able to match up to any of his sisters, and that included his sole younger sister, Hazel. Hell, he doubted he could even match most, possibly even all, of his fellow first years in combat. Even Ken had better combat skills than he did as he had demonstrated during the initiation. And that was before they revealed their Personas.

Could he possibly make-up for his own shortcomings if he had a Persona? Looking back, even his own partner had noted that SEES was weaker in terms of sheer physical ability. None of them could match the other trainees in terms of strength and speed. Instead, they made up for this with their teamwork. And when that wasn't enough, the sheer power of their Personas more than made up for it. And if he could somehow use it as well, even if it meant shooting himself in the head with a fake gun, then perhaps he could be the hero he always wanted to be.

And so, when Mitsuru responded to their queries immediately after being asked, he could barely contain his reaction. "We don't know." Several faces fell at her answer. "When you consider that our Personas are the equivalent of your Semblances, the most obvious outcome one would consider is that the Evoker will activate your Semblance. But, in my opinion, it's far more likely that nothing will happen."

"Would you be opposed to allowing us to try?" asked Ozpin.

Mitsuru retreated into her thoughts, gathering all the information she had on Aura, Semblance, and Persona. While she wasn't a scientist, she could at least try to come up with the most probable outcomes of such an act through logic. And all things considered, she didn't like it. But still…

"If the experiment was done in a safe and controlled environment with a facility and staff prepared should things go wrong, then perhaps we could try to see what may come of it," she responded after a few minutes of thought. "I do not know if there are any dangers with using one's Semblance, the books we had did not mention any. But Personas are different in that there are rare cases where the Persona-user is unable to control their Persona, causing it to go on a violent rampage, sometimes even attacking and killing the summoner." A few faced paled at that. "Moreover, since nobody else here has undergone an awakening of their Personas, I do not know if the Evoker will awaken one, or have no effect entirely."

"So you would allow us to make the attempt so long as the facility was secured and well-equipped to deal with possible mishaps?"

Mitsuru nodded, firm and without hesitation. "Provided we are present and have final say in any decision regarding the matter, then yes."

But despite her words and how she said it, Mitsuru was, in truth, incredibly hesitant to allow it. Already, several dozen lives were lost to the experiment that tried to bring forth a Persona through experimentation. True, those experiments had taken place at a time when the conditions for awakening a Persona had been unknown, meaning those inhumane methods were no longer necessary at the present time.

Still, she could not erase the images from her mind, images that had come from the records of the experiment headed by the traitor, Shuji Ikutsuki. Nor could she discard the possibility of someone trying to repeat the experiment in an effort to gain more power. By all accounts, and from their own interactions with the man, Headmaster Ozpin could be trusted with the information she was giving him. The problem was whether or not he would bring anyone else into the matter and whether or not they could be trusted with such sensitive and dangerous information.

It was understandable that he was curious. They had, after all, witnessed seven Personas – eight if one counted Juno's support – slaughter nearly two hundred Grimm in less than two minutes. And they had still been ready to do more afterwards. Such a power would be a boon in their fight against the Grimm. As such, she could not, in good conscience, deny him the chance to try.

And thus, she decided that the best way to avoid repeating history was for SEES, all of whom knew of the previous experiment, to remain in control. SEES would be invaluable to such an experiment from an information standpoint. Only they knew the details regarding Persona. Or rather, without the Kirijo scientists, the only people who knew about Personas, incomplete information or not, was SEES and its members.

But even with the basic explanation they had given the Headmaster, there was still far too much he did not know. And whether he was aware of it or not, SEES themselves did not possess all the answers. Any experimentation or research that would occur would be for their benefit as well as his.

And that was her primary reason for giving her consent. Once, they had gone to fight the Shadows trusting in what they knew, trusting in what they were told. But that folly, that ignorance, only brought about their downfall. And now, thrust into a new world without the backing of the Kirijo and its vast resources, Mitsuru felt the need to ensure that their lack of knowledge would never act against them again. Beginning with their Personas.

They were, without a single grain of doubt, the most powerful weapon SEES had in its arsenal. A single one could demolish dozens of Shadows, dozens of Grimm. What more when all eight of them came together to fight as a single, cohesive unit? But just as a sword could break, and a gun could malfunction, so too could their Personas fail at a crucial moment.

Strega. Takaya Sakaki, Jin Shirato, and Chidori Yoshino. The three survivors of Ikutsuki's experiments to artificially awaken Personas in those who did not possess the Potential. All three survived and, though bearing many scars on many levels, walked away with an artificially awakened Persona. But in turn, their Personas were difficult to control, often attempting to kill their summoners. If not for a special drug made to suppress their Personas, Mitsuru was certain that Strega would never have lived long enough to cross paths with SEES.

Sadly, it was not just Strega who experienced difficulties with their Personas. Even naturally awakened Personas went out of control, just as she had told the Headmaster. And she had been there to witness the one instance it had come to pass in the form of Shinjiro Aragaki and his Persona, Castor, one of the three original members of SEES, alongside Akihiko and herself. Despite naturally awakening to his power, he had been met with difficulty summoning his Persona one night, leading to the death of an innocent. And it was that event, along with several others in the years after, which led lead to his death.

And now, nearly a year after his death from her perspective, that initial event still haunted her thoughts. Even now she wondered, feared, whether another member of SEES would lose control of their Personas. It had been established that it took great force of will to wield a Persona, as evidenced by the need to simulate suicide merely to call upon it in the first place. But was that all? Was it simply sheer force of will that they needed to control their Personas? Or was there something else they and the scientists hadn't considered?

Mitsuru didn't know the answer. And that bothered her. With the whole world now involved in a war that had lasted for millennia, the stakes were too high for her to risk even a single member of her team, a single one of her friends. Without the Kirijo's resources, she would have to find another way to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. And now, an opportunity had fallen right into her lap. She just needed to make sure that, this time, there would be no unlawful and immoral acts done in the name of science.

Ozpin nodded, agreeing to Mitsuru's conditions. "I'll make the necessary arrangements and inform you once everything is in place. But since it is only the beginning of the year I think it would be best if we were to wait until you've settled into your new lives before adding more to your workload." This time, it was Mitsuru who nodded in agreement. "One last thing. Would you-"

"Excuse me, Headmaster." All eyes turned to Glynda when she interrupted, and curiosity shone in those same eyes when they saw her furrowed brow as she read something off of her Scroll. "A… suspicious package has just arrived addressed to your office."

She didn't need him to say it out loud as the unspoken question was obvious, 'Why mention this now?' Both of them have worked together for many years. She wouldn't have mentioned anything about it until after their meeting if there wasn't anything significant about it. Simply the fact that she mentioned it now meant something about it caught her attention, enough for her to divert his attention from the meeting.

"No sender listed, but it's addressed to the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad."

Sixteen pairs of eyes widened in surprise, eight pairs turning their focus to Glynda in askance while the remaining eight did the same towards the group in question. But while everyone was confused, ten people in the room were already beginning to form ideas as to the identity of the sender.

Up until the meeting, the meaning of SEES was known only to its members. Once they considered that, it only made sense that it was someone who knew SEES even before their arrival at Beacon. Glynda and the Headmaster had one suspect. SEES had two, but only one was capable of sending a package.

"Has it been checked for any harmful material?" The blonde woman nodded. "Have it sent up." Again, the woman nodded and began typing into her Scroll even as Ozpin turned to Mitsuru. "I assume you have an idea as to the identity of the sender?"

"Elizabeth," Mitsuru responded without delay. "She's the only one outside this office who knows the meaning of SEES and is capable of sending a package. Though I do wonder what it was she sent us. When she left us in Vale the other day, she vaguely mentioned that it would be last time we would see her barring the need for her to seek us out."

"Implying that you would not find her if _you_ were to seek her out instead," finished the Headmaster, receiving a nod from the leader of SEES. "Interesting."

In no time at all, the door leading out of the office opened and a young man dressed in a security uniform stepped in, carrying a box as large as his torso. He crossed the distance between the door and Ozpin's desk without speaking a single word, and left in a similar manner once he placed the box on one corner of the desk when Ozpin gestured to do so.

Once he was gone, Mitsuru stood and stepped towards the desk and the box perched on top of it. After glancing at Ozpin for permission, she tore off the single strip of tape keeping the box sealed, opened the top flaps, and moved aside the foam peanuts used to keep the contents from getting damaged during transportation. There was some confusion on her face as she saw the contents and reached in.

What she pulled out was another box, much smaller than the first but bigger than her hand. It was white all over and one of the larger sides had the image of a tall, black diamond printed on it. She placed it on the table and reached in again, pulling out yet another box. This time, the box was blue but still bore the same black diamond. The confused redhead reached in several more times, and placed even more boxes on the table until there were eight, all bearing different colors but with the same diamond on the front.

The last item she pulled out was another box, this one longer and wider than the rest. Intrigued by the difference, she opened it first and found several large envelopes inside. When she pulled it out, she saw that there were eight, each one bearing the name of a member of SEES. She passed each one to their respective owners before opening hers.

Mitsuru couldn't hide her shock at what was inside. Documents. Legal and government documents. Some of which were the kind they had filled out forms for just yesterday. _'When did she have time to handle all this?'_ Mitsuru couldn't help but ask herself.

There were a lot of different documents in her envelope, more than what the others had in theirs. A quick glance at the documents in her hands showed why. Beyond those needed for identification, her envelope contained bank and business documents as well. She would have to go over those at a later time, preferably tonight if she could find time. But unless she was mistaken, then Elizabeth had done more than just create identities for them.

Ozpin's voice shook her, and the others, out of their musings. "Something interesting, I take it?"

"You could say that," she responded, handing over a few of the documents. As expected, Ozpin was just as intrigued to find the same documents he had been helping them acquire to make their stay at Beacon, and Remnant as a whole, more manageable. "It seems there are things about her we still don't know even after knowing her for seven months."

That number immediately caught Ozpin's attention as it matched the amount of time since the loss of their home. "So you haven't known her for very long then?"

Mitsuru shook her head as Ozpin returned the documents to her. "No. Though our field leader, Minato, has apparently known her for nearly a year before we met her."

And yet another mystery added on top of all the others regarding the white-haired woman, Ozpin couldn't help but muse. For the moment, however, he set those thoughts aside as Mitsuru picked up one of the smaller boxes and began to open it, the other students looking on with bubbling curiosity.

He had seen the logo on the box and had his own suspicions as to the box's contents. Pyrrha, it would seem, also recognized the image as her eyes showed a hint of recognition and realization.

When Mitsuru finally pulled out the contents of the box, four of the students to his left gasped while another two gaped openly, leaving the last two to look at their friends in confusion.

"N-No way…"

"Those are…

"The public can't even get those yet!"

Intrigued by their reactions, Mitsuru turned to the three who spoke and asked, "Isn't it just a Scroll like yours?"

If it was possible, they looked even more flabbergasted by Mitsuru's reaction. As Ruby and Yang began spluttering about, having forgotten that Mitsuru knew little about Scrolls and such, Weiss pulled herself together and explained. "Those are the newest Scrolls from the Adamas Corporation of Mistral. They've only been out for a few weeks but they won't be available to the public for at least another month."

"They're also quite expensive," added Pyrrha. "They cost nearly four times the price of the average Scroll. Though given its specifications and capabilities, one might say it's well worth the cost. I believe they also named that particular model the Rotulus, just to make it stand out from the standard Scrolls."

"Don't you have one Pyrrha?" asked Weiss, turning around in her seat to better face the girl behind her. "The Adamas Corporation sponsors you, don't they?"

The Mistralian Champion shook her head. "My contract with them mainly covers weaponry, ammunition, parts, and other such things. Also, I am not the only person they are sponsoring. Despite my accomplishments, I'm hardly the most well-known among those they sponsor. Still." She turned to face her fellow redhead. "I have to wonder how your friend managed to get you one, let alone eight. As far as I'm aware, the only ones to be released so far were those given to stockholders, board members, and companies with significant dealings with the corporation."

"I have my suspicions," was all Mitsuru said as she turned to the rest of SEES. Obviously they wouldn't be hearing those suspicions any time soon. "There are eight Scrolls. And if I'm right, the color of the box corresponds with the Scroll. Does anyone want a particular color?"

"If it's alright with you, I'll take the one you're holding." Chidori was the first to speak up, eyes locked onto the plain white Scroll in Mitsuru's hands.

The former heiress nodded and passed both the Scroll and the box to Akihiko, who passed it behind him to Chidori. "Anyone else?"

"I'll take the blue one senpai," called out Junpei. Before pointing his thumb at Yukari. "And I'm Yukaricchi'll take the pink one."

"I can speak for myself you know," complained Yukari, resisting the urge to leap across Chidori to reach the source of her annoyance. Instead, she let out a mix between a sigh and a groan before saying, "Yeah, I'll take the pink one," after checking what other colors were available. It took all her willpower to ignore the smug and knowing grin on Junpei's face.

Even as Mitsuru passed the requested boxes, the others quickly chose from the remaining colors. Yellow for Aigis, green for Fuuka, orange for Ken, and black for Akihiko, leaving the red one for Mitsuru. Seeing some of them already opening the boxes, she called out gently for them to stop. "We can look at these later. For now it's best to finish up here. I'm sure the Headmaster has other things he needs to do."

Receiving an inquisitive look from the group, Ozpin shook his head. "I believe that should be enough for today. We will have more chances in the future to discuss things."

Seeing that the Headmaster was done with his questions, Glynda took the opportunity to make a point of her own known. "I do have one concern I wish to point out before you leave, however." Once she had SEES's attention, she said, "As you know, this is a school made to train Huntsmen and Huntresses. As such, one major class we have is a Combat Class held every day. Now, usually sparring is done under a tournament format. Meaning the fight is over once a student's Aura levels drop below a certain percentage."

Understanding immediately dawned in their eyes at her words. "I see you understand the problem. I cannot exclude you from the class, nor can I simply have you eight spar exclusively with one another. But you came into the school, fully aware that your lack of Aura places you at a disadvantage. Do you have a plan to deal with this?"

"We don't." The swift response from Akihiko caught Glynda off-guard, having expected Mitsuru to speak for the group once more. "At least, we don't have anything special planned. We're just going to attend classes normally like everyone else. Aura, or no Aura."

Glynda frowned at his somewhat vague words. "Will you be using your Personas in my class then? They seem to be your only option in this case."

The shaking of heads she received, not just from Akihiko but most of the group, did not fill her with assurance. "For one thing, we don't know if Aura will stop something as powerful as our Personas or their abilities. A direct assault from our Persona, perhaps. But the more powerful abilities are too risky at this stage. So until we're sure we won't end up killing someone by accident, we'll only be fighting with our own weapons."

Her frown only deepened at his words. While she could appreciate their caution regarding the other students, she certainly didn't appreciate their lack of caution regarding their own safety. In the end, she was caught between her duty and her personal feelings.

One dictated that she could not show favoritism, that she could not make an exception for SEES since they had come to Beacon despite knowing their handicap. The other wanted to do the opposite, wanted to avoid any unnecessary risks towards those who have already suffered and lost so much.

In the end, it was the resolve she could see shining in their eyes that convinced her to ignore her feelings on the matter. If anything, it was because they had already experienced so much that they could stand firm. Certainly, their resolve was stronger than most, if not all, of the first-year students. Even some fourth-year students could not match their resolve, lacking the harsh, deadly experiences that have tempered SEES's will.

"Very well," she said, hiding her feelings. "If you are certain then I suppose I do not have the right to deny you that."

With Glynda's concern voiced and his own questions satisfied for the moment, Ozpin addressed them once more. "For now, keep the Scroll I lent you. You can inform us of your new contact details once you've become accustomed to you own. Messages to your team will be sent to one of your teammates for the time being while any matter relating to SEES in general will be sent to your borrowed Scroll. Now then, I believe I've kept you long enough. I'm sure all of you could use some rest."

"Thank you, Headmaster." Mitsuru bowed as she spoke, SEES standing up to do the same. "We'll be sure to inform you once we've familiarized ourselves with our new Scrolls."

The Headmaster nodded and the group of sixteen exited, Akihiko falling behind slightly to grab the now empty box still sitting on the desk.

Once they were inside the elevators once more, going with the same groups they were in coming up, two of them heard their Scrolls go off. Weiss and Yang pulled out their Scrolls to check and found a message addressed to their team. Recalling the Headmaster's words, Yang immediately brought her Scroll over to Mitsuru to share the message with her.

On the other hand, Weiss read through the message before turning to Fuuka. "We'll be staying at dorm number three, Room 203."

Fuuka nodded but stopped suddenly as she processed Weiss's words. "Wait, all four of us?"

The Schnee heiress looked at Fuuka strangely, as though wondering why she was asking such an obvious question. "Of course. Did you think that we each received our own rooms?"

"I did, but I suppose it makes sense." Fuuka shook her head. "During the initiation, I thought that we'd be expected to room with our partners. I just didn't expect to room with three others." Then, remembering something, her eyes grew wide. "Wait, what about the others? Junpei and Chidori are partners."

Aigis nodded. "They're also on a team with Jaune and Pyrrha. And I believe Akihiko-san and Ken-san are partnered with Ren and Nora."

"Is this normal?" Yukari asked, concerned over the newest development.

But contrary to their hopes, Yang nodded. "Yeah. Since all the Huntsman academies are boarding schools, all of them do this. It's pretty much to promote teamwork and all that."

"That, and we can't exactly be picky on a mission," added Blake. "Like tents for example. Sometimes we'll have to make do with one large tent rather than two smaller ones for less hassle. And we may have teams now, but this is just for the duration of our stay here. After we graduate, we can go our separate ways if we wanted to. But since they've worked together for four years, most teams stay in contact at the very least and even take on jobs as a team. Even then, sometimes Huntsmen are hand-picked for certain missions so they might end up working with complete strangers."

"I see."

Mitsuru didn't like it. And she could see that neither did Yukari and Fuuka. She knew it was their culture speaking, but it simply wasn't right for a boy and a girl to sleep in the same room past a certain age. Even the night before in the ballroom was barely tolerable for them. Part of her couldn't help but criticize the Headmaster, but another part of her could only grudgingly accept it. After all, if this was how it was normally done, surely they have ways of ensuring nothing immoral went on behind closed doors.

Still, sharing a room did not mean they would be up to anything licentious. It would be uncomfortable, especially for Akihiko, Ken, Junpei, and Chidori, but she was confident they could work it out given time. Even Junpei, despite his often tasteless jokes, wasn't so uncouth that he would behave poorly. He had proven it the past seven months with Chidori. Despite often being alone with her in her room, he never did anything untoward with the then troubled and vulnerable girl.

"There is little we can do about it now," said Aigis, voicing Mitsuru's thoughts. "It is unexpected but I do not believe it will cause us much difficulty. We will adapt as we always have."

And as the elevator signaled their arrival, nobody noticed the scowl on Weiss's face as Aigis spoke, nor the way one hand clenched tightly into a fist. But she knew that the elevator wasn't the proper place to display her feelings. She would simply have to restrain herself. For the time being anyway.

* * *

As Ozpin and Glynda watched the group of sixteen leave, Ozpin immediately brought up the video of the meeting, just as he did the day before with their previous meeting.

"Do you still suspect them?" asked Glynda.

Ozpin paused for a moment at that question. Did he? Not long after, he shook his head slightly. "Not any more. At least, not as much as I did."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they are still hiding something. Whether or not their secrets are harmful to others is what worries me given what we have already learned. And I admit, I did not expect the things we heard today. Had we had this discussion yesterday I daresay we would have accused them of lying."

"That, and I certainly would have done my best to stop them from taking the initiation." Obviously the fact that SEES had taken the test without Aura still bothered her. "Honestly. They survive the destruction of an entire city, an entire country at that, something that only took a single night from their own accounts, and they still do something so foolish."

"Is it foolishness? Or perhaps it is as they said, merely the determination to fight to live. Don't tell me you didn't see it."

"I did. And that's why it bothers me so much," admitted Glynda, suddenly looking very weary. "They're children Ozpin. Children shouldn't have the eyes of veteran Huntsmen. You know that if it was up to me they'd be on the next airship to Vale so that they could choose some other path. A path where they would no longer have to fight. Militia or not, they've fought enough."

"Unfortunately it isn't up to us," countered Ozpin as he began watching the recording of their meeting. "As much as we may wish to, the decision to attend Beacon was theirs and theirs alone. Even Mr. Amada, despite his youth, was quite firm in his desire to attend. At the very least, they have the ability to help them fight, to help them survive. And at least here, we have the chance to help them hone their abilities, regardless of their handicap."

"That handicap, however, may prove fatal, even in my Combat Class. All it takes is one little slip, one accident, and even I may not be able to stop it in time."

"And I'm sure they've considered that risk when you questioned them earlier." Despite his words, however, Glynda knew Ozpin was just as worried as she was that an accident would claim a life during her class. There was a reason such things were called 'accidents' after all. "Still, though my suspicions about SEES have abated somewhat, there are a few things still concern me greatly."

"You mean Death?"

Ozpin nodded. "And Elizabeth. I had initially assumed that she was someone they've known for a long time, not someone they met soon after the home was destroyed. In some ways, that makes her part in all this even more suspicious. Ms. Kirijo said it herself, they do not know how she knew of them, nor how she found them. True, she seems to have had dealings with their field leader, but that does not assure anything now that he isn't here."

"And then there are those documents she sent. As far as I could see, they were all legitimate. Meaning as far as the government is concerned, the members of SEES now exist within their system. Although it saves me the difficulty of doing so, I do wonder how it was that she managed to procure those documents so swiftly. Not to mention those Scrolls."

The blonde woman nodded in agreement. "As Ms. Schnee and Ms. Nikos have stated, that model has yet to be released to the public. Only those with connections to Adamas have them at this time but it was announced that there were only a hundred. With eight, they have almost a tenth of that. I cannot see how they could have them, let alone so many. Moreover, half of those that were released were black while the other half were white. They have eight different colors, something that wasn't supposed to happen until they begin mass production."

"I have my suspicions but it would be best to wait until I can be certain." Freezing the recording, his fingers tapped away to make a separate clip, replaying only a section of the entire video.

" _But just as one cannot stop a natural disaster, we could only stave off Death for so long."_

Ozpin replayed that scene, that one line from Mitsuru, several more times, listening intently. After finding what he wanted, he stopped the recording. "Did you hear it?"

Glynda nodded. "Yes. The way she said Death was clearly different from how one would normally say it, even considering the rest of the statement. It seems we may be right. One of the Grimm they faced, perhaps even the one most responsible for their situation, was named Death."

"A truly ominous name."

The two remained in silence for a moment, trying to digest everything they have learned up until that point. Personas, Death, their lack of Aura, their way of awakening one's power, and even their final stand against the Grimm. Everything they've heard and more ran through their minds. Not for the first time, they wondered just how eight children could still remain so strong-willed, let alone choose to fight.

They, or rather Ken, had stated his reason. The desire to live. And rather than the conventional meaning of still having one's life, his words held a deeper, more willful meaning. To live, to truly live, he believed that he needed to be someone who could look forward without fear, no matter what he may face, so that he could look back without regrets.

Junpei seemed to be someone who merely wanted to be a hero, a seeker of glory. But there was a harsh glint in his eyes when he spoke. There was something more than just glory that he was after. Being a hero was simply something he had to be to attain that goal.

And while no one else had stated their reasons for fighting, all the others also lacked that distinct uncertainty present in the eyes of many students when asked about the future. Many knew what they wanted to be. A Huntsman or Huntress, a hero, a role model, or something else along those lines for the most part. And they were all common answers that he and the other teachers have heard over the years. But the question that caused students to suddenly stumble was 'why'. They knew where they wanted to go, where they wanted to be, but rarely did they find a student who knew why such and such was their destination.

Some answered that they wanted to help people. Others because they enjoyed fighting, or simply wanted to hunt the Grimm for one reason or another. But no matter the reason, the same question could be asked. Why? For every answer, the same question could be asked until the one asking was satisfied. Few students could answer with absolute certainty past the second time it was asked.

SEES, however, seems to have an answer to that never ending chain of questions. They all had a reason to fight. And they knew why such was their reason. It was interesting to see such children. But as Glynda had stated, it was also saddening to see such children. They, save for Ken, were old enough to be considered young adults. They had experienced enough that most would see them as adults. But to the two of them and many others, they would always be children. Children who, despite their age and experience, shouldn't be shouldering burdens of fully-grown adults.

"What will you do now?" asked Glynda, breaking the silence that had taken hold of them.

"For now I will merely observe them. The school year is just beginning and they have just been thrust into a world different from their own. Once they have settled in, I will make plans for our little experiment. It will also give me time to consider who I can recruit to help us with this matter and if I should bring them from the start or wait until they are needed."

"For now, let's focus on next week," said Ozpin, stopping the video and returning to his work. "We have plenty of work to do in preparation for the start of classes."

"Of course."

And with that, the two highest authorities in the school went to work, the matter of SEES and all related subjects temporarily pushed out of their minds for more immediate concerns.

* * *

Aigis stood inside her new dorm room alongside her new team. The room was certainly large, larger than what she had expected even for four people. Four beds perpendicular to the window with a low bookcase between the two center beds. Between each pair of beds on the left and right was a nightstand, large enough for two people to share, with an adjustable double-headed lamp on top of it. Across from the beds were four sets of desks and chairs with two long shelves above them, presumably for studying and the books they would use respectively. And to the right was the door leading to what she and the others assumed was the bathroom. All in all, a decent room.

If you didn't count the pile of luggage and several boxes crowding the center of the room.

"I know you're rich and all but do you really need all that stuff Weiss?"

And of course Ruby decided to go and voice the first thing in her head. Despite the shy demeanor she had at times, Aigis could already see that Ruby was not one to hold back when she had something to say. Or was that simply a lack of tact? Either way, the result was an irate heiress.

"Dolt!" came the somewhat expected response. "Those aren't mine. They probably mixed up someone else's things with ours. I'll go see if someone can sort this out."

"Oh, there's no need for that," said Fuuka, looking up from where she was checking the boxes for their labels, as had been required so that their belongings could be delivered to the dorm once assigned. "These boxes are ours. Well, Aigis's actually since most of this is for her."

"What?"

"What do you need all of that for?" asked Ruby, looking at the boxes curiously as Fuuka opened the first one. "What's even in them?"

"One box holds parts for my weapons and the tools for my maintenance," replied Aigis, walking over to the boxes to help Fuuka check the contents for damage. "Two hold what ammunition I had left as we were uncertain if we would be able to procure them in Vale. The rest hold the parts for my maintenance station."

"Maintenance… station?" Both Ruby and Weiss looked to each other then back to Aigis.

"Have you forgotten that I am an android?" Aigis asked with a teasing smile.

In all the excitement after the big reveal, that little fact did slip from Ruby's mind. But she recovered quickly as she ran over to the boxes, excitement gleaming in her eyes as she began helping Aigis and Fuuka unpack, asking them various questions about Aigis as well as the parts they were taking out of the boxes.

Weiss, however, had not forgotten. But she had been trying not to think of it just yet. It hadn't escaped her notice that neither Ozpin nor Goodwitch had been surprised to learn that Aigis wasn't human. While it was good to know that her new team leader and acquaintances hadn't snuck her in without them knowing, it also meant that Ozpin had made Aigis the leader despite knowing.

Weiss shook the thoughts out of her head even as she watched Ruby, Aigis and Fuuka unpack. As much as she didn't like it, this was the situation she was in now. For the moment, all she could do was wait for an opportunity. Walking over to the luggage beside the boxes, Weiss took hers and moved them towards one of the bed. Noting the lack of a wardrobe, she made a mental note to see about going to Vale to purchase one.

"So how do you use this?" asked Ruby, holding up what seemed to be a rifle. Only this one was lacking several key components, particularly the half of the gun that included the trigger. "Or is this only part of it?"

"I have to remove my hand in order to attach that in its place," answered Aigis, watching for the fourth time in five minutes as Ruby's eyes lit up with excitement and intrigue as she turned the gun attachment around, examining it as closely as she could without dismantling it. "I take it you're very interested in machines then?"

"More like weapons actually," Ruby responded without pause, looking at the side of the weapon that would be attached to Aigis's wrist and trying to figure out how they would connect. "It's why Yang keeps calling me a weapons nut even though I don't like it." She rolled her eyes as she spoke. "I mean, just because I like weapons a lot doesn't mean I'm a weapons nut or even any other kind of nut."

Aigis giggled, though for what reason Ruby wasn't certain. "I think it's good to have something you feel passionate about. After all, it would hardly be a life if you did not enjoy it."

Something about what she said caught Ruby's attention. For a while, she could only stare at the android in front of her, watching her as she continue to take out parts of a machine from inside one of the boxes. Despite having seen it earlier, Ruby found it hard to think of Aigis as a robot.

With the way she was dressed, the only thing that stood out of place was the white collar-like piece she had that completely covered her neck. It also covered up the underside of her jaw and went up to the hairline at the back of her head, disappearing beneath those strange headphone-like accessories of hers. But even those could be easily explained in a way that hid her identity as a robot.

Watching Aigis move and listening to her speak, Ruby couldn't help but think that had they not been told they would have kept on thinking that Aigis was another human just like them. Her movements were smooth, not at all machine-like. And her speech patterns were the same. She sounded fairly formal at times but that was it.

No matter how Ruby looked at it, Aigis behaved exactly like a human would. But there was something else there that was… not bothering but rather, something that intrigued her. And she wasn't sure what it was.

"You've been staring at me for the past two minutes and twenty-six seconds now." Aigis's teasing voice pulled Ruby out of her thoughts. "Am I truly that interesting to you?" Ruby blushed at being read so easily but nodded all the same. "Have androids not been created here yet? When I heard that AIs were commonly found here, I had thought that perhaps androids like myself had been made as well."

"They have," she replied, her face still somewhat resembling her namesake. "But it's mostly Atlas that uses them. They had an entire army of them for fighting against the Grimm and a lot of different models."

"I see. I wonder if I will have the chance to see one."

Ruby just shrugged as she set down Aigis's rifle attachment, belatedly realizing that she had been holding on to it the entire time she was lost in her thoughts. She looked down into the box and pulled out the next thing that caught her interest.

"So what does this one do?"

For now, her fascination with Aigis could wait. They were on the same team after all. She had four whole years to learn more about the android who was now her team leader.

* * *

Akihiko tried to distract himself from the idea of sharing a room with a girl by entering their room's bathroom. Even if she didn't mind – was expecting it actually – that didn't make it that much easier for him and Ken. Last night in the ballroom was one thing. But four years in the same room? Hopefully he could get used to it quickly to avoid any unneeded tension and headaches. He paused at the doorway upon seeing a room a little more than half the size of the main room.

Across from him were four sinks with a mirror for each one. A quick inspection revealed that each mirror was actually the door for a small medicine cabinet built into the wall. On the wall on each side of the door were two overhead storage cabinets for toiletries and the like for a total of four. And beneath each one was a clothes hamper.

To the right were two toilets, each inside an individual cubicle. It made sense once he thought about it. With four people in the same room, having only one of something would be incredibly inconvenient. He made a mental note to inspect the stalls at a later time. It would certainly help to know if it was properly ventilated, though he assumed it was, and how well sounds carried out of the stalls, especially towards the adjoining stall.

In the middle of the wall to the left was another door. Walking through it, he found a small changing room and the showers. The shower stall itself was separated from the changing room by heavily frosted glass sliding doors. Inside the stall, he saw three shower heads but nothing separating them. Seeing them, Akihiko sighed. Even if he would be living with his team for the next four years, he doubted he would ever be comfortable with the thought, let alone the act, of showering with someone else. Still, the presence of the changing room, as well as a lock on the inside, meant there would be little chance of having any… accidental sightings between teammates.

' _Though I suppose Junpei wouldn't mind a little accident in his dorm,'_ he thought with a small chuckle but thought little of it. Junpei may act like a pervert at times, but Akihiko had seen the way he looked at Chidori. He wouldn't do anything to hurt what he had with her, not even by playing off something he had done on purpose as an accident. He cared far too much for her to do anything of the sort. Similarly, Pyrrha had little to worry about. As dirty-minded as he was at times, he had grown out of that stage where he would have tried anything disrespectful. He wouldn't mind too much if something _did_ happen by accident, but he wouldn't do anything on purpose. Especially after their narrow escape from Mitsuru's famed Executions in Kyoto.

He shuddered lightly at the memory of that night. Hopefully he would never find himself in such a situation again.

As he stepped out of the shower area, he idly mused that he would certainly miss the more traditional bathroom designs of Japan, something that he would not likely see unless he had one made. As he walked closer to the door leading back into the main room, he could hear Nora's loud voice coming into the bathroom. Out of curiosity, he shut the door to the bathroom and was surprised to hear only a whisper of her voice seeping through the wood. He opened it again and, sure enough, her voice was still at its default volume, which seemed to be LOUD for the most part.

Stepping out to see what the commotion as about, he had to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing things clearly. There, lying on one of the beds, was Nora. And in her arms, held like a stuffed toy held by a child, were Ken and Koromaru.

The latter looked to be enjoying it, even licking Nora's face now and then, but the former was struggling, and failing, to escape her incredibly strong grip. He would have called it impossibly strong given her height and frame but if she could wield that hammer of hers without difficulty then it was no surprise she could maintain such a strong grip on Ken.

"You'll get used to it." He barely registered Ren's words, as he watched in amusement from near the middle of the room. "She's been waiting to do this since our team was announced so best to let her get it out of her system. Otherwise she'll just keep trying."

Already Akihiko could tell that Ren and Nora had a long history together. Not once did he hear Nora mention anything about wanting this moment – she did share her excitement at being on the same team not long after they had stepped off the stage earlier – and yet Ren had easily known what she wanted to do as well as how best to handle it. Though he was sure Ken would have preferred a method that did not involve him being turned into a living body pillow.

Thinking of his new teammates brought up a memory of Shinji, his first and oldest friend. If Ren and Nora shared a friendship as strong as what he and Shinji had, then he could already tell that they would get along well. If he could get used to Nora's eccentricities that is.

* * *

"You sure you're alright with this? We could always try to talk to the teachers or somethin'."

"It's fine Junpei-kun," answered Chidori, torn between sighing in exasperation and giggling at Junpei's concern. "Everyone else will be doing the same. We can't expect special treatment just because of discomfort."

"I guess," he responded, hand rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. "I just… need to get used to this. Last night was one thing but this…"

Watching her new team leader and his partner converse, Pyrrha couldn't resist the urge to make sure they were doing well. Especially after learning the things they did in the Headmaster's office. "Is there an issue?" she asked, walking over from the side of the room where she moved her luggage.

Junpei sent her a look that she guessed was meant to be reassuring. His worry, however, stained the look and made him look uncomfortable. "We're fine. It's nothing, really," he said, trying to wave off Pyrrha's concern.

Chidori, however, was having none of it. "Junpei-kun is concerned over the sleeping arrangements."

"Ch-Chidori!"

Confused, Pyrrha looked back at the beds then back to Junpei. "What seems to be the problem? There are enough beds for all of us so it is not as though we would have to share with one another."

Chidori shook her head, slightly amused by the misunderstanding. "It's not the beds that are the problem. It's simply that in our country, those with more traditional views and beliefs look down upon men and women sleeping in the same room when they are not husband and wife. Any situation that would result in such are discouraged, to say the least."

"Y-Yeah, what she said," Junpei added, with a nervous smile. "Not everyone thinks that anymore but when your parents teach you that stuff when you're young and people lecture you on it a lot when growing up it tends to stick, you know?"

"I suppose I can understand why people would hold such beliefs." And truly, she did. While it made her more curious as to their culture, it did, at least, clear up the reason for his nervous demeanor. The thought of rooming with a girl his age probably never entered his mind, and now there were two of them.

And even though he and Chidori seemed to be in a relationship, judging by the way they behaved around one another, he still seemed to be more than a bit bothered by the room arrangements. Though that might mainly be because of Pyrrha herself, someone who was essentially a stranger to him.

Pyrrha could only imagine what the less reputable reporters would say about her. She was no stranger to rumors and the occasional news article coming from 'trusted' sources, but it was something she was tired of dealing with as all it did was cause trouble for everyone asides from those who caused the trouble in the first place.

Hopefully being away from Mistral where most people, if not everyone, recognized her by sight would lead to less incidents caused by her fame. It wasn't very likely, seeing as many of the students had recognized her, but even just a little less recognition was better than there being no change.

"What about you Jaune?" she asked, turning to the blonde sitting on one of the beds, looking strangely introspective. "Will you be alright rooming with Chidori and myself?" It wasn't likely they would get any special treatment, as Chidori had already pointed out, but it did help to know what everyone on the team thought.

"Well I uh… I guess?" Jaune did not look very certain of his answer, and seemed to be trying to avoid looking at any of them. "I mean I… I grew up with seven sisters. So I guess rooming with two girl shouldn't be too hard."

"Seven?" Three voices echoed at Jaune's statement, causing three pairs of eyes to stare at him.

"Dude, the hell was that like?" asked Junpei, eyes wide in disbelief. "I mean, I've always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister but… seven?"

Jaune laughed nervously, still avoiding eye contact with everyone else. It wasn't the first time someone reacted that way upon learning he had seven other siblings. It wasn't even the first time someone mentioned wondering what it would be like to have even just one sibling. Nothing about that situation was new to him. And as he started telling them about his siblings, the feeling of being out of place, of not belonging, slowly faded.

For now, at least, he could be himself more than he had been the past twenty-four hours. Right now, it was just him, his stories about his sisters, and three new friends. He could worry about how he would continue passing himself of as a proper trainee Huntsman later.

* * *

"It's larger than I had expected," commented Mitsuru as she and her team finished exploring their dorm room. "And with a lounge, and communal kitchen downstairs this almost reminds me of our own dorm back at Iwatodai."

"You guys studied at a boarding school too?" asked Yang as she claimed one of the beds and sat down.

"Not exactly," replied Yukari. "There are dorms in Iwatodai for anyone who came from another city but wanted to study there or just wanted to live closer in general. We had one that was used just by members of SEES. As for the school, it's just an ordinary high school. Well, as ordinary as a school owned by the Kirijo could be anyway."

"Wait, _you_ owned the school?" Two pairs of eyes shot to the red-haired girl sitting on the bed at the far side of the room.

"I think I remember you mentioning something yesterday," added Blake. "Something about being the Kirijo heiress?"

The aforementioned heiress nodded to both their questions. "That's right, though that would former heiress now all things considered. The Kirijo Group was a company involved in every industry that affected daily life and was known by most everyone in the country, though we were also involved in other matters. As I mentioned earlier, it was the Kirijo scientists responsible for researching Personas."

Yang whistled in awe at Mitsuru's words. Even the Schnee Dust Company couldn't claim to be involved in every industry. Connected, yes. But not directly involved. As the name implied, their focus was mainly on the mining, processing, and distribution of Dust in its many forms.

"That explains the similarities between you and Weiss." When Mitsuru sent her a questioning gaze, she said scratched the top of her head and scrunched up her face in thought. "I dunno how to put it, just something about the way you move and talk and stuff. All proper and stuff."

Despite her poor explanation, however, Mitsuru smiled. "Ah, I believe I understand. I suppose it would have something to do with our upbringing. Coming from a family like mine, many people had high expectations of me and I was often around people of high status. I was expected to be able to behave appropriately in front of them so as not to embarrass my father or the other members of the Kirijo Group. I can only assume she has experienced a similar upbringing."

"Well, she could definitely use a lesson or two from you," Yang said flippantly, flopping down onto her bed. "I mean, she may be rich and all but that doesn't mean she can act like spoiled brat. Seriously, what the hell gives her the right to act so high and mighty all the time?"

All of a sudden, Blake felt a chill run down her spine. It barely took her two seconds to find out why. Though she was still sitting on her bed, Mitsuru was directing a cold glare at Yang, who was lying down on her own bed, the one on the opposite end of the room. And although Blake was standing near the corner farthest from Mitsuru, placing her books on the shelf above one of the desks, she felt as though Mitsuru was glaring at her as well.

"I restrained myself last night seeing as I had no authority over you," began Mitsuru, her frosty tone causing Blake to shiver and Yang to freeze in place despite Mitsuru not being in her line of sight. "But do not expect me to be so lenient with you now that I am your team leader."

"W-With w-what?" stuttered Yang, unable to even muster up the courage to sit up and face Mitsuru head-on.

"I did not approve of her behavior any more than you do, but that does not give you the right to speak ill of her especially when she is not present to defend herself. If you have something to say, have the courage to say it directly to her and in a way that does not invite conflict."

Hearing Mitsuru speak, Blake was reminded of their first two meetings. In the first, she was calm but firm, seeking only to understand what had caused the commotion. The second was much like the present, cold to the point that her very presence could freeze someone in place before she even spoke but with a powerful fire burning underneath. It was also a reminder that, for all her cordiality, Mitsuru was not someone she wanted to cross.

Mitsuru paused to let her words sink in, hoping that Yang would realize just why her behavior was inappropriate. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Mitsuru stood from the bed, grabbed the box of her new Scroll and the envelope containing her set of documents, and walked towards the door. "I will be in the lounge if anyone needs me." And without another word, she exited the room.

The moment the door shut, Blake felt all the tension leave her body. She nearly collapsed to the floor like a puppet without strings but managed to will some strength into her legs to keep her standing, her arms grabbing onto the backrest of the chair beside her to assist.

"You two alright?" Blake looked up to see Yukari alternating her gaze between her and Yang, concern written all over her face. Yang also turned her head to face the brunette. Seeing that neither one was able to talk just yet, Yukari took the initiative, beginning with a sigh. "Look, I'm not usually one to tell people how to behave but you have to admit, both of you weren't exactly on your best behavior yesterday.

"Yesterday?" Blake asked eyes narrowed slightly in confusion and thought, wondering what she had done yesterday that might have earned a share of Mitsuru's ire.

"When we first met, remember?" reminded Yukari. "It was when you mentioned Weiss being an heiress. You… weren't exactly all that nice the way you brought up your opinions on her family's company."

The reminder was all Blake needed to remember that she had, indeed, brought up the SDC's questionable business practices. Still, she couldn't exactly understand why stating the truth didn't paint her in a favorable light. And she mentioned such to Yukari.

But instead, the archer frowned a bit and shook her head. "It's not about stating the truth, though obviously we wouldn't know a thing about the company or how they operate. To Mitsuru-senpai it's more about how and why you said it. It's one thing to tell someone your opinion, and another to shove it into someone's face the way you did. It's like you were trying to bait her, to get her mad at you by insulting her family's company the way you did so that she'd be the one to start a fight or something."

"I…" Blake found herself speechless at Yukari's take on the event. Was that really how she appeared to them? All she did was state her opinion, letting the Schnee heiress know how she felt about her company. Did they really think she did it simply for the sake of insulting the company? For the sake of picking a fight with its heiress?

Blake didn't get too far with her thoughts as Yukari continued to speak. "I can honestly say that senpai wouldn't judge you because of your opinion on something. But she isn't going to tolerate it if you say it like that."

"What about me?" asked Yang, recovering slightly from her exposure to Mitsuru's icy wrath. "Was it because of that fight we had?"

"More or less I think," said Yukari. "I wasn't there for it. I only know about it since we asked what she meant when she told you three to try not to get into any more fights."

Yang chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Guess I didn't exactly make the best first impression on our new leader, huh?"

"Not really, no," came Yukari's blunt reply, but a faint smile graced the corner of her lips. "She won't hold it over you forever though as long as you don't do something like that again. It would probably help if you apologized. Not to senpai though, since Weiss was the one you got into a fight with in the first place."

"I'll try." Yang's response, however, wasn't filled with confidence in her own ability to do so. "I've never really been the best at stuff like that so I can't promise anything." With her choice of words, it was difficult to determine if she was speaking about her ability to withhold her temper, offer an apology, or both. Deciding to change the subject, Yang decided to broach a topic she had been curious about since that morning. "I've been meaning to ask, but what's up with all those strange words you guys keep using?"

"Strange words?"

"Yeah. I usually hear you guys say it after someone's name. Like sun or sepai, or something like that."

"Oh, those. You mean like when I call her Mitsuru-senpai?" Yang nodded, showing that Yukari understood what she was talking about. "Those are honorifics. Something like when you guys call someone mister or miss."

"So… you're calling her Miss Mitsuru?" Yang was definitely confused by the idea of Yukari speaking to Mitsuru so formally. Moreover, the tone of her voice when they spoke definitely wasn't that formal.

Seeing how she would think that, Yukari giggled and raised her hands in front of her. "No, no, not like that. Senpai means something like an upperclassman at school or a senior at work. Since Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai were a year above us at school, we called them 'senpai'."

"Wait, so they're older than you?" The brunette nodded. "How old _are_ you guys?"

"We're not _that_ old," Yukari stated with a level glare, but Yang just laughed it off. "Anyway, Mitsuru-senpai's the oldest at nineteen and Akihiko-senpai turns nineteen in two weeks." Yang's laughter ended and even Blake's attention was now on the archer, both of them surprised by the two-year age gap as they had only been expecting one. "I turn eighteen next month. As for the rest, let's see…"

Yukari paused, raising her hand to her fist to her chin as she looked up in thought. "Ken-kun turned twelve a few months ago. Chidori and Junpei turned eighteen and seventeen at the start of the year, so Junpei's the youngest asides from Ken-kun. If Aigis's birth date is the date she was first activated then Aigis turns twelve in a week, though obviously we're gonna tell other people she's turning eighteen. And Fuuka turns eighteen at the end of the year."

When she heard no response, she lowered her gaze to find Yang and Blake both staring at her. "W-What?" she asked with a slight stutter.

"Yo-You're all older than us." Yang's words came out as a statement rather than a question.

Yukari's glare returned. "You really wanna push it?" And while her glare didn't have the same effect as Mitsuru's, it was enough for Yang and Blake to get the hint. Once they relented, Yukari sighed. "Anyway, our ages don't matter much now since we're all in the same year."

"So, why do you still call them… uh… what's that word again?"

"Senpai," repeated Yukari, pronouncing it firmly and clearly so Yang could understand it. "As for why, well, we've gotten used to it. Besides, honorifics are pretty much part of our culture. Usually only two people who are close to one another call each other by their names without honorifics."

"So what about the other ones you use?" asked Blake, taking a seat on the bed next to Yang's. "Do you use different ones for different people?"

Seeing that their attention was now solely on the topic, Yukari made herself comfortable on her own bed. If she was going to explain a lot about their culture – and she was since they were certain to ask about other things now that they'd gotten started – she didn't want to do it standing up.

As she got into a more comfortable position, she couldn't help but wonder why Mitsuru needed to leave the room. Despite the mood her little lecture had set, Mitsuru wasn't one to leave just because the tension made her uncomfortable. Obviously it had something to do with the documents they received as well as why her envelope had been thicker than the rest of theirs.

Still, she didn't worry about it. While it was true that Mitsuru still took on most of the work, she at least did not hesitate to ask for help when necessary. She had certainly come a long way from that person who tried to shoulder every burden.

Whatever her reason, Mitsuru would tell them if it was important. For now, she had two teenagers to educate on some of the finer details of Japanese culture.

* * *

 **And that brings this chapter to a close.**

 **What did you all think of how the teams are set-up? Also, we've finally seen SEES's cover story with regards to their home and their Personas. I'm sure a lot of people might be wondering whether the RWBY cast will gain a Persona and if SEES will unlock their Aura. With regards to that, well… that's a secret. Can't go giving away future events so easily after all.**

 **As you might have noticed, this chapter pretty much sets the tone for how the characters will interact with one another from this point on.**

 **I'm still open for intermission suggestions for anyone who's interested in submitting one. Details are on my profile.**

 **I'm hoping to get another chapter for my other story out but since inspiration for that dried up I'll have to see how it goes. At this point it's more likely that I'll be adding a new chapter this one again. We'll see.**

 **Anyway, as always I welcome all comments and suggestions. Let me know what you thought, what you liked, what you didn't like, etc… Always love hearing from you guys.**

 **Until next time then.**


	6. Ch 5 - The Fools Pt 1

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Hi everyone. Welcome back to another chapter of Messiah's Legacy.**

 **Would have been able to update sooner but I lost one day off last week when someone got sick. That and some of these scenes were giving me trouble. Several times I had to redo half of one scene since it didn't feel or come out right.**

 **With the first four chapters, the 'introductory arc' is now over. The main players are in place and are now known to one another. From here on out, we start getting into the main story arcs.**

 **The next two chapters, three if you count the upcoming Interlude in the works, will focus on a showing the various relationships of the large group of sixteen. Yeah, this is gonna be a pain for me when it comes to balancing screen time. While it may focus on relations within a certain team, you can expect people to reach out across to another team now and then.**

 **These two chapters will essentially set-up the first few conflicts, both within the group and with the world outside the school, as well as some things for far in the future. Those that will come up in the near future won't always be resolved completely but things will smooth over for the most part as you might expect.**

 **Now, one thing of note that someone PMed me about was SEES and the lies they are telling. Some lies, such as the ones that hide the fact that they are from thousands of years in the past, are necessary for them. Others, such as when they end up discussing things about themselves and their past, are only made as a spur-of-the-moment decision. After all, the cover story they came up with focused on their group background as a whole and not individual backgrounds.**

 **For example, let's say Junpei slips up and mentions the words Chinese or China and is questioned about it by Pyrrha. Since they're playing the part of a small island nation (which is true for Japan), it would be strange if suddenly another country appeared in their cover story. So Junpei says that they were a race who shared the island with them, living separately from them before they started to mingle and co-exist within the same cities. Later on, while explaining their culture, Yukari slips up as well and ends up telling Blake that China was another island close to them that they were once at war with.**

 **I'm sure you can imagine what kind of trouble that could cause if Pyrrha shares it with others, Blake shares it with others as well, and those others happen to end up talking about it with one another.**

 **It WILL get confusing at some points, especially when certain paragraphs reveal the thoughts of specific characters who either misunderstand something or were lied to about something. At those times, best to just go with it and remember that what one character knows/understands/perceives is different from what another knows/understands/perceives, and what both of them know might not even be the full or actual truth. I'll try to avoid making it as confusing as possible for everyone, but now and then it will be unavoidable so long as SEES has something to hide.**

 **Also, you may noticed that I've added dates to the start of certain scenes. I couldn't resist. It's a Persona 3 crossover after all. It just didn't feel right without knowing the date of an event. I've already done the same for previous chapters so check it out if you're interested. The first chapter, the date they awakened, might be especially interesting. Dates will only be shown when a scene takes place on a different day. The previous chapter, for example, only shows one date since the whole chapter takes place within one day.**

 **As for the year, well, I didn't want to make a definite number of years since they were sealed. The most important part is the month and day. For the year you might be asking 'why thirteen?' No reason really. I just typed up a whole bunch of numbers, added the digits together, and then added it again to get a two-digit number, which turned out to be 13. So yeah, lucky 13. XD**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – The Fools Pt. 1**

 **September 7, XX13**

Aigis's first thought upon waking up that morning pretty much amounted to _'Beds are more comfortable than my maintenance station.'_ As she reactivated more of her internal systems, she thought back to the previous day.

After she and Fuuka managed to reassemble a quarter of her charging station, with a little help from Ruby who had showed a high aptitude for mechanics, they decided to stop for the day. They then met with teams KYBT, ANKR, and JACN for dinner at the school's dining hall. Already, she had seen that the teams had bonded to a degree.

She had seen that Junpei's team was getting along well as was Akihiko's team, though Ken seemed to be eyeing Nora strangely throughout the entire meal. Yukari was speaking with Blake and Yang animatedly about Japanese culture - the various annual festivals if what she heard was correct - which had drawn in others like Pyrrha and Ren. Mitsuru seemed to be deep in thought and didn't join any particular conversation, though she responded when someone spoke to her. Ruby, upon learning of Fuuka's interest in machines and computers, quickly got into a discussion with the teal-haired girl, some of it centering on Aigis.

As for Aigis herself, she had been trying to avoid meeting Weiss's gaze. Unfortunately, this was harder than expected since Weiss had been sitting directly in front of her. Everyone else was absorbed in their own conversations so Weiss only had to worry about being seen by Aigis. Sadly for her, Aigis wasn't physically human. In the time it took Weiss to blink, Aigis would have already switched her gaze to her and back down to the book she was reading, making it seem as though she had not glimpsed the expression on Weiss's face.

During the short period that she was active before the tragedy that gave birth to the Dark Hour, and the time since her reawakening on Yakushima, she had met many people outside of any SEES-related activities. Classmates from school, shopkeepers in the various shopping districts in Iwatodai, and even strangers encountered along the streets. Many were wary of her, others were amiable enough, and a few were openly friendly, even going so far as to approach her despite her emotionless demeanor at that time. But none had ever looked upon her with a distinctly negative expression.

It was a first for Aigis.

The amount of hostility she had seen and sensed within Weiss's frosty blue eyes left her completely confused. By complete chance, she had seen Weiss glaring at the back of her head through a reflection on the monitor attached to her charging station when she had taken it out of the box. She had briefly frozen in place at the sight but had recovered quickly enough that she was certain the heiress didn't know she had been caught. But that one moment had been more than enough to make her a bit wary of the heiress.

Glancing at the girl still slumbering on the bed just past Fuuka's, Aigis had to wonder what it was she had done to deserve such hostility. Had she somehow offended the girl without realizing it? She had thought to as far back as their first meeting, back when they heard that explosion.

So far, the only thing that came to mind that could have drawn the white-haired girl's ire was the fact that she had revealed the faulty sealing of her Dust vial. But as far as she was aware, she had not said anything that would make the heiress out as the one to blame. It had been an unfortunate accident, nothing more.

Could she have misunderstood? Could Aigis have inadvertently blamed Weiss by pointing out that the very start of it all had been the Dust vial that belonged to her?

She couldn't be certain, not without asking directly. At the same time, however, it felt as though asking for confirmation made it seem like she was ignorant of her own actions. So for the moment she was stuck, not knowing precisely what had brought about her teammate's cold behavior but also unable to ask why.

For now, the best she could do was scrutinize her actions a little more while avoiding any actions that would further increase the tension between them.

Rising from her bed, her internal clock telling her that it was just half-past six in the morning, she approached the single piece of luggage that belonged to her, discounting the boxes. From within, she pulled out another set of clothes for the day. Though considering all she had at the moment were multiple sets of school uniforms, both Beacon's and Gekkoukan's, it wasn't really much of a selection.

She stepped out of the room after getting dressed and making certain that nothing was out of place. Once out, she proceeded towards the stairs and went down to the lounge. As expected, Mitsuru and Aikihiko were already there, sitting together on the sofa and looking over Mitsuru's Scroll, dressed for the day ahead. Mitsuru was dressed in a short black pea coat, white pants, and black boots, a scarf peeking out of her coat. Akihiko was dressed in a white jacket and pants combo, with a long red scarf that obscured the black dress shirt he wore.

They were leaning over the coffee table where Mitsuru's Scroll was stretched open to its full size, making it resemble a tablet more than a phone. It was one of the things that made Adamas's newest Scroll, the Rotulus, unique. Unlike standard Scrolls, which opened in one direction to a preset size and had two grips, the Rotulus had four corner grips. When the button was pushed, it slid open to the same size as the smaller Scroll models. But the four grips allowed the user to freely adjust the size of the screen up to its maximum size, which was the same as a full-sized Scroll.

It was this function that Mitsuru was taking advantage of as she and Akihiko looked at an overhead map of Vale.

As Aigis approached, she saw them look up from both their conversation and the Scroll. "Good morning Mitsuru-san, Akihiko-san," she greeted, taking a seat on the couch opposite them. The two of them greeted her back in turn. "Were you discussing something important?"

Before parting the night before, SEES had agreed to meet up in the morning to explore Vale, as they had not gotten the chance to do so the day before they went to Beacon. Their teammates had offered to accompany them as guides since most of them were familiar with Vale to varying extents.

"Not really, just basic plans for the day," replied Akihiko. "I'll be accompanying Mitsuru to the bank. Looks like that Elizabeth opened an account under Mitsuru's name but until Mitsuru herself shows up to claim it the account will remain inactive and unusable."

Mitsuru nodded and took over from that point. "One of the documents was a notice from the bank stating that I would need to appear in person before the account becomes active. It didn't state how much she left behind so I'll also need to go assess our situation. And if there is enough, I'll look into opening separate accounts for each one of us and dividing the amount she left behind."

"Since Akihiko-san mentioned accompanying you, I take it we will not need to be present for this?" asked Aigis.

"Not for today, no," responded the redhead with a shake of her head. "I do plan to have everyone return tomorrow to finalize that, or another day this week if necessary. Besides, we'll be discussing more than just the accounts so it would be pointless to drag everyone there today. While Akihiko and I take care of more serious matters, I'll leave everyone to explore the city. There are some things I'll need some of you to do but they're minor errands at most."

"What would those be?"

"Have you noticed the lack of furniture in the rooms despite the large amount of available space?" Aigis nodded, having noted the same thing the previous day. "When I brought it up, Yang explained to me what her father, a graduate of Beacon, told her. The rooms we have now will be the one we will be using for the next four years. As such, provided we do not cause any irreversible changes, we can do with the room as we please such as purchasing and bringing in various furniture, including a wardrobe for storing our clothes. The way he explained it to her, it seems as though students here are also taught how to live independently, similar in some ways to college students in our time."

"A little strange since most of these kids would still be receiving money from their parents," commented Akihiko.

"You can hardly call them 'kids' Akihiko. We're only two years older than those in our year."

Ignoring the little byplay between the two, the blonde android nodded in understanding. "So you wish for us to search for a place to purchase those?" Mitsuru smiled and nodded in response. "Then please leave it to me. But asides from that, is there anything we should look out for?"

The leader of KYBT thought for a moment. "Generally any place we may need to visit for necessities and such. A bookstore would be helpful as well. The school has a library but it would be nice to have our own collection of books to refer to when necessary."

"Will our Scrolls not suffice?" asked Aigis. "We do have access to this time's equivalent to our internet resources."

"True, but back home even we couldn't claim to have every piece of information from every book. Some books are ignored because of their age, people thinking that everything within is outdated. And having multiple sources of one piece of information is always good due to censorship. Since information found within the network is easy to monitor, you can be assured that someone is paid to ensure certain things are not made publicly known."

"I see."

"A supermarket would be nice as well," threw in the boxer. "It's not hard to notice that most of the food we've had since waking up is western, at least from our perspective. I don't mind it too much but I haven't had so much of a whiff of miso for months now. I doubt we'll find any, all things considered, but it wouldn't hurt to take a look."

"Is this really the time for that Akihiko?"

The boxer just shrugged in response. "It's not like we're gonna be buying any of that stuff now. If they're gonna look around, then it wouldn't hurt to know. Besides, if they're gonna go around the city they may as well take note of the prices of everything they see. That'll give us a good idea of how long our little trust fund is going to last."

Mitsuru just sighed in resignation and Aigis took that as a sign to go on ahead with Akihiko's request. "A place to buy weapons and the like would be good as well," continued Akihiko. "For one thing neither you nor Yukari have a lot of bullets and arrows. And even though Elizabeth-san said she strengthened our weapons to match the quality of the ones in this time it never hurts to know we can get it repaired or even replaced if we really need to."

"Didn't the school have an armory?" asked Mitsuru. "I recall you and Ken went to check what they had the other day when we split up."

"For our weapons they have workbenches and even a forge but since none of us know anything about making or repairing a weapon, we'll either need to learn or resort to buying replacements if something happens. Stuff for maintenance is free if we use what's in the workshop but for field maintenance we'll need to buy our own supplies."

"Speaking of buying, they also sell supplies and parts to students and can even order in what they don't have but it's all at an increased rate," explained Akihiko. "They said it's a way to teach students a lesson in convenience. They're easily accessible, as opposed to taking an unscheduled trip to Vale and back just for supplies or parts, but students should learn to manage their supplies in a way that we don't need to go looking for the nearest armory when something comes up. Especially when the time comes that we get sent on missions. That, and it doesn't hurt to add a little extra in the school's budget."

"How much higher are their rates?"

"Fifteen percent for whatever they have on hand. If they need to order something they don't stock up on, it goes up depending on how hard it is to get whatever the student needs," he said. The barely visible twitch along the corner of Mitsuru's eye told Akihiko what she thought of that. "Even though only Aigis, and possibly Yukari, would need to buy anything there I'd rather keep our expenses down until we can get a better idea of what the economy is like."

"Agreed. Still, that's just another reason we're heading for the bank though we may have to ask them to direct us to someone more knowledgeable."

The trio passed the time chatting about more inconsequential things, such as their teammates and what they thought about the school thus far. Within the hour, the rest of their teammates and Junpei's team had slowly arrived. The members of SEES were dressed in clothing suited for the cool weather while the rest seemed to be content with the same clothing they wore the day before.

It was worth noting that everyone else carried their weapons openly while SEES was only armed with their Evokers, which were hidden discreetly on their person. Even knowing they would only be going into Vale, their teammates looked as though they were preparing for another trek into the Emerald Forest. It was definitely something they would need to get used to seeing.

Fifteen minutes before eight, the time that the first airship was scheduled to depart for Vale, the group of sixteen set off for the landing pads.

They boarded the airship, the same kind as the one they had arrived in, and found a corner in one of the passenger areas. About half of them remained standing so that they could all face one another in a rough circle as they discussed their plans for the day. Or rather, Mitsuru and Akihiko told everyone about what they two of them were planning to do.

"Will the two of you be fine by yourselves?" asked Weiss. "I could accompany you if you wish. We may be from Atlas, but the Schnee name carries plenty of weight across Remnant. " There was no mistaking the borderline arrogant tone in the girl's voice. The only thing keeping it from being truly arrogant was that her words were true. "It could cut down on time just by having me there or possibly open up opportunities not normally offered."

Mitsuru smiled politely and shook her head. "Thank you for the offer but if we're to live here we'll need to experience for ourselves how things work to the fullest. Besides, we can't exactly rely on you to smooth things over for us every time we need something."

"Are you-"

"We'll be fine," cut in Akihiko, keeping his voice as level as possible. Brief as it was, he didn't miss the slightly irritated look Weiss sent him when he had done so. "Don't forget, Mitsuru's used to this sort of thing as well. I'm only going since I'm more or less second-in-command. This way I'll know everything I need in case Mitsuru's busy with something else."

There were some questioning looks at that but nobody lent a voice to their curiosity. After all, the eight of them belonged to the same group and have been together for a fair amount of time. It was understandable they wouldn't be able to let go of their former hierarchy just yet.

So instead, Yang asked the other obvious question. "So you two are gonna handle some business while everyone else pretty much just walks around Vale to look around?"

"Yes. Aigis, Akihiko and I have already discussed what else needs to be done so I'll leave her in charge of that for the most part."

The rest of the trip was filled with small talk, though some, such as Blake, were silent. Of course, that could have been attributed to the presence of Koromaru, who glanced at her now and again but otherwise refrained from approaching her or making overly loud noises to startle her. For that much, she was grateful to Fuuka who had spoken to Koromaru about it earlier.

Fifteen minutes later they group disembarked the airship. Mitsuru and Akihiko left after making sure that the others had their contact details just in case they needed to reach them. Once they were gone, the remaining members of SEES turned to Aigis.

Like a well-oiled machine, she addressed them without any delay, not even needing to hear the question on their minds. "We need to look for places we will likely be visiting for our everyday needs. I propose we divide into smaller groups so as to cover more ground."

"Makes sense," said Junpei. "So who goes with who? And what exactly should we look out for? Obviously gonna need new clothes for one thing. 'Bout half of what I have are school uniforms and they aren't even for the right school anymore."

"I know a couple of places," said Yang. "Quality's pretty good, not that expensive either. I'll show you around if you want."

"Cool, thanks. City's pretty big so I'll probably end up lost if I went by myself."

"I wanna see if I can find a place to buy some arrows since what I have obviously won't last," added Yukari. "Hopefully there's one in the city."

"I know a few shops that might have them. I could take you to them to check," volunteered Ruby.

"Of course _you'd_ know about them, huh Ruby?"

"Yaaang!"

Fuuka spoke up next as the two siblings got into a small, and probably very old, argument. "A bookstore or a library would be nice since there's still a lot we don't know. I like the Scrolls but I also like the feel of a book in my hands when I read."

Hearing those words, Blake turned to the shorter girl. "I know someone who owns a bookstore. I could show you the way if you want."

"May I come along?" asked Chidori.

"Of course Chidori-chan."

Koromaru barked excitedly, causing Blake to jump and hide behind the nearest person. Unfortunately, that happened to be Fuuka, who was half a foot shorter than her and, thus, made it difficult to hide. "He says he wants to play since we were away for most of yesterday," translated Aigis.

"Ooh! I know where we can find a large park," Nora squealed excitedly, turning to Koromaru with a grin. "How's that sound?" If Koromaru's barking was any indication, he was just as excited as the orange-haired girl. "Come on, let's go!"

Nora suddenly turned and ran, one hand unexpectedly shooting out and latching onto Ken's wrist. Before he could even register that his legs had automatically moved to keep him from falling over, Ken and Nora were already a fair distance away, Koromaru running after the pair excitedly. "W-Wait! Stop!" cried Ken, but Nora was already too excited to notice his protests.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them," Ren said to the group as he ran off after the departing trio before he lost sight of them.

"Guess Ken's going with 'em," Junpei stated with a chuckle, watching the scene in amusement.

Yukari sighed and palmed her face. "Don't state the obvious," she said with a light groan before turning to Aigis. "What about you Aigis? Did the senpai ask you to do anything else?"

The blonde turned to face the archer and nodded. "Mitsuru-san also noted the lack of furniture in the room, such as a wardrobe for our clothing. She asked me to search for a store that could supply our needs in that regard."

"Oh right, Yang told us about that last night."

"Akihiko-san also asked me to check if it was possible to purchase ingredients for a Japanese meal. Since I am only searching for a store for the moment, I believe I will see to his request once I finish with Mitsuru-san's."

"What the… you kidding me?" exclaimed Junpei, an incredulous look on his face. "All this new stuff we could be looking at and the first thing he thinks about is food?"

"I can't say I disagree though." Yukari shrugged. "I don't mind the food we've had so far but it's been months since we've had anything remotely close to what we're used to. If making it ourselves is what it takes you won't hear me complaining."

"Ooh, you gonna cook us up a feast Yukaricchi?" teased the cap-wearing teen.

"In your dreams Stupei," retorted the brown-haired girl. "And probably not even then."

Unperturbed, Junpei just wrapped an arm around Chidori's shoulder with a grin. "I don't need to dream. I've got Chidorin with me after all."

"Don't call me that," Chidori whispered, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"What about the rest of you guys?" asked Junpei, turning to Weiss, Jaune and Pyrrha, the only ones who haven't joined a group yet. "You guys wanna come along with me and Yang?"

"I'll be going with Ruby of course," said Weiss. Originally she had planned on searching for a furniture store as well for the same reason that Aigis had stated. But once Aigis mentioned it as her destination, Weiss swiftly changed her decision. Fortunately, she had the perfect excuse. "She _is_ my partner after all. And it's not as though I have anything special planned for today."

"I believe we'll accompany Aigis then," said Pyrrha. "I've been to Vale a few times before. This way she has a guide of sorts." Aigis nodded in thanks.

"Alright, guess that settles that. What about a meeting place when we're done? Any ideas?" Yukari asked while looking around at the others.

"How about we meet up for lunch?" Yang suggested. "Since we're all headed to the commercial district we can just meet up at the park near the center. There's a decent enough fast food place close by. And judging by the direction Nora ran off to earlier that might be where she's headed. It's pretty much the biggest park in that direction."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Fuuka. "I'll let Ken-kun know just so they don't come looking for us. Is there anything else we should keep an eye out for Aigis?"

The blonde shook her head. "No. Everyone's suggestions matched Mitsuru-san's instructions perfectly. Unless we can think of something else, I believe that is all we have to search for."

Seeing no objections or further suggestions to their current plans, the group left the vicinity of the landing pads. When Ruby started to direct Yukari down a separate road to reach their destination, Aigis called out to her.

"What is it Aigis?" asked Ruby, turning to face the android.

Aigis briefly scanned the area. Seeing no one nearby, nor any sign of surveillance equipment, she rolled up her left sleeve, revealing the steel bracer-like object attached to her wrist. It was only then that Ruby noticed the white gloves that the android was wearing. Thinking about it, she recalled seeing Aigis's hands without it last night. Part of her fingers, starting from the second joint up to the tips, were gray even though every other part of her hand was covered in that synthetic white material that made her seem like she was wearing a skin-tight bodysuit.

The edge of a small panel on the underside of her wrist popped open on command and was flipped open soon after. As Aigis reached into the opening with a few fingers, a few of SEES's teammates visibly reacted when they realized Aigis was pretty much reaching into her own body. It was only because they could see the mechanical parts that they did not react more than they did.

It didn't take long before Aigis withdrew her fingers from her wrist. And held between two of her fingers was a bullet. Closing the panel and rolling down her sleeve, Aigis handed the bullet to Ruby. "Could you please check if any of the stores you visit carry this type of ammunition? As I mentioned last night, what I have in the room is all I have left."

Ruby carefully scrutinized the bullet, looking at it from different angles. "I don't think I've seen a bullet exactly like this but I'm pretty sure there are a few that are about the same size. If they don't have this kind, do you want me to get some of the closest ones in size to test?"

Aigis shook her head. "I do not believe we have the funds to spare at the moment. Perhaps next time, once we know how much Elizabeth-san left us. For now just checking should be fine. At the very least, that would ease my worries."

The younger teenager looked like she wanted to say something but seemed to think better of it. Instead, she nodded and pocketed the bullet. "Alright. We'll see you all later for lunch then."

As Ruby, Weiss, and Fuuka went down a separate street, the rest continued on. Two intersections down, Junpei and Yang, and Fuuka, Chidori, and Blake turned east while Aigis, Jaune, and Pyrrha went west towards a furniture store Aigis found by searching with her Scroll.

"That's a little surprising," commented Jaune.

Looking up from her Scroll, Aigis turned to her fellow blonde and asked, "By what?"

"Well, uh…" Jaune looked a little bothered to suddenly have all the attention on him, looking down and away. "You're, well… you're using that Scroll pretty well even though you've only had it for less than a day."

"Of course," Aigis responded with a sly smile. "It's actually quite easy to understand. We're cousins after all."

Whatever response Aigis had been aiming for, a strained smile and a barely visible flinch was certainly not it. Her smile faded into a small frown at the sight of the two teenagers reacting uncomfortably to her attempt at a joke. "Was that not good?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well…"

"It was…"

Both Jaune and Pyrrha began to speak at the same time but neither could find the words they wanted to say. Their eyes met Aigis's but were quick to turn away. When they mustered up the courage to look back once more, they stopped and stared. Rather than judgment, annoyance, or even curiosity, they found a soft but sad smile on Aigis's face.

Aigis spoke before they did. "It bothers you." It wasn't a question and there was no uncertainty in her tone. "The fact that I am not human." If there had been any doubt in Aigis's mind before, the way Pyrrha's eyes widened slightly for a brief moment and the way Jaune's face cringed had erased them all. And yet, that same smile remained on the robot girl's face. "It's alright, I understand. You need not worry about offending me."

"H-Hey, come on. I-It's not that," said Jaune, nervously trying to deny his discomfort. "I-I mean, I don't have p-problem with the faunus. And they're not human either."

"But I am not a faunus either, am I?"

Pyrrha couldn't help but sympathize with Jaune as his face fell even further. It had certainly been a good attempt save for that one very obvious flaw. Still, at least Aigis didn't seem to be offended by their discomfort. But while she wasn't offended, Pyrrha wondered just how bothered she was by that same discomfort.

"I think what Jaune means to say is that he does not treat the faunus any differently than he would a human," offered Pyrrha, trying to smooth over the conversation. "And similarly, he would not treat you any differently just because you are not human."

But despite her words, that sad, accepting smile on Aigis's face did not fade. "Thank you. I am glad to hear that. But just because you treat me the same way, does not mean you feel the same way."

That was… surprisingly accurate, thought Pyrrha. A glance at Jaune told her that he was sharing similar thoughts. And now that Aigis herself had brought it up, Pyrrha couldn't deny it. Yes, the fact that Aigis was a robot really did bother her to an extent.

When she heard the word machine, quite a few things came to mind. Factories, vehicles, household appliances, electronics, and even mecha-shift weapons. They were generally things that was made by human hands to fulfill a specific purpose. And when she heard the word robot, she thought of humanoid machines that spoke in cold, monotonous tones with jerky, machine-like movements. Neither word fit the way she saw Aigis.

Aigis was a machine. She was built by human hands with the sole purpose of eliminating Grimm. And yet she was sentient. She had the will to decide for herself what she wanted to do. Something all other machines clearly lacked.

Aigis was a robot, a humanoid machine. And yet her words and movements were smooth and emotive, exactly like a human's but with a strange, but not entirely unusual, intonation to her words. If not for her mechanical body, Aigis could have easily been mistaken for an ordinary human. As it was, she could easily be mistaken for one since her clothing covered up any obviously mechanical parts. Even her headband wasn't that strange on its own.

Would it have been better if Aigis had not revealed the truth? Possibly. She certainly couldn't deny that it might have been better if they had been left ignorant. That way they could have gone on thinking of her as human. But that just wasn't possible, was it? Sooner or later the secret would have gotten out. By letting them know now, they prevented any future conflicts that would have resulted by nature of hiding a secret, especially from one's own team.

As difficult as Pyrrha found it to come to terms with the situation, it was better than the alternative. Aigis might not have been their teammate, but she still appreciated the fact that she and the others had been allowed to learn her secret so soon. As Mitsuru had stated, they were going to be working together for the next four years. Even so, they didn't need to let them all know. And for that, Pyrrha was grateful no matter how difficult a time she was having.

"You need not force yourselves to accompany me if my presence makes you uncomfortable," said Aigis, glancing at the two of them. "We have not gone far from the others. You may be able to find them if you hurry."

And that was the thing about Aigis that made it hard to hate her. In the short time that they had known each other, Pyrrha could already see that, her mechanical body aside, Aigis was as kind and considerate as any young woman, perhaps even more so than the average young woman.

She was always polite when she spoke, often apologizing in advance if she felt her following words had the possibility of offending someone. Even apologizing if she so much as suspected she had offended someone.

It hurt, though, that she felt they were forcing themselves to accompany her. Had it seemed like they only accompanied her out of obligation upon seeing that she did not have someone to accompany her? Pyrrha couldn't speak for Jaune, but he had agreed to come along when she volunteered to join Aigis on her share of the errands. Whether or not it was because she, his partner, was going, he still had not offered any resistance either through words or actions.

"Why would we do that?" asked Pyrrha. "We said we'd come along with you, didn't we?"

"And I appreciate the thought. But I do not wish to make you feel uncomfortable."

"And you aren't," insisted Pyrrha, causing Aigis's sad smile to fade into confusion. "While we are still coming to terms with the fact that you aren't human, we would not have come with you if it bothered us to such an extent. So you don't have to worry about us. We are not here because we or someone else is forcing us to be."

The confusion on Aigis's face turned into surprise for a brief moment before settling into a grateful smile. "I see. Thank you. I apologize for misunderstanding."

Pyrrha accepted the apology, unnecessary though it was, and urged her two companions on to their destination. As she did, she glanced discreetly at her partner, who was unnaturally quiet. Very much unlike the awkward, flirty Jaune she had met yesterday. Now that she thought about it, he had been strangely quiet since the initiation. The only time he had acted normally – normal from her perspective at least – was when they had returned to the dorm and he shared some stories about his siblings.

He had opened up fairly quickly at that time, but then had been quiet, almost mousy, during dinner and afterwards. He had been the same earlier when they departed the school. Asides from some morning greetings, he had been entirely silent up until five minutes ago. And even then he sounded nervous, a distinct difference from the day before.

She didn't have much time to consider the situation as they finally arrived at their destination, a shop called 'Wooden It Be Nice'. As they entered, however, she made a mental note to see if something had happened or if he was bothered by something but was unable to give voice to it for some reason.

* * *

"Man, it's gonna take a while before I get used to these prices," Junpei commented as he held up a plain white shirt, one hand holding up the price tag.

"What's wrong?" asked Yang, looking over his shoulder at the price tag that read 50 lien. "Is the number a lot higher than you're used to seeing?"

Junpei burst out in laughter. "More like it's way too low. A t-shirt like this back home would have been around 1000 yen, maybe even close to double that if I head to a souvenir shop in a tourist spot."

"A… A thousand? For one shirt?"

Junpei's laughter increased in intensity at the look of shock on Yang's face. "Yeah. Well, that's just us anyway. 'Sides, our money's useless here. Not like I could walk up to the register with twenty shirts and pay with a thousand yen bill."

"So if 50 lien for us is about 1000 uh… yen?"

"More or less, yeah."

At Junpei's nod, she continued. "Then just how high does your money go? I mean, the highest we've got is a 1000 lien card."

"The 10,000 yen bill was the biggest one we've got," he answered. "I'm pretty sure we still have some of our money stashed away in one of our bags if you wanna check 'em out. They're not as cool looking as the lien cards you guys use though."

Yang grinned in response. "Cool. Maybe I'll ask Yukari tonight. She's been teaching me and Blake some stuff about Japan. Sounds like a pretty cool place. Especially all those festivals of yours."

"Oh yeah?" Junpei put the shirt back on the rack, taking note of the price on his Scroll, before moving on to check on pants.

Yang followed after him as he moved alone the racks and shelves of clothing. "Yeah. I mean, we don't really have stuff like that here. Guess people are too busy worrying about the Grimm and all that to celebrate and stuff."

"Heh. Sounds like the perfect reason to celebrate and party if you ask me." Junpei picked up a pair of pants and checked the price, comparing it to the others nearby before listing the average price on his Scroll. "I mean, aren't Grimm supposed to be attracted to negativity and stuff? Wouldn't it be better if people had fun now and then? Or even every day?"

"Yeah, well, tell that to everyone else," the blonde replied as she leaned against a nearby wall. "Pretty much the only festival we've got around here is the Vytal Festival." She paused, looking up in thought. "Come to think of it, that's happening next year here in Vale," she said, a grin beginning to form on her face. "With you guys, we might actually get a chance to show-off."

"The… Vytal Festival? Pretty sure I read somethin' 'bout that. Can't remember though."

"It's a festival we hold every two years to celebrate the end of the Great War between the four kingdoms," explained Yang, her entire body now radiating excitement. "There are parades, and dances and stuff plus a big fair. The city that hosts it rotates between the four kingdoms. This time, Vale's hosting it. And the biggest event is the combat tournament where the four Huntsman academies send their eight best teams to compete."

As Yang gave a brief explanation of the festival, even Junpei was beginning to get excited. But when she mentioned how only the eight best teams were selected from each school, his grin faded somewhat. "Man, that sounds pretty fun. But if only the top eight get picked, how the heck are we supposed to get in? We're just first-years. There are like, thirty teams from the second-years up."

The conspiratorial grin on Yang's face wasn't very reassuring. "That's where you guys come in," she announced. "What year we're in doesn't really matter. All that matters is how good we are in a fight. Since Goodwitch is our Combat teacher, all we gotta do is show her how awesome we are in a fight and she might pick us even over the seniors. And with your Personas there's no way we can lose out on that."

Junpei's grin was back full force. "When you put it that way then it's definitely gonna take a lot to knock our four teams out of the running. Heck, we might even end up the final four teams if get lucky. How cool would that be?"

"The four best teams of the tournament all belonging to Beacon. What's more, all four teams were just first-years." Yang laughed at the idea. "Now _that_ sounds like something I want on my record. Damn, it's still several months away but I'm getting pretty excited now. We're gonna go in there, show off our stuff, and end things with aYang!"

When her laughter finally subsided, the brawler finally realized that Junpei had been silent since she finished speaking. When she looked at him, she found him staring at her with a mix of disbelief and… worry? "Uh… something wrong?"

"Did… Did you just make a pun? Please tell me you didn't just make a pun."

That was definitely new. Most people usually reacted to her puns as though it physically hurt them to listen, or at least some booing in one form or another, with only a few people – very, very few people – sharing her sense of humor. But worried to the point that they looked almost scared? "Yeah…" she answered slowly. "What's wrong? You look like something bad's gonna happen to me just 'cuz of a few puns."

"That's 'cuz something _will_ if you make a pun in front senpai," was Junpei's strange response.

"Senpai? Who? Akihiko or Mitsuru?" The way Junpei suddenly shivered when she mentioned her team leader's name answered that question for her. "What's wrong? Why shouldn't I make a pun in front of Mitsuru? Does she hate them? Is she gonna kill me or something if I do?"

"Dude, I'd rather die than let her hear me make a pun." Again, Junpei shivered.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. I mean, have you tried?" The fearful Junpei only shook his head, "See? You're probably exaggerating. I mean, I know Mitsuru can be scary as hell but I don't think she'd actually kill someone over something as small as a pun. I bet you I can think of a pun that'll make her laugh. Heck, I'll tell her so many puns she won't be able to stop laughing."

All of a sudden, Junpei's eyes were as wide as they could possibly get. "What the- I just told you _not_ to. There's no way senpai's gonna let it go especially if you bust out one pun after another."

"Aw come on, you scared I'll win that bet?" she asked with a leering taunting grin.

"Oh, I'm scared alright." Normally, people responded to being called a coward by mustering their courage, even if it was mostly bravado. But the way Junpei just gave in made Yang's grin fade. "Scared of what senpai'll do to you."

Normally Yang couldn't care about something like that. After all, what harm was there in telling puns? Even if someone hated them they'd probably just demand she stop or something. But something in Junpei's eyes caught her attention. Something she had seen a few times in the past. Fear. Sheer, unrestrained terror was reflected in Junpei's gray eyes.

She had felt fear before, there was no doubt about that. She had experienced it many years ago when she and Ruby were nearly killed by the Grimm due to her own foolishness. She had experienced it just yesterday when she had boldly tried, and failed, to use Akihiko's Evoker. She had experienced a bit of it yesterday in the dorm when Mitsuru had rebuked her for badmouthing Weiss behind her back.

But this was Junpei. This was a member of SEES, a group that fought against the Grimm despite their lack of Aura. People who had repeatedly shot themselves in the head with a false but realistic gun, something that even Headmaster Ozpin himself admitted he found difficult to do. So why was he so afraid to letting her tell Mitsuru a few jokes?

Still, now that she thought about his reaction calmly even a part of her was telling her to listen to his warning. If it was something that could scare even Junpei, someone who had stared down hundreds of Grimm without flinching, then it was definitely a reason for her to worry.

"Alright, alright, I get it," she finally relented. "No puns in front of Mitsuru."

Junpei could have been any more relieved to hear that. For a moment he had thought that Yang would bite more than she could chew again, just like when she had accepted Akihiko's challenge to try and use an Evoker. "Good," he said with a heavy sigh of relief. "Trust me, you do _not_ want to know what she'll do to you."

"Still don't know why you're so afraid. I mean, it's not like she's gonna kill me, right?" When Junpei failed to respond and his eyes seemed to glaze over, Yang's worry returned. "Right?"

"No," he finally responded. But his tone was clearly distracted and his eyes were focused on something that wasn't there. "She won't."

"Well, that's-"

"But you'll wish she did."

"-Not good at all."

When they finally left the department store to meet up with the others, Junpei had managed to extract a promise from Yang to never tell Mitsuru a pun. But if she were ever unable to resist the temptation to do so then she would only do so when nobody else was there to witness the outcome.

There was a strange glint in her eye that worried him when he requested that second promise. As soon as she had agreed, Junpei wondered whether he shouldn't have added that second promise and just made her promise to never tell Mitsuru a pun and just left it at that. Still, what's done is done. He could only hope she didn't forget his words in the future.

* * *

Looking down as the documents in front of him, Sylver Swanson, an average man thirty-nine years of age and Branch Manager of the Bank of Vale's second branch, swept his eyes over various information that had been written down along with several signatures. Satisfied by what he saw, he placed his own signature where it was required and compiled all the documents together.

"Everything seems to be in order. And with that, Ms. Elizabeth's assets now belong to you, all of which should be available within the next half-hour at most. Congratulations Ms. Kirijo, you are now the wealthiest teenager in Vale," he said with some amusement. "Possibly even all of Remnant if you only consider those in your age group and one's personal wealth. Regardless, it'll be just a few more minutes before we get your Scroll connected to our system."

Sitting across from him were two teenagers, something he had found hard to believe when he first laid eyes on them. One was a taciturn, silver-haired young man wearing a white jacket and matching pants, with a black dress shirt underneath and a long red scarf. The other was the one who surprised him most as he did not think someone as young as her could have such a powerful presence. She was a polite, red-haired young woman wearing a short black coat, and white pants.

' _When Ms. Elizabeth said I wouldn't need to know what she looked like beyond her red hair, she certainly wasn't joking,'_ he thought with some amusement, watching as the young woman named Mitsuru Kirijo looked over her new assets with her companion, Akihiko Sanada. While she had been calm and polite the entire time, years of experience told Sylver that Mitsuru was a girl, a woman, that he did not want to cross despite her youth. She was clearly someone used to handling business and legal matters. This was evidenced by how quickly she had spotted and questioned certain details regarding the contract he had handed her before she even picked up a pen to sign with.

None of it was outright harmful to the bank's patrons, but under certain circumstances – the unfortunate kind as was often the case – anyone could lose a percentage of their money that not even the Schnee could call insignificant. It was not something he could agree with in its entirety, but from a business standpoint he could see why the owners of the bank had included such clauses in the contract. And yet this young woman had swiftly and accurately pinpointed all of those clauses, including two that he had not noticed in all his years working for the bank.

' _I pity anyone who tries to cheat her out of her money. Legal loophole or otherwise.'_

When his console beeped, he double-checked all the information displayed before taking the red scroll – Adamas's newest model he noted with some interest – and returning it to its owner. "And here you are, Ms. Kirijo."

Opening her scroll to half its largest size, Mitsuru noticed a new icon on the screen with the simple label of 'Bank of Vale'. Selecting the new application, she was soon greeted by a page similar to what she would have seen accessing bank accounts online in the past.

"As you can see, your Scroll can now connect to the bank's network, thereby allowing you to access your accounts and make any changes or transactions you want from anywhere with a proper connection to the CCT network, local or even intercontinental," explained Sylver as Mitsuru explored the new application and what it offered her. "And since you now own a sizable number of shares of the Adamas Corporation, all relevant details have been forwarded to them as well as Ms. Elizabeth's stockbroker, if she had one. Once ownership of Ms. Elizabeth's shares have been successfully transferred over to you, you should receive a notice from them along with an encryption key for your Scroll to allow you to access any data you are entitled to as a shareholder, much like what we did just now for your accounts."

"I see. I suppose all I can do is wait then," said Mitsuru, sliding her scroll shut and returning it to her pocket. "Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

Sylver thought for a moment before answering. "No, I don't believe so. Though, if I may ask, what do you intend to do now? Ms. Elizabeth once mentioned that she lives a very frugal lifestyle and, as such, had little use for all the money she earned as a freelance huntress. In fact, all the money she owned caused quite a stir when she first appeared to open an account here. It took nearly a full month of investigation before we could be certain that the money had not been obtained through less than legal means."

' _Hearing about how she obtained all this money, especially when one considers how much she must have spent with Adamas, would certainly be quite the tale,'_ mused Mitsuru.

Moreover, 'frugal' was a severe understatement. In Elizabeth's own words, after speaking to her one night, _"Although I enjoy mortal pleasures, such as the taste of food, I have no need of sustenance of any sort."_

And given the fact that she had been spending the past several millennia searching for something to do with Minato, she certainly didn't have any time to earn the money as she had suggested to the manager. That, and the type of money used would have changed at some point, perhaps even multiple times, so could not have been saving it up over a long period time. _'Yes, a very interesting tale.'_

"Since you ask, I don't suppose you know someone we can consult regarding housing and such?" she asked Sylver.

"Ah yes, you did list Beacon Academy as your current place of residence due to… fairly recent events as described by Ms. Elizabeth. To be honest, I don't believe anyone knew there was a town near the eastern-most shore of Mistral. Though I suppose nobody will ever know of it now. You have my condolences." Mitsuru nodded, accepting his words, belated though they may be. "Now first things first, are you looking to just rent, or buy?" As he spoke, he began to type into his computer.

"Buy, preferably." Then, anticipating the next possible question, she added, "And there are eight of us so a house would be best I believe."

"Hmm…" He nodded, lips pursing in thought before he nodded at something. At the same time that he turned away from his computer, Mitsuru's Scroll beeped, indicating that she had received a message. "I just forwarded the contact details and addresses of three real estate agencies I know of and can vouch for personally. Just so you're aware, the third one on the list is a faunus who does business with many other faunus. So if any of your companions are… sensitive… to being around faunus, then I'd recommend just the first two."

After searching for the three addresses and marking their locations on the map, Mitsuru returned the Scroll to her pocket and bowed lightly in thanks. "Thank you, Mr. Swanson. Though I don't believe there will be any problems. My friends and I are quite open-minded about most things. One of them is… different as well, though not in the way the faunus are."

Sylver's expression broke out into a wide, relieved smile. "I see, that's good to hear. Too many people nowadays shun the faunus for the most ridiculous of reasons all because of the actions of the White Fang. Foolish, if you ask me. " He then shook his head. "Well, that's neither here nor there. Asides from housing, is there anything else I could help you with?"

"A craftsman and an information broker, if you know one." Mitsuru's response came without delay but then paused as an uncomfortable look appeared on her face. "There is… something that I am searching for. I'm hoping someone from a bigger city, someone with better connections, could help me find them."

The manager looked intrigued by her request but said nothing, instead returning to his computer. After a short while, another message was sent to Mitsuru's Scroll with three addresses. "Those are the only two information brokers that I know of that I would recommend," he said as Mitsuru located the addresses she was sent and marked them on the map as well. "Many of the others are from the less reputable parts of Vale. And while they are just as good, perhaps even better because of their underground connections, I'd rather not have to send you there."

"Thank you for your concern but I don't believe it will come to that." As Mitsuru made to stand, both Akihiko and Sylver followed, the latter stepping around his desk to shake Mitsuru's hands. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Swanson."

"I assure you, the pleasure was all mine Ms. Kirijo. Feel free to send me a message if you have any more questions. My door, metaphorically speaking, is always open."

"Thank you, we appreciate it."

Soon, Mitsuru and Akihiko were walking towards one of the addresses she had marked on her map.

"Think they'll be able to make what we asked for?" asked Akihiko.

"Who knows," Mitsuru replied with a small shrug. "If not, then they'll most likely be more knowledgeable about someone else who could. We can only hope one of them can do it."

"Yeah. Hopefully it doesn't take too long either. I'd give it a two, maybe three weeks before people start breaking down."

"This first week will be the hardest but we've planned for that. Classes will take care of the rest starting next week. Don't worry," she said upon seeing the look on his face. "They're strong. This may not be something they've had to deal with before but they'll manage. At least until we can get this set up."

"… I hope so."

No words were exchanged as the two entered their destination, a small unnamed workshop in the eastern part of Vale's commercial district owned by a local craftsman.

* * *

In the central part of the city, located close the commercial area that bordered Vale's Industrial District, a large, bear-like man was directing a small group of construction workers as they continued working on the repairs to his club, which had been damaged in a fight just a few short days ago. He wore a white dress shirt and black suit pants, and had short, black hair complete with sideburns, a trim beard, and a moustache.

Seeing that everyone was where they needed to be, the owner of the club, Hei Xiong, known by most as Junior, stepped towards the bar and sat on one of the stools, pouring himself a drink from a bottle of scotch that was waiting on the countertop. He drained the glass in one go before refilling it without delay.

Most people would say it was far too early to drink considering it was only a little past noon. Junior would have just pointed out the damage to his club in response. While it was not his only means of income, the revenue from his club was steady and reliable. And now that it was wrecked, he had little choice but to rely on more… questionable means to not only pay his employees, but also pay for the repairs. He had plenty of lien stashed away in the bank and various other places, but one did not live his life without preparing for the worst possible scenarios.

Case in point…

"Boss." Looking up from his drink, his dark gray eyes, hidden behind round sunglasses, met the green eyes of one of his employees. After the fight with the blonde girl that had resulted in the destruction of his club, most of his employees had little to do in his club. He only kept a handful of them around unless otherwise necessary. The green-eyed, black-haired girl in front of him was one of them.

Miltiades Malachite, or just Miltia to those she worked with, was a teenage girl whom he had employed as a bodyguard along with her twin sister, Melanie. Wearing a strapless red dress, tall stiletto heels, and various accessories to add to her appearance, few would think she was one of the club's bodyguards rather than a server or a club girl. In truth, she was one of Junior's best alongside her sister. Unfortunately, they just weren't as good as the blonde who had all but destroyed his club not too long ago.

Seeing her green eyes, sharp and wary, focused not on him but on something behind him, Junior set down his glass and turned around on the stool.

Walking towards the bar where he was seated were two people he most certainly did not know. On the left was a man who had short, spiky red hair, sharp, youthful features, large black sunglasses hiding his eyes, and a cocky grin on his face. He wore a black suit and pants, a pale brown dress shirt underneath, and a red tie. One hand was in his jacket pocket while the other swung lazily at his side, covered by a black leather glove. For now, he would assume the other hand bore a similar glove.

All in all, Junior could safely assume he was the bodyguard for the other person, perhaps mid 20's in age judging by what he could see of his face. Despite his carefree gait, his eyes could see the small amount of tension in his movements. Carefree, but alert.

To his right, walking to the young man's left, was a woman with long, straight black hair. The sunglasses she wore were more stylish than the man's, narrow and roughly oval in shape, and her expression, from what he could see, was completely indifferent. Her face, or what he could see of it, was certainly attractive enough. She was wearing a thick, white fur coat that opened just enough for Junior to glimpse the black, skin-tight body suit she wore. Her movements were confident but, like her bodyguard, alert.

"How'd you two get in here?" Junior half-growled as he stood from his seat, using his impressive height to stop the two just a few feet away. Or rather, he tried to. Neither one stopped walking, nor did they answer his question. Instead, the woman went straight for the bar, sitting on the stool two seats down from one he had been sitting on, crossing her legs at the thighs. Her bodyguard remained standing just behind her and to the right, placing himself slightly in between Junior and the woman. "Hey, I asked you two a question."

"We know. We aren't deaf, old man," the young man replied, his voice rough and scratchy with a tone matching the cocky grin on his face. "You really shouldn't wear sunglasses indoors. Otherwise you would have seen us walk in through the front door."

"You're wearing sunglasses too, punk." Junior wasn't in the mood for games of any sort. Between dealing with Roman the other night, the blonde girl wrecking his bar that same night, the cost of the repairs, and the men he lent Roman for a job not coming back after said job, he was far from the best of moods. And now two unknown people managed to get past the guards he set up outside to keep out any unwanted visitors.

"Then I guess maybe you should use that brain of yours more often then," the redhead responded with an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. "Don't ever say I never tried to give you an excuse not to showcase your lack of common sense."

"Thantos."

The woman's cold tone send a shiver down Junior's spine. The young man named Thantos, however, seemed completely unaffected judging by the way he shrugged. "He asked," was his simple response. The lack of cockiness in his tone as he addressed the woman was noticeable.

Shaking off the feelings the woman's voice conjured up within him, Junior turned to her even as she turned in her seat to face him. After a brief staring game through their sunglasses, the woman spoke first. "So you're Junior? I expected someone younger with that name. Then again, everyone grows old I suppose."

Her tone was as cold as it had been earlier but there was noticeable hint of amusement. That was his only hint of it, however, as her face was as blank as ever. "What the hell do you two want?" he asked brusquely. "In case you haven't noticed, the club isn't open yet. And it won't be for a while."

The woman didn't response and Junior got the feeling that she was scrutinizing him in detail. "Perhaps Thantos has a point. You should try to use that brain of yours more often."

Junior's fist slammed onto the countertop, the glass he had been using earlier jumping and tipping over from the force. Miltia just managed to catch the bottle as it almost did the same. "Look lady, in case you didn't notice I'm not exactly in the mood for games. So either you get the hell out or start answering some questions."

The woman huffed derisively as she turned away. "How uncouth. Regardless, I still have use for you so I suppose I'll let you live. For now anyway." Junior couldn't help the shiver that went down his spine a second time at her words. Something was telling him that she really would have killed him if not for whatever they needed him for. "Now then, I'll make this simple. I need three things from you. Information, manpower, and silence."

At least now they were on a topic he was more familiar with. "What kind of information?" he asked, sitting on the stool once more and setting the glass upright, one hand reaching out for the bottle of scotch. "As for the manpower, how many do you need and for what? And by silence I take it you mean the usual deal. No letting anybody know about you and whatever arrangement we make here, is that about right?"

"Well look at that." Junior nearly crushed the glass in his grip when the bodyguard spoke again in that same, cheerfully mocking tone. "He actually _can_ use his brain."

"So it would seem." The woman's cold, aloof tone didn't' help matters any. "But yes, for the most part you are correct. No matter how our business concludes, I will pay you for your silence. No matter who asks, I expect you to act as though we never even met. Better yet, forget I ever existed whenever you are talking with someone not involved in this. For manpower I will merely need about a dozen who will have no problems working with faunus. And by that, I mean those who will not so much as flinch or frown at the sight of a faunus. You'll even get a bonus if the men you provide can put up a convincing smile to make them feel welcome. Needless to say, I also expect them to remain quiet about what they will see and do. They can, of course, let you know but only after their service to me is done and only you, no one else regardless of how much you trust them."

Junior frowned at that, wondering what the woman was planning and if he had any men who fit that criteria. "I'll have to get back to you on that. I know I've got a few but I don't think I have a dozen."

"At least he's honest, eh?"

' _This guy's really pissing me off,'_ thought Junior, resisting the urge to reach out and choke the red-haired male. It wouldn't even be that hard given the height difference of at least a foot. It wasn't just his words. Something about the tone of his voice and his general demeanor grated on his nerves. _'Like Roman,'_ he couldn't help but think.

"Quite," replied the woman. "If you do not have that many who fulfill those conditions then that is fine. It's more important that they pass those conditions rather than the number. I will make do if you cannot provide a dozen, though I would need half that number at the very least. As for information…" She paused and took out a white scroll. Opening the screen, she brought up a list and set down the Scroll on the countertop between them.

The club owner reached over and took the Scroll in one large hand. He quickly noted that the Scroll was brand new but was an older model. Old, cheap, common, and, more importantly, something that wouldn't be missed if they needed to get rid of it. As his eyes rolled over the list of things she wanted information on, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise, and sometimes curiosity, at some of the things on the Scroll. As he reached the last three items, his expression morphed into a deep frown, something the woman caught onto easily.

"Rest assured, I am willing to pay for all that. I am well aware of how dangerous it would be to acquire such knowledge."

"Dangerous?" he asked before letting out a quick scoff. "I'd have an easier time walking into a White Fang base shouting and holding up a sign that says 'Kill the beasts' without getting shot at." Still, as difficult as the request was it wasn't impossible. "A hundred thousand lien up front for the information. The rest can come after I deliver. Give me a moment and I'll see how many men I can get you."

"Take your time," said the woman. And then, surprising him, she stood up and turned to face him. "And hold on to that Scroll. The only contact listed on there is myself. Let me know how many men you can spare, how much, and where to send the money. I'll let you know when I will need them as soon as you can give me all the information I asked for, preferably within the next month but I can work with two, no more than that though. As for your silence on the matter… I believe an additional twenty-five percent of the total cost should be enough. Perhaps more if you manage to put everything together swiftly and perform to my liking."

The woman ignored the way Miltia's eyes shot open and her jaw dropped down in surprise. She turned to the door and began walking away, the bodyguard following after sending both Junior and Miltia a quick but cheery wave accompanied by his smug countenance. Soon, the mysterious pair was gone, leaving Junior with a still stunned Miltia.

Eventually, Miltia broke the silence. "That's… a lot of money."

Junior nodded. That was indeed a lot of money considering the hundred thousand was nowhere near a fifth or even an eighth of what the whole thing would cost the woman. And depending on what he had to do to collect the information she wanted, it might not even be a tenth of the final cost. And that wasn't counting however much she threw on to keep things quiet. With that much money the club could remain closed for several months and he still wouldn't have to worry about his finances. "That's the troublesome part though," he muttered, though his words were still heard.

"Troublesome?"

Again, he nodded. "From my experience, only three kinds of people throw around that much money without a care, especially in our line of business. And idiots who can't tell the value of information don't count."

"What are those?"

"First, you've got the ones looking to make good connections. But wanting to keep things quiet means she's not in it for our connections. Otherwise she'd let us spread the word so she can build her own network that way, using her money as the obvious lure. From there, she just has to weed out the less useful while keeping the rest."

"Makes sense."

"Second, you've got those looking to take over. We've only got a few small-time gangs in Vale, and two or three bigger ones, but there've been more than a few White Fang in the area causing trouble on top of that. If she's looking to take over she might have an unexpected surprise if she doesn't know about those guys showing up here in Vale. Though she might have something planned for that since she's looking to deal with the faunus in some way. Either way, someone looking to take over is someone expecting a nice long-term payoff to offset whatever they spend now."

The green-eyed girl nodded. "And the third?"

"Third, and I hope this isn't it, is that she's just dangling all that dough our way to get what she wants. Once she gets it and doesn't need us for anything else, she gets rid of us. And if we don't tell anyone about her like she wants, all she needs to do is get rid of the guys I'll be sending her, and you and me, since we're the only ones who actually know what she got out of this deal. Be glad Melanie wasn't here. Worst comes to worst, Melanie won't be in danger as long as she isn't seen with us when they come calling. Not unless they mistake her for you before they actually get to you."

Miltia frowned, deeply disliking that possibility, to say the least. "So… are we turning her down?"

Junior shook his head with a regretful sigh. "Don't know enough to know what'll happen if we turn her down now. It's one thing if I turned her down after seeing what she wanted but it's another thing entirely since I gave her a price. That instantly means that I knew I could get her the information and that I just wanted to know what it was worth to her. If I backed down she'd probably think I was just bluffing my way out, hiding the fact that I can't get the information by scaring her off with the price. For now, we play her game and see what happens. If I get even the tiniest hint that she's trying to get rid of us, we run, no questions asked."

"Anyway," he began with a sigh, standing from the stool and pushing the empty glass away. "I gotta go check on those constructions guys, make sure they haven't done something stupid or ruined anything else. Let Melanie know we're having a quick meeting tonight once we send these guys off. Half the stuff on her list are stuff you and the other girls can find out better than my guys so we'll talk about it later."

Miltia nodded as Junior walked away. But even as he did, his gaze kept going over the list of information the woman had asked him to supply.

Some were easy. So easy, in fact, that she could have found it by piecing together a few key pieces of information from news reports over the past few months. She didn't strike him as stupid or incapable, so she had to have a reason for asking him to look into it. The others were much more difficult, some would have been outright impossible if not for his extensive network. Whoever had sent her his way knew what he was capable of.

Out of curiosity, he checked the list of registered contacts on the scroll. True to her word, there was exactly one number for a Scroll and a name to go along with it. Shade.

It was likely not her real name but there was always the possibility that it was real. After all, some people were paranoid enough to think that any name they were given, especially one lacking a last name, was false. She looked like someone used to dealing with underground elements so she could be playing on that paranoia, giving her real name where others would think it was false. He'd have to be careful looking into her background. She was likely aware that he would try so extra precautions would be necessary to make sure he wasn't caught.

With a sigh, Junior pocketed the Scroll, inwardly noting how he was correct about the Scroll's purpose. Most likely she had bought it just recently for the sole purpose of being given away. He'd have to make sure to check it later on for any bugs or, anything of the sort. A little late, considering what he and Miltia had just talked about, but there was no helping it. For now, he had some repairs to oversee. He could only hope that little oversight wouldn't cost them more than they were willing to part with.

* * *

"No way! You shittin' me?"

Mitsuru and Akihiko could only chuckle at Junpei's over-the-top reaction as they showed him just how many zeroes their new bank account contained. All around them, the rest of SEES were in similar states of disbelief. Even Chidori, who could possibly beat Aigis in a contest to see who could maintain their composure – provided Aigis didn't cheat by manipulating her internal systems to control her emotional reactions – was openly gaping with comically wide eyes.

The nine members of SEES, including Koromaru, were lounging around in the dorm's lounge area. It was half-an-hour before midnight and their own teammates had already settled in for the night. It was a fairly well-known loophole to the 10PM curfew. Well… to the older students at least. The curfew only meant they had to be in the dorms, not necessarily inside their rooms.

Their teammates had been with them earlier, discussing their earlier trip to the city, but had slowly drifted off to their rooms as fatigue and sleepiness caught up to them. SEES, having long since gotten used to staying up past midnight, had bid them goodnight and continued to share stories. Eventually, Mitsuru gave in to their questioning, opened her Scroll, and pulled up the information on her new bank account, leading to their current situation.

"I assure you all, this is no joke," she said, allowing Junpei to take the crimson Scroll to better look at the number displayed on the screen. "I asked them myself but there is no mistake. Elizabeth-san left us a small fortune."

"Small?" Yukari asked with a scoff. "Senpai, only you would think something like that is small, even considering the prices of things in Remnant. You're probably the richest nineteen-year-old in the city. Maybe even the entire world."

Mitsuru laughed in response. "The branch manager said the same thing earlier. Still, don't let the money we have get to your heads. Tomorrow, we'll return to the bank so we can set up individual accounts for everyone, myself included." At the questioning looks she received, she added, "I plan to have this account, as well as a majority of its contents, remain tied to Adamas the way it is now."

"Adamas? Isn't that…"

The leader of SEES nodded at Yukari's unfinished statement. "The corporation that produced our Scrolls, yes." By now, her Scroll had been returned and all eyes were on her. "It would seem that Elizabeth-san had purchased shares from Adamas and transferred ownership to me as she did the contents of her account. She also invested greatly in the company over the past seven months, which could be why we received these Scrolls when only a limited number were produced to date, though I have no confirmation of this either way."

"So she not only left us a fortune but also a form of income that does not need to be managed on a day-to-day basis," said Aigis, quickly piecing together the mysterious woman's reasons for her actions. "It would seem we owe her much more than we thought."

"All the more reason to live as we please," said Akihiko. "Don't forget what she said when she left."

"To live our lives of our own free will," began Fuuka.

"And to face the consequences of our actions," finished Ken. Around them, everyone else nodded, remembering the white-haired woman's parting words.

"Weird thing to say if you ask me," Junpei says with a shrug, immediately dispelling the serious air that had begun to descend on the group. "Could have just said, 'Do whatever the hell you want but don't come crying if you get hurt,' or somethin' like that." No response was forthcoming from the others. Looking at them, Junpei found everyone staring at him. "What?"

Yukari was the first to reply. "It's nothing," she said with a shake of her head. "Sometimes it's just hard to remember that you aren't completely stupid."

The cap-wearing teen grinned at Yukari's words, looking quite proud. "Heh, what're you talking about? Of course I am." Then his face scrunched up in confusion and deep thought. "Uh wait… Hold on… what did…"

The brunette archer sighed while others just chuckled or giggled. "Way to prove me wrong, Stupei."

The group spent a bit more time talking, mostly discussing the list of electives they could choose from. "Given what I've seen of our regular schedule, we may be able to choose as much as three if you believe you can handle the workload."

"So we get to choose, huh?" Junpei glanced down at his Scroll's screen at the message that Pyrrha had forwarded to him from the school. "That's a lot to choose from."

"I believe I will attend the Leadership class," announced Aigis.

"Well that was quick," said Yukari. "Well, we have until the end of the week so I'll probably read through the classes after some sleep."

Various words of agreement came from the others, followed soon after by the electronic chime of the clock on the nearby wall. Glancing at it, everyone saw that it was now midnight. Nobody spoke for the next moment, simply watching the clock as the seconds ticked by.

"Damn. Seven months and I'm _still_ waiting for it."

Looking at everyone else's faces, Mitsuru could only sigh. "You aren't the only one," she said in response to Junpei's words. "Had we succeeded in eliminating the Dark Hour it may not have taken us long to adapt to its disappearance."

"But because we never really resolved it we can't get rid of the mindset that the Dark Hour will come at midnight or that something will happen on the full moon," finished Fuuka, her expression downcast like several others.

Junpei sighed, taking off his cap and scratching his head with the other hand. "This is all so messed up."

Nobody disagreed with him. Nobody _could_ disagree. There was definitely something to be said about a group who was unable to consistently sleep before midnight. Even now, seven months since their awakening in Remnant, none of them, not even Chidori, could fall asleep before midnight more than three consecutive nights. Any more than that and they began to feel restless and were unable to sleep until they waited for midnight to come.

The feeling was made worse by the full moon. On such nights they were completely unable to sleep until an hour after midnight, which would normally signify the end of the Dark Hour. Even the night before initiation had been no different. It was only out of courtesy to their fellow initiates that they had pretended to sleep. But such was their unease that, though they had attempted to speak to one another through Fuuka, they had spent most of the night simply laying in their sleeping bags with their eyes shut yet unable to rest, let alone sleep.

During the next three hours after the lights had been shut off, SEES repeatedly tossed and turned, zipped and unzipped their sleeping bags, and fluffed and repositioned their pillows. Two hours stretched on for what seemed like an eternity before midnight came. And for the next hour, while the other initiates slept, SEES lay awake on high alert, awaiting a threat that would not come. Only Chidori did not need to wait that long since she had not faced the monthly ordeal of facing the powerful Arcana Shadows.

It was only thanks to many months of sleeping less hours than normal that they had been able to function properly the day of the initiation. That, and the fact that they had not actually done anything but lay restlessly that night. It was mentally trying, but several hours of sleep was more than enough to deal with that brand of fatigue.

The worst part was not knowing whether they would ever return to a normal sleep schedule while the Grimm still presented a threat. Had it not been for the still present threat, some of them were certain they would have been able to overcome their current mindset. But until they could eliminate that threat, until they could see for their own eyes the end of the threat that had been plaguing mankind for millennia, they knew they would never be able to properly rest.

So long as their hearts, their very souls, were still at war with the Shadows and the Dark Hour regardless of what form or name they took, they would not be able to lay down their weapons nor let their guard down during what their bodies perceived as a dangerous time.

It was only when half of them raised a hand up to their mouths to hide a yawn that they decided to retire for the night. It was only ten minutes past midnight but the lack of combat was enough to let their bodies know that there would be no late night trip to Tartarus that night. In addition, it meant they would be able to sleep well and at a proper time for a few nights before they needed to stay up once more.

As they rose from their seats and began to make their way to their respective dorm rooms, none of them noticed the person hiding around the corner quietly dashing back up to their room. By the time the members of SEES returned to their rooms, the eavesdropper had already slipped back into bed, pretending to be asleep even as their two teammates entered the room.

Neither one exchanged words once they entered the room, believing their two teammates to be asleep. Each one grabbed a change of clothes and entered the bathroom. The eavesdropped heard the shower running soon after, indicating that one or both were bathing.

About ten minutes later, one person stepped out of the bathroom. Another ten minutes later, the sound of the shower cut off and the other person stepped out not long after. Once they finished their nightly rituals, they bid each other a good night one final time before settling in for the night. In just a few moments, the two were asleep.

Now certain that it was safe, the eavesdropper re-positioned themselves to a more comfortable position before shutting their eyes to go to sleep, thoughts filled with what little they had heard and various theories regarding their mysterious new comrades.

* * *

 **September 8, XX13**

The next day, SEES had gotten up just a little later than they did the previous morning but had still managed to catch the first airship down to Vale. A few of their teammates, those that had been awake at the time, offered to accompany them but the group had politely refused, some not even mentioning their destination or errand.

It hadn't taken long to set up their individual bank accounts, including a new one for Mitsuru since she had designated the previous one as the one she would use for business-related purposes. Once their Scrolls had been linked to their accounts, the group decided to part ways rather than return to the school together. Some went to shop for new clothing, others went to explore the city a bit more, while Mitsuru returned to the school by herself.

On the trip back, she had made sure to forward the contact details for each member of SEES to Glynda, who had been the one to send their dorm assignments and the list of electives to their teammates. After receiving confirmation of their updated contact details, Mitsuru made a mental note to return the borrowed Scroll at some point.

Upon her return to Beacon, the first thing she did was proceed to the library. Despite studying as much as they could over the span of seven months, most of the time was spent learning the English language seeing as only Aigis, Mitsuru, and Akihiko had been fluent enough to read the books Elizabeth had provided.

In truth, only the last two months had been spent going over those books. Moreover, they had focused on things that were required for their entry into Beacon. Dust, Aura, Semblance, Grimm, some bits of history, and a bit of social studies were their main focus during those two months. Basically anything that was taught in a combat school that they did not already know.

But if they were going to live in this time period, in what was essentially a new world altogether, they would need to know more. Sitting at one of the public terminals – Mitsuru still found the new computers strange as they felt like they would break like fragile glass if she were to push hard enough – she set about doing some research.

Aigis and Fuuka would have been with her but she had urged them to spend the day as they pleased. They only had less than a week before they would be thrust into the life of students once more – combat students but students nonetheless – so she wanted them to take the time to relax and explore their new lives before worrying over other things.

One might argue that she should be doing the same rather than going to the library for research. But none of them could persuade her. In the end, they simply accepted that her choice of activities for the day was researching. Only a few understood why she had chosen it.

One of the first things she searched for were details about the faunus. As someone who had come from a time when there were no such people, Mitsuru found it curious as to how they had come about. Unfortunately, there were no such records to be found. Speculation, yes, but nothing concrete. What she did find, however, was a history of war. War between humans and faunus.

Mitsuru didn't know whether to simply be disheartened or to be outright disgusted at the actions of humanity. Not just during those periods of war, but even in recent times. The few books Elizabeth had brought them gave an account of the most recent war. It had painted faunus as uncivilized, beast-like, and thus was the reason why humans sought to confine them with an island to the southeast called Menagerie. Just hearing the name told Mitsuru enough about what humans thought of the faunus.

As such, when Elizabeth explained that the human-faunus relationship was heavily strained, Mitsuru could have said that it was understandable. Regardless of the reasons for fighting or its results, both sides had lost much to the other. Bitterness was to be expected. And since the human population was much larger and held more power, it was to be expected that the lives led by the faunus would not be easy, causing further dissent.

But the book they had read was, of course, a written account by a human.

There was truth in the saying that history is written by the victors. From one perspective, the humans had won. They had secured more victories during that war than the faunus despite losing at least two major battles. From another, the faunus had emerged victorious. They had managed to avoid being confined to an island like the animals humans saw them as and had, in some regards, earned the right to be treated as equals. Or at least, as close to equal as the humans allowed it to be.

But upon piecing together all the information she had gathered, Mitsuru saw that neither side had truly won. The prejudiced humans had been forced to concede to the many demands made by the faunus that they despised so much, including the right to live where they please just like anybody else, provided they had the means to do so.

At the same time, the faunus, despite their small yet significant victory, had to live by the laws of humans. Laws made and upheld mostly by humans. While the worst had not come to pass, passersby and policemen too often turned a blind eye to crimes where the victims were faunus. What more if the law itself were turned against them?

The only reason that humans were made out to be the benevolent victors, allowing the uncivilized faunus the chance to prove they deserved the right to be treated like any other human, was because the first published account of the war was written by a human, and published and distributed by a human company. A human, Mitsuru discovered, that was a fairly close relative of one of Vale's councilmen at that time.

So rather than history being written by the victors, this time it was more a case of 'history was written, thus the victor was decided'. As such, it took her some time to properly read in between the carefully planned and written lines.

There were a few other wars between the humans and faunus in the past, but that had been so long ago that many people who had been alive to experience it had already passed on by the time the next war came along. It was certainly not something most people would read about unless they were actively searching for it like Mitsuru. And even if it were discussed in a school, that history was still colored by the text used in the discussion as well as the teacher.

Humans and faunus would fight for one reason or another and, regardless of the outcome, both sides would come to an accord, reluctantly in every single case to date, and attempt to coexist. But without proper effort on both sides to mend the wounds, both would simply drift apart once more, sometimes leading to continued violence on a much smaller scale. Then a time would come when the faunus would decide to simply break off completely from the human-dominant society. Later still, some would attempt to live with the humans once more, or even the other way around.

But the wounds of the past are not so easily forgotten. The older generation, those who had once lived amongst the others and may or may not have been part of the war, would scorn those who attempt to reach out, causing further incidents. One incident would lead to another until another war erupted. It was a vicious cycle of unrelenting hatred and prejudice. Both sides' inability to forgive, or to simply live and let live, making it seem impossible for both sides to peacefully coexist.

And throughout all this, both sides fought against a third faction. The Grimm. It was as though they had forgotten the fact that their negative emotions called out to the Grimm like a beacon. In two cases, the war only ended because the leadership began to realize that the war was calling Grimm to their locations, to their poorly defended cities, causing far more death amongst the civilian populace since the soldiers were away fighting. And yet, no matter how the war ended, it would always start anew many decades later.

Mitsuru honestly hadn't expected human-faunus relations to be this bad. A case of bitterness over the war was expected. But outright discrimination, even out in public for anyone to see? There may have been racists, still, but the world had advanced to the point that such discrimination was heavily frowned upon, if not outright punishable by law.

People were free to think what they wanted, but they were expected to behave themselves when interacting with the rest of society. No one could be denied their rights simply because of things like gender or race. Humanity had certainly advanced in terms of ability and technology. But had that come at the cost of their morals and ethics?

"Mitsuru?"

The voice that called her pulled her out of her thoughts. Turning to the side, Mitsuru found herself face to face with her black-haired teammate. "Oh, Blake. I'm sorry, I was thinking about something."

"That's fine," replied the other teen. "I was just surprised to find you here. Weren't you going to Vale?"

"We already finished our business there," she explained, gesturing for Blake to take a seat. "We just went to the bank to set up accounts for everyone. Afterwards, they decided to remain in Vale longer. There were some things I wanted to look up so I came back to do some research."

"What are you looking for?" Blake asked as she took a seat beside Mitsuru, turning the chair to face the older girl.

"Information on the faunus." Her reply surprised Blake, though Mitsuru wasn't sure why. Was Blake one of those who were prejudiced against faunus? Or was she a sympathizer who was worried that Mitsuru was the one who was prejudiced? "There were no faunus in Iwatodai," she explained, noting how Blake relaxed slightly at her words but showed a different kind of surprise this time. More curious than wary. "Or even in Japan as a whole. So when we first read about them, we were quite… skeptical to say the least."

"No faunus… Not even one?" breathed out Blake. Her expression, with her brows furrowed in thought and skepticism, was one that could have easily been misunderstood. Was she simply surprised by the thought of just humans existing? Did she find the thought appealing? Or did she, perhaps, think that humans had done away with all the faunus long before Mitsuru's was born?

Mitsuru shook her head. "If there were, they certainly hid themselves well. Up until we learned of them through Elizabeth-san, the idea of anthropomorphic animals or similar ideas existed only in fantasy, sometimes in legend." The way Blake twitched at her choice of words did not escape Mitsuru's notice. "So, understandably, we found it hard to believe before arriving in Vale a few days ago."

"A-And what do you think?" Why was she nervous? Clearly Blake held strong beliefs in the topic. The question was, which way did she lean?

Deciding to test this, Mitsuru turned her head slightly to the side to face the computer's monitor. "I'm disgusted." This time, with Mitsuru's eyes looking away from her, Blake didn't bother to completely hide her reaction. A pained, slightly angry grimace and the clenching of her fists, though her face was quick to return to a neutral expression lest Mitsuru turn back. "I never thought I would find so many humans who were so capable of such atrocities."

"Y-You… what?" The tension swiftly fled Blake's body at Mitsuru's words. And though she had turned away, Mitsuru had seen each and every one of Blake's reactions. Though she had focused on her responsibilities as the leader of SEES, she was still the heiress of the Kirijo group. Observing someone's reactions without showing signs of observing them was an act she was more than a little familiar with.

"Back home it was more or less a crime to discriminate against someone because of things like gender or race, even if it is not heavily enforced in some places. Doing so would result in something as small as a fine, or as much as imprisonment depending on the scale," said Mitsuru, repeating her earlier thoughts to her teammate, whom she was now certain of was, at least, sympathetic towards the faunus. "People are free to think what they like, but are expected to keep such thoughts hidden away in public, even through their actions."

"I honestly don't know whether the same would have been applied to the faunus had there been any, but I would like to think that we were better than this." She gestured to the screen where the history of war between the faunus and the humans was still on display. "Humans look down on the faunus, calling them uncivilized beasts. And yet, by their own actions, show that they are just as uncivilized."

"But not beasts?" Blake asked before she could stop herself.

Despite the slip-up, Mitsuru answered all the same. "Beasts are mindless, following only their own instincts. Their actions, no matter how violent, simply fall in line with these instincts. And while deplorable, the actions of both humans and faunus were done voluntarily rather than instinctively. And that is what makes this atrocity all that much worse."

"So you think humans are in the wrong?"

"In my opinion, neither side is in the right." Mitsuru's answer surprised Blake. "There was a man who once said, 'War does not determine who is right. Only who is left.' Winning a war or a fight does not mean that you are the one who is correct, that your cause is just. All it means is that you were superior in whatever means was used to wage war, that you were successful in eliminating the opposition, or that you were simply better at surviving conflicts."

As Mitsuru returned to her reading, Blake couldn't help but be in awe once more of the nineteen-year-old in front of her. There was so much conviction in her words that Blake couldn't help but be drawn in. But at the same time, she couldn't help but shiver. That conviction, that charisma, very few people in the world had both at such a great level. Not all of them, unfortunately, used them for more than personal gain. And sadly, she knew some of those people.

Once Blake regained her composure, she addressed Mitsuru once more. "I'm surprised you can say all that openly. Most people are wary of sympathizing with the faunus, or even just saying that humans aren't in the right."

"I am not one to shy away from sharing my opinion, especially with regards to something like this." Mitsuru spoke without turning to her. "Just because others are content to let things be as long as it does not concern them does not mean I wish to be the same. I cannot stand by while such injustices are happening right before my eyes."

"What about the others? Do they feel the same way?"

Mitsuru didn't answer immediately. Instead, she sighed and turned in her seat to face the faunus-in-hiding. "Blake," she began, her tone growing both serious and soft. "There's no need to hide. Not from us."

All of a sudden, for some inexplicable reason, Blake's expression turned into one of fear, one of utmost terror. "Wh-Wha… W-What do you… I-I'm not a…"

"None of us will think poorly of you for sympathizing with the faunus," she explained quickly, trying to calm down the girl as she seemed to be in the beginnings of a panic attack. Were things so bad that even being recognized as a faunus sympathizer could elicit such a reaction? "None of us may understand what it's like to be a faunus, especially with the way they're treated, but I assure you that no one amongst SEES will treat them any less than they would another human."

"… Even if they were criminals?"

Mitsuru wondered why Blake would ask a thing. Then she remembered the White Fang, a peaceful group attempting to promote human-faunus relations and racial equality that had grown more militant, more violent, over recent years. These days they were seen as nothing more than a terrorist group, one that aimed to subjugate, or even outright eliminate, all humans. Then again, human opinion on the White Fang had not been positive, for the most part, even at the beginning. Despite their peaceful means, many humans had not looked kindly upon them, seeing them as the losers of a war who had dared to demand more than they had already been given.

"Even so," answered Mitsuru. "They would, of course, have to be judged for their actions. But if it were up to us, even they would be treated and judged just as fairly as any human."

Blake seemed to relax at Mitsuru's words but the red-haired teen could still see some lingering tension. If the situation was as bad as she was beginning to imagine it to be then it was understandable that she was still shaken up by being discovered as a human who sympathized with the faunus. Hopefully some time spent with people who felt the same way would help her open up. For now…

"Would you mind helping me?"

"Huh?" The sudden shift in topic left Blake blinking for a while before her brain though to answer. "With what?"

"My research." Mitsuru turned back to the screen and gestured for Blake to look at it. "I've found plenty regarding human-faunus relations but little on the faunus themselves. As a different race, surely their culture is just as different. Moreover, I'm also curious as to their biology."

"Their… biology?" Now Blake was beginning to get curious as well, wondering just why Mitsuru would need to know such specific details.

"Specifically the animal traits they inherited. For example, we know that faunus tend to have superior hearing and eyesight. But is the difference equal among all faunus, or does it differ depending on which animal they share traits with? Another thing is that sometimes physical traits have some bearing on culture. So I want to know if the can be said for the faunus."

"How so?" The redhead's line of questioning was causing an increase in Blake's curiosity regarding Mitsuru's motivations to learn more about the faunus..

"First, let me be clear that I mean no offense by what I am about to say," began Mitsuru. She waited for Blake to show her understanding before continuing. "Let's take their ears, for example. Koromaru enjoys having his ears scratched. Would dog faunus be the same? Would they be insulted just by having someone make the comparison? Would they allow just anyone to do so? Or would it have to be someone they trusted to a certain degree? Another thing would be the significance of such an act. If they do allow it, do they allow just anyone they trust to do so? Or is it something reserved for only the most intimate of relationships?"

By now, Blake couldn't hold it in. Not only was it rare for a human to take such a deep interest in faunus culture, but some of the questions she wanted answered were quite… sensitive, to say the least. Or at least, led to some very private knowledge that the faunus in general did not want humans to know. Before she answered even a single question, she had to know just what Mitsuru needed such information for. "Those questions seem oddly specific. Why do you need to know all that?" she asked as calmly as she could to try and hide her suspicions.

Her red-haired leader hummed in thought for a bit before nodding to herself. Then, she held out one hand, her palm faced down, and began moving it up and down. "What does this gesture mean to you?"

As skeptical as she was of Mitsuru's motivation for asking such a strange question, it barely took Blake a second to answer. "Come here."

Mitsuru nodded but didn't stop her motions. Instead, she grinned as though knowing something she did not. "What if I told you I was trying to tell you to go away?"

"Huh? But how…" Blake looked down again at Mitsuru's hand, watching its movement. There was absolutely no change in the movement at all. How could it possibly mean go aw- ' _Oh.'_

Mitsuru's knowing grin grew a bit when she saw the look of realization appear on Blake's face. "Do you see it now?"

Blake could only nod dumbly, still surprised that a single action had two, completely opposite meanings despite being performed in the exact same way. To her, the gesture obviously meant 'to approach'. But the moment she considered Mitsuru's take on the movement, her own perception had shifted just enough to see the same thing. And it was then she understood what it was Mitsuru was trying to tell her with regards to their conversation. "You want to avoid a misunderstanding."

"Precisely." She mentally applauded Blake for her swift understanding. "Based on what I've read thus far, the lack of understanding between humans and faunus is one reason why they fail to see eye to eye. Even between two friends, if the human were to do something that meant one thing to him but another to his faunus friend then it could spark an argument. And if that misunderstanding is not cleared up in a peaceful manner, if the human is not made aware of his ignorance in a way that does not insult him, or if the faunus fails to realize that the human was simply ignorant rather than disrespectful, even a long-standing friendship could shatter due to that one incident."

Blake found herself speechless at Mitsuru's swift understanding of the matter. While it was only one reason for the conflict, as Mitsuru had stated, it was still one of the underlying causes of the faunus' hatred of humans. From the faunus' perspective, the humans treated them like animals, seeing them as nothing more than pets or beasts who could think, talk, and walk on two legs.

But looking at it from Mitsuru's perspective, it was not that humans, not all of them at least, were disrespecting faunus. It was simply that they did not realize the cultural significance that certain actions had to the faunus. To them, they must have thought that faunus enjoyed the same thing as the animals whose traits they shared and used that as some sort of basis for their treatment of their faunus friends. Case in point, dogs and scratching their ears.

In truth, canine faunus, as well as many others, did enjoy it. It was simply that, for them, it was a right, a privilege, to be shared with someone who had earned their absolute trust. Very much unlike dogs who enjoyed it seemingly regardless of who did the scratching.

So if someone they had recently befriended, but not trusted completely, had attempted to do so, that act would be seen as a breach of trust, as a lack of respect. The faunus would most likely feel as though they were being belittled or even treated as a pet rather than a friend. And the human might not even know what they had done wrong. Or even if they realized they had done something wrong, they might not know why what they did was wrong.

Ignorance was not an excuse. But that did not mean that ignorance itself was a crime. In this case, was the faunus not at fault as well for not explaining the situation clearly? For jumping straight to anger rather than attempting to understand the situation first?

Though she had no proof, Blake now felt fairly certain that many in the past had attempted to expose the faunus' culture to the humans in an effort to bring about understanding between their two races. She could imagine dozens of reason why it had failed. And that, unfortunately, included fellow faunus halting the attempt in an effort to keep their culture a secret, not wanting humans to know just how close faunus truly were to their animal counterparts.

Were they right in trying to keep it a secret out of fear of being labeled as more animal, more beast, than man? Or had they only hastened each and every conflict, every war to come between the two races by preventing proper understanding between one another?

For the first time in her life, Blake could truly see just how badly the situation had escalated. No longer was it the just a matter of humans looking down on faunus or of faunus demanding rather than earning their equality. Now she could see that even before the White Fang had become a terrorist group, the faunus already had their share of the blame.

They were too quick to label an act as disrespectful or belittling, too quick to lash out in anger without considering the situation in its entirety, too quick to play the victim even when humans truly and sincerely did not intend to hurt or offend them in any way.

And now, with a militant White Fang in play, it would be that much harder to calm things down. Had it been the old White Fang, the White Fang that had utilized peaceful protests and public speeches to give voice to the inequality faced by faunus even after the war, they might have been able to calmly discuss the possibility of properly sharing their culture with the humans rather than demanding acceptance and equality when they themselves closed themselves off. As things stood, something would have to be done about the White Fang first.

But even then, even if the White Fang somehow stood down, would the humans listen? Would they be willing to learn more about the, thus far, unknown faunus culture? Or would they denounce them as liars, claiming that beasts could not possibly have a civilized culture to call their own? Or perhaps even call it a culture fitting only for animals and beasts?

There were so many problems that Blake could foresee. But at the same time she could finally see a possible starting point in her desire to bring about peace between humans and faunus. And it was all due to one person. And as cruel and heartless as it may sound, a tiny part of her could not help but be thankful for the Grimm. Were it not for them, that one person would not be sitting in front of her at that moment.

"So what do you want to know first?" If Mitsuru was willing to learn then Blake would do her best to ensure that her leader knew everything she needed and wanted to know and that the information was as accurate as possible.

One person, one student wasn't much. But it had taken only one man to create the group known as the White Fang. It had only taken one man to turn that once peaceful group into the group it was now. And if all it took was one person to start the movement that would bring about peace between the two races, Blake was willing to put all her money down, even her entire life, on Mitsuru being that person.

She wouldn't have been able to explain it had someone asked her why she was certain that Mitsuru would be that one person. Was it her charisma? Was it that resolve of pure steel that lay beneath that kind smile? Or was it simply the fact that she was the first to show such an honest and deep interest in learning about the faunus?

It could have been any one of those. Perhaps all, or perhaps none of them. Had Blake been a less logical person she might have even attributed their meeting as fate. A faunus, masquerading as a human, with dreams of bridging the gap between humans and faunus. And a human from a faraway land who had never even heard of the faunus yet wishes to understand them at a level very few humans have done.

' _Or maybe I've been reading too many fantasy books,'_ Blake thought with a wry smile and a small shake of her head.

But regardless of the root of her beliefs, she knew it was not likely to bear fruit any time soon, perhaps not even until after they finished their studies at Beacon. Mitsuru might not even have any intention of being the one to lead such a movement, simply wishing to learn so that she, and most likely her friends, could avoid such misunderstandings of their own. But whatever the case, she was willing to do whatever it took to stack the odds in her favor should it turn out the way she hoped. That way, if and when the time finally came, Mitsuru would have all she needed to know about the faunus.

* * *

A little after noon, Akihiko and Ken returned from Vale after walking around the city with Koromaru in tow. They had managed to cover plenty of the commercial district in a short time since they rarely stopped to enter a store. And after a quick lunch at a café close to the landing pads, they took the noon trip back to Beacon.

On their way back to their room, they found Ren standing in the dorm's communal kitchen with several ingredients laid out on the countertop. Just as he was about to begin cooking, he caught sight of the two. "That took a while. Were there a lot of people at the bank?"

"Not really. We just decided to walk around Vale a bit more since we finished up quickly," explained Akihiko as he leaned against a nearby wall with his shoulder while Ken took a seat the a large dining table just a few steps away, Koromaru sitting on his haunches not far from where Ren was standing. "So what's all this for? Don't feel like eating at the dining hall?"

"Just felt like it," was Ren's response. He poured a small amount of oil into the small wok and lit the stove. As he waited for the oil to heat up, he double-check the bowled-up ingredients next to the stove top. "When you go years cooking for yourself it feels strange to suddenly be able to eat whenever you want without having to do the cooking yourself. That and Nora just wanted me to cook for her."

The silver-haired boxer chuckled, thinking back to his own childhood. "Yeah, I've been there a few times. Though Shinji was always the better cook. I don't think I ever went two days without hearing him telling me off about my diet having too much protein."

"Shinji?"

Ren upended the bowl of minced garlic into the wok, stirring it around with a metal spatula with a long wooden handle that Akihiko recognized as the kind commonly used in Chinese cooking. It was only then that he actually paid attention and noticed that Ren was using a wok rather than a sauté pan. It seems despite the entire world being dominated by a more western culture some eastern influences still remained. Though he had to wonder if the fact that Ren seemed to have Chinese roots had anything to do with it.

It was an interesting thought, the possibility that one's roots drew them to certain things. After all, what were the chances that a boy with distinctly Asian features would be named Lie Ren, a Chinese name if Akihiko wasn't mistaken, wore clothes that were equally Asian in origin, and would also use cooking tools often used in Chinese cooking? Especially in a world that was dominantly western from his and SEES's perspective?

"A friend of mine from way back," he answered. "We met at an orphanage years ago and we've been friends ever since." Despite the lack of hints in the boxer's words, Ren had immediately picked up on the fact that there was no one by the name of Shinji in their group. That, and everyone had said that only the eight of them plus Koromaru had survived. His expression must have shifted for an instant since Akihiko smiled sadly at him. "It's fine. It happened a few months before the attack. Besides, knowing him he'd come back to life just to kick my ass if I didn't move on."

"I can actually see him doing that," Ken added with a soft laugh. "Shinjiro-san was never the kind of guy to keep his thoughts to himself."

Akihiko's laughter joined Ken's. "True. Can't remember how many times we got into a fight over the smallest things."

"So you both grew up in an orphanage?" asked Ren. Before the garlic could brown too much, he tossed in a bowl of diced chicken into the wok. Setting down the bowl, mixed the chicken with the oil and garlic using the spatula. "That's surprising. From the stories everyone's shared, Japan sounds like quite the peaceful place. Even more than Vale all things considered."

"It might sound like it but it's because the Grimm threat was… contained for the most part," explained Akihiko. He would have to let everyone know later on what he told Ren to avoid any discrepancies in their stories if they decided to share any with the others. "That and the fact that the few Persona-users we had was often enough. You've seen their power first-hand and let me tell you, even those of SEES, who don't train and fight full-time, have experience fighting even larger Grimm."

"So it's not necessarily safer, just that the way everything is handled is different that it seems that way. I see." Tossing in a bowl of vegetables, he mixed it in with the rest of the ingredients.

Akihiko just shrugged. "Honestly it's hard to say. After all, despite how strong we were we were overwhelmed in the end. Don't know if it's because we were an easier target since we were isolated, or if it's because we were the more dangerous opponent. Could have just been a whim on their end for all we know. Not like we know what those things are thinking or if they can even think that far ahead."

"True. Guess sometimes it just comes down luck. Or bad luck in some cases." Pouring in the sauce and a bowl of noodles, Ren gave everyone one last stir to mix everything before placing a cover on the wok, letting it all steam for just a while longer to heat up the noodles. "But I think there's something to be said about an entire country that can celebrate multiple festivals in a year. The only major festival we have around here is the Vytal Festival which only comes around every two years."

Akihiko conceded that point to Ren. Inwardly, however, he knew it was just a farce. The only reason Japan had been peaceful was because it had existed in a time when the Grimm, then known as the Shadows, had yet to exist in such great numbers. That and, as he had stated, the threat was contained. Not by any man-made means or, at least, not by any means they had purposely created. The Dark Hour was a blessing just as much as it was a curse. It prevented the Shadows from interacting with humans for the most part, but it also allowed Shadows to cause more trouble than before.

Shadows had existed even before the Dark Hour. That much they were certain of. Otherwise the Kirijo would never have been able to perform their experiments. But before the Dark Hour was created by the accident, there had been no sign of Shadows attacking humans and causing the condition known to the public as Apathy Syndrome.

Looking at things now, it was hard to decide which time period was safer.

On one hand, Shadows and Apathy Syndrome had been contained to a small area, to a single city. But despite their efforts, the problem was slowly spreading across a wider area, claiming more and more victims with only a few people capable of fighting them off.

On the other, the Grimm were an open threat visible to all. Everyone had the ability to fight them if they so wished to do so. But despite the increase in numbers, the seemingly infinite Grimm continued to slowly encroach upon human territory.

Neither case had a visible end. Even knowing of the existence of Nyx, only Minato had been capable of acting against it. And even he had not been able to permanently end the threat. At best, he had sealed away humanity's wishes for salvation through death, preventing such nihilistic thoughts from calling out to Nyx to bring about the Fall. But now that the Shadows existed in the real world in the form of the Grimm, any negative emotion called out to the dark beings.

Which situation was more favorable? Or rather, which situation was more manageable? It was too difficult to say. Neither one had a clear end point. As much as they wanted to end the threat to all living beings, no one knew where they needed to strike. Nyx, in the past, was the embodiment of death itself. Despite their bravado, SEES knew the truth. Did Nyx still exist in this time period in some form? If so, was she now vulnerable? Or was she just as untouchable as she had been before?

As he watched Ren slide the now finished dish onto a large plate, Akihiko shook such thoughts out of his head. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.

"Kenny!"

Upon hearing that familiar name spoken by a familiar voice with an equally familiar cheeriness, Ken had attempted to flee from the room. Unfortunately, being seated on a chair behind a table meant he had to take that precious second or two to maneuver out of it. That had been more than sufficient for Nora to run up to him and pull him into a hug. She then took his place on the chair while placing him on her lap, much like a child holding a life-sized doll.

"Is she ever gonna get tired of that?" Akihiko asked with some amusement as Ren returned to the kitchen after placing the food on the table. "At this rate Ken just might start sleeping in someone else's room. He might even considering asking the Headmaster to switch him with someone else from a different team."

Ren just chuckled as he began to organize everything he had used next to the sink in preparation for later. "I'd say another day, two at most. After that, she'll be back to normal."

"Normal for her at least." A knowing grin accompanied Akihiko's reply as he watched Nora pile some of the stir-fried noodles onto a new plate. "Still, she seems to know her way around kids, though I wouldn't really call Ken that to his face. Doesn't like it to say the least."

"Well, he is at that age I guess," Ren rolled up his sleeves and started rinsing off as much as he could from the dirty dishes. "You can grab something to eat if you want. I made more than enough."

"We ate on the way back, thanks. It's not just his age though. In a lot of ways, Ken hasn't been a kid for a long time."

"Oh?"

The silver-haired boxer nodded, watching in amusement as Nora tried to get Ken to eat despite his protests of having eaten only recently. He wasn't too worried. If Ken was offended by how Nora was treating him, he would have made it known long ago. "Ken's an orphan. Just like me."

"I'm guessing you don't mean just recently."

Akihiko shook his head. "I don't know what happened to his father, or if he even knew him, but in a month it'll be three years since his mother died. He's more or less been alone ever since."

Ren cast an eye at the subject of their discussion. "Will he be alright with you telling me that?"

"I wouldn't have told you if I thought he'd have a problem with it," admitted the boxer. "Besides, he's already come to terms with it. It might hurt a bit to talk about, but he won't let it drag him down. Not anymore."

A part of Ren felt bad that he was hearing much about Akihiko and Ken's past, especially something so personal, but he wasn't exactly comfortable with sharing his just yet. Despite being long-time friends, not even Nora knew everything about his past. Nor did he know everything about hers. It wasn't a matter of trust, but simply an unspoken agreement to respect each other's decision to keep their respective pasts to themselves. Even without knowing, he trusted her. And he knew she did too.

The two remained in a comfortable silence after that, Ren rinsing off and setting the newly washed bowls and cookware inside the dishwasher to dry, though he left the wok and the spatula out as they were his to begin with, while Akihiko watched Nora and Ken's interactions with amusement. Nora had let Ken go earlier but had insisted that he sit next to her as she regaled him with some stories from before she and Ren came to Beacon.

And unnoticed to all, save for one, there was a brightness in Ken's eyes that had not been there a few days ago. And for that reason alone, that one person knew that they had made the right decision.

* * *

"Don't you have your own partner to annoy?"

"Come on Ice Queen. Nothing wrong with hanging out with my sister and her partner right?" came Yang's rhetoric response. "Besides, Blake was headed for the library this morning. I'm not exactly the hang-out-in-the-library kind of girl."

Weiss just growled in response and increased her pace, practically stomping up the stairs to the second floor of the dorm where their room was located. She could hear Ruby's admonishing tone as she scolded her unapologetic older sister. But as much as the heiress appreciated her partner taking her side over her sister's, it was a little too late.

She pulled out her Scroll as she approached the door to their team's room and held it up to the scanner to the side. As soon as the green light came on, she pocketed her Scroll and reached out with her other hand to open the door. As soon as she did, she stopped before she could cross the threshold into the room.

"Weiss? What's wrong?"

The white-haired girl didn't answer her partner, too busy staring at the scene going on inside their room. Ruby peered into the room, Yang doing the same, to see what it was that had given Weiss pause. It didn't take them long to find the reason.

Inside the room were Yukari, Fuuka and Aigis, the latter resting on the seat of her maintenance station, seemingly asleep, while Fuuka was at the monitor next to it, typing into the mechanical keyboard attached to it. Yukari was sorting through some shopping bags and moving the contents around. Hearing Ruby's voice coming from the doorway, Fuuka looked up from her work.

"Oh, you're back. Sorry, just give me a moment while I finish up."

"Hey Ruby, Yang, Weiss," greeted Yukari, turning to acknowledge them before returning to what she was doing.

"You went shopping?" Yang asked, joining Yukari beside Fuuka's bed.

"For new clothes yeah," answered the brunette. "I'm just sorting through them. We kinda forgot to separate what we bought so I'm just looking for my stuff to take back to my room."

Calling out a greeting to the archer, Ruby swiftly walked up to Fuuka to stand slightly behind the shorter teen. "What're you doing?" she asked, looking at the screen over Fuuka's shoulder. In the background, Weiss greeted Fuuka and Yukari but moved to the desk in the corner, taking a seat and pulling her Scroll out of her pocket.

"I'm just running some diagnostic scans on Aigis's systems," explained the teal-haired girl. "We've done some basic scans at least once a week but she hasn't had a full scan since the attack so it's really important for her to have one now."

"Why so long without one?"

"The Kirijo scientists were usually the ones who performed maintenance on Aigis," explained Fuuka. "But now that they're all gone there's nobody left who could have done it over the past seven months."

"But… aren't you doing that now?" asked Ruby, trying to make sense of what she was seeing on the monitor. But before her eyes could even register a quarter of what was displayed, a new set of data would take its place.

"Only because Aigis taught me what I needed to know." Even as she spoke her fingers were still typing on the keyboard, her eyes moving back and forth across the data displayed on the screen. Behind her, Ruby was wondering just how Fuuka could read all that data so quickly. "The basic scans were easy since she could guide me through the necessary steps. Afterwards, she would teach me how to interpret the data. It didn't take long before I could do it on my own. But a full system scan like this is still beyond me since she has to be powered down for it. She taught me how to perform the scans but that's all I can do at the moment. Later on she'll explain things while going over the results like we used to."

While their arrangement was logical, Ruby immediately realized the disadvantages. "But what if there's a problem?"

Fuuka's fingers slowed in their movements and the siblings knew that Fuuka was aware of that issue. "I know a bit about computers and programming but Aigis's programming is far beyond anything I've ever seen or done. And while Aigis knows a lot about herself, her knowledge isn't perfect. So if there _is_ a problem we can only hope that Aigis and I can make sense of it so that we can fix it."

Fuuka returned to her task, but though her speed was unchanged Ruby could see the tension in her petite body – it was still surprising and amusing that there was someone who was shorter yet older than her – that had not been there moments ago. It was too late for Ruby to take back her words, however. Even though she had spoken out of concern, she could have waited for a better time to bring it up. Hopefully Fuuka's worries didn't end up distracting her from her task.

Across the room, Weiss was doing her best to ignore the situation. But try as she might, she couldn't put it out of her mind long enough to focus on the display of her scroll. The simple fact that Fuuka was performing maintenance on Aigis once again hammered home the fact that the blonde wasn't human.

Almost as soon as Weiss had woken up that morning, she had gone straight to the CCT after a quick shower and breakfast. She had been hoping to speak with her sister, Winter, but she had been unavailable. So instead, she sent her a message through her Scroll asking certain questions about androids.

A part of her was relieved that she had not been able to speak directly to Winter. It was only after she had even sent the message that she realized that Winter would want to know why she was asking such questions seeing as she had never shown any interest in robotics or the programming behind them before, let alone both. And as much as she despised being led by an android, she knew that SEES had revealed the secret to them because they trusted their new teammates to some degree.

Weiss knew herself well enough to admit that she could be quite vindictive, sometimes even unreasonable, when pushed. Had it only been Aigis in the line of fire, she would not have hesitated for even a moment to let Winter know every single detail. But Aigis was not the only one who would be affected if she did that. There were seven other people who would be affected, almost assuredly negatively too, should she share everything she knew with her sister.

If the Atlas Military, the pioneers of robotic research and development in all of Remnant, were to learn of a robot that had an AI more advanced than any other thus far and was also capable of something similar to a Semblance, then Weiss knew that there was an incredibly high possibility that Aigis would never be seen again. And, due to the simple fact that they were associated with her, the rest of SEES may follow.

And even if the military could not spirit away Aigis or SEES without exposing themselves as the culprit, the Vale Council could easily be convinced to force Ozpin to hand over Aigis as a subject of research, possibly even taking SEES for questioning. After all, if they could mass-produce robots with the capacity to utilize Semblance, or at least something similar enough, then there would be no need to send humans to their deaths by fighting the never-ending horde of Grimm.

Weiss was no stranger to such lines of thinking. After all, her father regularly relied on backroom deals to get what he wanted and had taught her how to do the same while also covering her tracks by any means necessary. Her father was certainly powerful enough to not care whose toes and feet he crushed along the way.

She, however, was not.

It was one thing to target Aigis. It was another to target her knowing that others would be drawn into the conflict one way or another. As much as she wanted to direct her ire at the android who had become her team leader, Weiss did not want to betray the trust she had been given when Aigis's secret was revealed. Especially not when the one to give that trust was Mitsuru.

And that was another thing that bothered her though to a significantly lesser degree. It had not escaped her notice that Mitsuru trusted Aigis to a great degree. In fact, it almost seemed as though she, along with the rest of SEES, trusted her just as much as they trusted one another. Yesterday, they had made it known that Akihiko was Mitsuru's second-in-command. But once the pair had departed for the bank, it had been Aigis whom the rest of them had turned to for instructions.

And it clearly wasn't just because she had been the one to discuss things with Mitsuru – which was another issue since one did not discuss things with a robot. None of SEES had looked at her as though she were just a mere representative. It was as though Aigis was, dare she say it, their leader at that moment.

Was that how they truly saw her? As just another member of SEES? But why? She was just a machine. No matter how advanced an AI, no matter how skilled the programmer and creator, that was all it was. Just a bunch of programs that allowed a robot to imitate human behavior. Even if they said they did not understand how her 'Papillon Heart' worked it didn't, shouldn't, change the fact that Aigis was a mechanical imitation of a human being. Nothing more, nothing less.

And that was why it frustrated her to no end to see them treating her like a human being. And it wasn't just SEES. First and foremost was Ruby Rose, her very own partner. Ruby had seen Aigis without her clothing. She had even asked Aigis to show her how she switched her hand out for her other weapons. Yesterday she, along with everyone else, had seen Aigis open up her wrist to pull out a bullet so Ruby could compare it with those at the weapons stores in Vale. She had even helped assemble the maintenance station that they were using at that very moment.

And yet, despite being the one with the most exposure to Aigis, she was quite possibly the first one outside of SEES to start treating Aigis as though she were human. The first night they had all dined together, Ruby had asked Aigis why she wasn't eating. Later that same night, as they were getting ready for bed, she had asked the mechanical maiden if she wanted to use the bathroom first. And yesterday, when they had met up for lunch, Ruby had handed Aigis a small bag of cookies from her favorite bakery.

Considering Ruby was, to borrow her elder sister's words, a weapons nut, Weiss had thought that she would remember that Aigis wasn't human. Then again, this was the same girl who referred to her scythe as her 'baby' or 'sweetheart'. Still though, Ruby might have been younger but she wasn't exactly stupid. She had expected better.

The others weren't that much better. There was some apprehension at the beginning, for some of them at least, but eventually they began to speak with the android normally as though she were human. Sometimes they spoke about her and sometimes about other, more insignificant things. At times they had even asked her for her opinion, causing her to nearly cry out in disbelief. How could a machine, even an AI, have an opinion? All it did was recite some pre-programmed response in line with its personality. Even if it didn't have a pre-programmed response, there was likely a part of its programming that generated a response based on the personality it was given.

Pyrrha Nikos herself had noted the most important thing. Aura, and Semblance by extension, came from one's soul. Grimm were soulless beings, meaning they had no Aura. Every living being had an Aura. Machines had no Aura. Thus, machines had no soul, no life. SEES might not have awakened an Aura by virtue of the strange, and incredibly dangerous, awakening process, but they had awakened a form of Semblance. Aigis may share that Semblance but she was made by human hands, by human scientists.

Considering that Mitsuru mentioned that the Kirijo group had been responsible for both the study of Personas and the creation of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that they would have been capable of creating an artificial form of that power.

And then there was the awakening process of a Persona to consider. Personas were awakened when one faced great stress, great fear. Robots, even an AI, were incapable of feeling emotions. So if they did not feel fear, how could they possibly awaken a Persona? So without a soul and the inability to feel emotions, how else could a robot wield a Persona, a power summoned through the fear of death and born from one's soul, except through means as artificial as they were?

One only needed to think things through logically and with a clear head to be able to see the truth of the matter. Even without understanding the more complex ideas behind it all, Weiss had easily deduced the truth. So then, why was it that nobody else could see it? The siblings, Ruby and Yang, she could understand. Neither Nora nor Jaune seemed to be all that bright so they could be forgiven. But Pyrrha? Ren? Blake? Blake's opinion on her family's company aside, neither one of those three struck her as the type to just blindly accept what they were told.

Taking a deep breath, Weiss quietly let it all out, allowing all the tension that had built up inside her to slowly fade away. Right now, there was no point in thinking about it too much. Most of what she knew was a result of having lived in Atlas, where robotics was at its most advanced in all of Remnant. Unless she could prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that no AI, no matter how advanced, could possibly and truly feel and display emotions, she would be unable to convince anyone that Aigis was just a machine.

She would have to be careful while discussing things with Winter. Hopefully her sister could direct her to someone well-versed in the field of robotics and the development of AIs without having to reveal the reason for her newfound curiosity. After she gathered enough evidence and understood it well enough to explain it by herself then, and only then, would she act and bring the matter up with her team, her new acquaintances, and perhaps even the Headmaster.

* * *

Pyrrha watched with an experienced eye as two blades flew repeatedly through the air. They sang with every movement, clanging and screeching every time they struck and ground against one another.

"Don't hide behind your shield too much," she called out to her partner. "You don't want to lose sight of what your opponent is doing."

She received a hasty jerk of the head before he was forced to block, again with his shield. At least this time he managed not to completely hide his face behind it. Unfortunately, his opponent was more experienced in combat. When the blade struck the shield, striking at an angle that did not allow it to slide off so easily, he turned the slash into a shove, causing the blonde swordsman to stumble back in surprise. But the time spent trying to regain his balance was time for his opponent to pull his sword back just far enough for a quick follow-up strike. Freezing in place, Jaune glanced at the single-edged, slightly curved blade that now rest next to his neck.

Taking Jaune's lack of movement as a sign of his surrender, Junpei pulled his katana away from his teammate's neck and stepped back.

"That was better, Jaune," said Pyrrha as she and her fellow redhead approaching the two who had been sparring. She handed Jaune a bottle of water while Chidori passed Junpei his sword's sheath, allowing him to sheathe his blade before accepting his own bottle. "You're still hiding more than blocking but you'll be able to fix that with enough practice."

After returning to Beacon with Chidori, Junpei had decided to do his best to step into his new, and unexpected, role as team leader. After sending a quick message to Pyrrha and Jaune, the four of them met up in the locker room to retrieve their equipment before proceeding to look for a place to train.

There was only one rule regarding a student's own, personal training while on campus. They could not train in a place, at a time, and in a manner that was disruptive or harmful to those around them. In short, don't disturb anyone else while training, and don't train in a way that might hurt someone nearby. Most students used the training rooms, especially since most weapons could shift into a projectile weapon. Unfortunately, the training hall was one such facility that would not be open until the next week.

So they went with the next best thing. They sought out an open area that was far enough and secluded enough that they would not be breaking any rules. In addition, Pyrrha had agreed not to use Miló's rifle form to avoid any accidents should someone approach without their knowledge. Junpei's and Chidori's Personas were a non-issue since Mitsuru had forbidden them from attacking anyone with Persona-based attacks until they knew for certain whether someone's Aura could withstand the powerful attacks.

Pyrrha and Jaune, despite agreeing to meet them for training, had initially been worried about Junpei and Chidori's lack of Aura. But with forethought that would have surprised many people, Junpei had already considered that problem and had even spoken to Mitsuru about it that morning. With her approval, had had then revealed one of Trismegistus's many abilities to his new teammates. Rakukaja, an ability that granted the target a defensive layer similar to Aura.

The two Aura-users had initially been surprised that Junpei's Persona had such an ability. But he then revealed that, unlike Aura, the defensive shield it granted was temporary, lasting only a few minutes before disappearing, regardless of whether or not it had taken a hit. But regardless of its limits, it still allowed them to train without worrying too much about an accidental death.

He had even bought a timer while in Vale, one that made a very loud, and very annoying sound when the time ran out, and made sure to set the timer to at least fifteen seconds before Rakukaja was set to dispel. After all, none of them wanted someone to die simply because of carelessness or forgetfulness.

There was, however, one little detail that made it different from Aura asides from the time limit. In fact, Junpei had used his knowledge of that fact to his advantage by not telling them. Pyrrha had been so horrified when her blade drew blood after Junpei blocked her sword with his arm that she froze, afraid of moving and making the wound worse after mistakenly thinking that the protection had worn off. Junpei capitalized on her distraction and attacked. It was only her training and instincts that allowed her to avoid the attack.

After, spending a full five minutes trying to calm down both Pyrrha and Jaune, Junpei explained what happened. Aura prevented damage, with a few exceptions such as pure physical force. Rakukaja could only minimize the damage.

Blocking weapons with his bare arm was not something he did often. But during their fight, he had gotten the irresistable urge to try that tactic if only to be able to land a single hit. That, and to see the look on their faces. It was nothing short of foolish, at least, that seemed to be what Chidori was trying to say during her tirade. Either way, Junpei promised not to do something like that again.

And so the four of them proceeded to train for a few hours. They had started out with another, more proper match between Pyrrha against Junpei, as the latter's little bit of mischief ended the previous fight prematurely. Despite a good showing, the fight had, unsurprisingly, ended in a victory for Pyrrha, though she had apologized afterwards for some reason. Junpei just took it in stride, saying that he hadn't expected to win against someone who had been training and fighting for years.

"No worries. After all, I haven't even been fighting for a year-and-a-half. And I've been fighting with my Persona all that time. No surprise I lost." He admitted that he had hoped he would do better but he wasn't about to fall into depression or throw a tantrum over it.

Then Chidori had faced off against Jaune. Junpei had called upon Trismegistus for a second time, this time for Chidori. This time, the fight had not ended the way they had expected. Chidori was not normally a front-line fighter. Her axe was used to keep opponents away to give her the time and space needed to call upon her Persona. She _had_ been made to learn how to fight in close quarters in case it became necessary, but she was not that proficient

So it had been a great surprise when Chidori defeated Jaune with little difficulty. The fight had taken less than a minute, and ended with Jaune disarmed of his weapon with an axe at his throat. Pyrrha had immediately gone to make sure Jaune was alright. Junpei, on the other hand, was completely flummoxed by the unexpected development.

All things considered, the only ones who could fight against the Aura-users of Remnant and possibly win without their Personas were Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Aigis. And even then, Aigis had the best chance of winning due to being an android. Mitsuru and Akihiko, by virtue of having trained and fought against the Shadows longer than the rest of them, were better as fighters. But even they could not match their new teammates in terms of raw physical prowess. Their experience helped but not all their classmates were inexperienced. And it was that fact that had confused Junpei at that moment.

As Pyrrha spoke with Jaune about the most recent spar, Junpei was running through the fight in his head. Usually he would do it to pinpoint his own mistakes. In the rare case when he did not make any mistakes of note, he would look for thing that he could have done better, things he could have done differently. It had taken him months before he had developed that skill but when faced with someone as powerful as Elizabeth, he had to learn quickly how to pinpoint his own weaknesses since everyone else was too busy doing the same to point it out for him.

This time, however, he was focusing on the way Jaune had fought. There was something very… familiar about how he fought. It wasn't just that he and Chidori had little difficulty beating him. Jaune was strong and fairly fast, he had felt it when they fought just now so that wasn't it. He was able to react quickly enough as well. There was something else to it all, more to do with his actual movements.

"Hey, Jaune?"

Hearing his name being called, the blonde turned to Junpei and was immediately greeted by a thoughtful look on his leader's face. "Y-Yeah?"

"How did you…" Junpei began but immediately stopped and shook his head. "Nah, forget it. I'm probably just thinkin' too hard."

"Junpei? What is it?" asked Pyrrha, curious as to what he had been about to ask Jaune. Something in his tone told her that it had been about something serious despite how quickly he had dismissed it.

But Junpei just waved it away. "It's nothing. I mean, Beacon _is_ the best academy there is and Jaune got in no problem. That definitely means something. So like I said, I'm probably just thinking too hard. Maybe I'm just a little worried about being the team leader and all that. I mean, I've never been the leader before. For anything. Now and then for training but not a full-time thing like this."

Jaune tried to hide how nervous he had gotten when Junpei mentioned him getting into Beacon easily. Ironically, he was right. Jaune getting into Beacon did mean something. Just not in a good way like Junpei had probably been trying to say. While it was reassuring that Junpei trusted and believed in him enough to not question it, it did make him feel guilty.

Following a similar line of thought as Junpei, Jaune was surprised that he had held out as long as he did while fighting Chidori and Junpei. Their attacks were swift and fierce. Obviously they saw no need to hold back since he and Pyrrha had Aura to protect them. It was probably only because of his shield that the fighting lasted longer than he had expected it to. Then again, was being able to hide behind a shield really something to be proud of?

And then there was that one spar he had against Pyrrha. Chidori had been the easiest, mostly because she wasn't too well-versed in close range fighting, but she had been swift on her feet despite her bulky dress, easily circling around him to strike from the side or even the rear where his shield could not cover him. Easy or not, he had still lost. Junpei was strong and relentless, pushing him back repeatedly and wearing him down despite the fact that he had a shield. Pyrrha had both their strengths and more. With both speed and strength on her side, and more experience fighting with a sword and shield, he stood absolutely no chance against the one known as the Invincible Girl.

Though since he sparred with his partner, the two of them had been treated to the sight of Junpei and Chidori fighting one another. Or more importantly, the sight of two Persona-users fighting one another.

It was a strange sort of fight to watch. Even Pyrrha had said so afterwards. It was a mix between a one-on-one duel, a two-on-two match, and a two-on-one battle. At times both their Personas, Trismegistus and Hecate, were out, both causing various places on the designated training area to suddenly erupt in flames as though a bomb had gone off. Both also attacked physically, Junpei's crimson Persona flying in while Chidori's tri-animal-headed biker-like Persona – he really wasn't sure how else to describe it – used its whip.

But all the while, neither Junpei nor Chidori were idle. Casting Rakukaja on himself, Junpei would charge in, weathering any burst of flame that came too close to him, to strike directly at Hecate's summoner. Chidori would then dance around Junpei, sometimes using her axe to defend herself or create distance between them since Hecate could not attack properly with its mistress in the line of fire.

Despite the need to use their Evokers, both Junpei and Chidori were clearly adept at finding or creating the necessary time to use them. More often than not, they would take their Evokers in their non-dominant hand and use it while moving around, neither one wanting to stay in one place for too long.

It was then that Jaune could admit, once again, that he was the obvious weak link of the team. Pyrrha had even noted that, if they had been allowed to use their Personas while sparring with her, she might have even lost since she had neither the knowledge nor experience needed to properly fight either Persona.

A quick Q&A session later revealed a bit more about the Personas of their two teammates.

Junpei's Trismegistus was obviously combat-oriented, able to utilize a small variety of physical attacks while also capable of using a single-target fire-based attack. Moreover, Junpei had shown that Trismegistus could be used as a large, moving shield to protect him from harm. And with his Rakukaja to grant himself a passive defensive ability to a level equal to someone with Aura, Junpei had little to fear.

Chidori's Hecate, on the other hand, was more of a long-ranged support-type from what they had been told. It had a fire-based attack, much like Trismegistus's, only it was also capable of attacking multiple targets all at once. And while its physical abilities were limited to its whip, it more than made up for it with other abilities. Hecate had an ability called Rakunda, which was the direct opposite of Junpei's Rakukaja. Rather than granting defense, it took it away. Neither Jaune nor Pyrrha wanted to know what it would do to their Aura.

She also had the ability to create a poisonous fog – which, thankfully, she decided not to demonstrate – and a few other things that hampered enemies, such as a paralyzing fog. She even had something they called a dark-type instant death attack. Much like Rakunda, neither Jaune nor Pyrrha really wanted to know what that last one was. It was interesting though that, despite Trismegistus's obviously combat-oriented skillset, Hecate's skillset sounded scarier to the two of them.

' _Can I actually do this?'_ Jaune asked himself as Pyrrha sparred with Junpei once more. This time, though, she was holding back just a bit to give Junpei a chance to actually exert himself rather than have the fight end in a few minutes. A part of him wondered why Junpei was alright with such an arrangement. He was the leader, wasn't he? So, why was it that he could easily accept that Pyrrha was better than him in a fight without his Persona? Or was it because she was _only_ better than him without his Persona that he could accept such a defeat?

He looked down at his gloved hands, the same soft, unblemished hands that would have been out of place on a swordsman, never mind a hero. Sure, they were a little rough from various household chores and some bonding projects he did with his father now and then, but they lacked the distinct callous found on the hands of swordsmen.

Pyrrha's hands had them. Junpei's hands had them. And though Jaune wasn't certain, he felt that Chidori most likely had them as well. It was only his hands that did not tell a tale of his grueling journey to Beacon. Instead, his hands told a tale of deceit, of how he had gotten into Beacon, the most prestigious of the four huntsman academies, with very little physical effort on his part.

He sighed again, watching despondently as Junpei and Pyrrha continued to spar. When the timer rang out, Pyrrha pulled away and settled into a defensive stance, calling out to Junpei to see if he could break through her defense when she focused solely on that. And so, even without his pseudo-Aura barrier, Junpei charged in, determined to improve his physical capabilities by challenging the one who was said to have been invincible and untouchable.

"You should say something you know."

Jaune jumped from, barely holding in a yelp of surprise, when Chidori spoke from beside him. The short girl was so quiet that he was often surprised to discover that she had been nearby without him realizing it. Even amongst SEES, he noticed, she was very quiet. The only person that she spoke with a lot was Junpei. It wasn't even because Junpei started the conversations. No. The only times he had seen her start a meaningless conversation was with Junpei. Any other time and she only spoke when she found it necessary.

Clearly now was, to her, one of those times.

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"Something has been bothering you for a while now," she stated plainly. The blunt way she spoke made him wonder if she knew how to be tactful, or if she even knew what the word meant. "It's usually best to talk about it when something like that comes up."

"With… with you?" he asked, wondering if she was offering.

"Only if you want to," came her equally blunt response. "But surely you have others you can speak to, other you trust more. You have a large family, correct? If you cannot speak about it with your team, perhaps someone from you family could help you."

' _If only it was that easy,'_ he thought, inwardly cringing at the thought of contacting his family. After what he did to get into Beacon, the very first thing he would hear from any of his family members was either words of concern, or words that amounted to calling him stupid. Perhaps even both depending on who he spoke to first.

As it was, the only reason they had not contacted him was because he had exchanged his scroll for a new one. True, it meant getting a cheaper, slightly older model Scroll since he was exchanging a used one, but it meant they wouldn't be able to try and talk him out of it if they had managed to contact him before he arrived at Beacon and took the initiation.

But even now, with the initiation over and done with, he still didn't have the courage to contact his family. He knew they must be worried about him, but he couldn't bring himself to contact them, couldn't bring himself to risk the possibility that they would come for him and take him away despite the fact that, against all odds, he had managed to become an official student at Beacon.

"Well," continued Chidori, clueless and ignorant of his inner turmoil. "If you're still undecided don't be in too much of a hurry. Acting in haste rarely ends well if done without even a little preparation. But try not to take too long to decide. Time is the one thing we never have enough of, the one thing that, once lost, can never be recovered. If you wait too long before acting, you might find that the proper time to act has long since passed."

"Y-Yeah, thanks."

It almost sounded like she was telling him to take his time but to hurry up. Didn't that just cancel each other out? He didn't really understand what the redhead beside him was trying to say. Still, as he watched Pyrrha call to an end to the match after Junpei failed to breaking past her defenses, he knew that his secret could stay a secret for very long. It was only a matter of time before someone called him out on his lack of skill.

But at least, he thought while watching Junpei's easygoing smile, his teammates didn't seem that bad. Perhaps they wouldn't judge him too harshly. After all, everyone was entitled to chase after their dreams, right?

* * *

 **And that's the end for now. I had something like 8k more words but I decided to cut it out and just put it in the next chapter. As much as I like long chapters, the other two scenes I took out would not have been a good end point for the moment.**

 **With the scene between Junpei and Yang, I've pretty much established an exchange rate between Yen and Lien. So from there, just convert whatever currency you had into Yen to get an idea of the value of something in Lien. Quick note about it though. The t-shirt price was something I found for the time around the year 2009 since that's when the events of P3 happened.**

 **And for those that might be wondering, yes, I used Mitsuru's Persona 4 Arena appearance as a basis for the new underground player who met with Junior. I always found it strange that Mitsuru would wear a fur coat into battle in the game but hey, Akihiko's got nothing but a cape up top and Yukari's dressed in a superhero costume so what the heck. Either way, we now have two mysterious new players making contact with the Vale underground with quite a request for our local information broker.**

 **As for SEES and co., Mitsuru's rich (again) and sharing the wealth. We also got a little more insight into how the teams are interacting with their new friends as well as the beginnings of some minor and major plot developments down the line. Which ones are minor and which ones are major? That'll be a surprise for now. One of them's already planned out from start to finish so I just have to lay down the ground work to bring it into play later on.**

 **No Ozpin and Glynda this chapter but when classes start next chapter you can definitely expect Glynda to show up for her class. But before all that, we've got an Interlude coming up next. It's mostly written already so it'll be out in a few days after I finish it up and proofread and all that. Why an interlude and not an actual chapter? Well, the scene doesn't really mesh well with how the other chapters go. So I decided to separate it.**

 **Was anyone surprised by how Rakukaja came into play? Gameplay-wise it increased defense. And so the only way I could think of to incorporate that was by turning it into a very short-term pseudo-Aura ability. I'm sure that, looking at that, you can all imagine how Tarukaja and Sukukaja will work. And even Rakunda, Tarunda, and Sukunda. To what extent will be hidden for now, especially in regards to how they affect Aura-users.**

 **As always, I wanna hear what you guys think. So leave a review letting me know your opinions, good or bad.**

 **Anyway, as little treat for everyone now that I've gotten this far into the story, coming up is the first of many omake. I tried my best to make it funny but since I was never good at writing 'gut-busting' humor those that I come up with myself will most likely just be amusing at best. So if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know.**

* * *

 **OMAKE TIME!**

 **It's Pun Time**

"I bet you I can think of a pun that'll make her laugh. Heck, I'll tell her so many puns she won't be able to stop laughing."

All of a sudden, Junpei's eyes were as wide as they could possibly get. "What the- I just told you _not_ to. There's no way senpai's gonna let it go especially if you bust out one pun after another."

"Aw come on, you scared I'll win that bet?" she asked with a leering taunting grin.

"Oh, I'm scared alright." Yang grin faded at his admission. "Scared of what senpai'll do to you."

And then the grin was back. "That all? If you're so sure, then I guess you don't mind taking me out for lunch if I win? No worries, I'll be sure to let Chidori know it isn't a date."

Seeing Yang's fearless countenance, Junpei could only sigh in defeat. Clearly nothing was going to convince her to listen. Still, he could at least profit from the situation if she was going to be so stubborn. "Only if you pay for my next lunch date with Chidori if senpai doesn't laugh at your jokes."

"Deal."

Yang held out one hand and, as reluctant as he was to let her commit suicide-by-Mitsuru, he reached out and shook her hand, sealing the agreement.

"Get ready to lose Junpei."

"It was nice knowing you."

As they walked away to another section of the store, all Junpei could do was pray that the poor soul known as Yang Xiao Long would live past the ordeal she was about to face. Or rather, that she did not emerge with scarring beyond repair, physical or otherwise.

Early the next morning, in the school's Dining Hall, the four teams were eating breakfast while discussing their plans for the day. Notably absent were the two siblings, which was a little strange since Yang had, according to the three members of ASYR, collected Ruby from her room and left before anyone else did.

Speaking of which, a flash of blonde out of the corner of Junpei's eyes made him turn towards the door. Coming up to their table were their two missing friends. But the grin that appeared on Yang's face when her eyes met Junpei's sent shivers down the teenage boy's spine. Then, remembering their conversation the day before, his face suddenly turned a deathly white. Before he could warn the others, Yang was already within hearing range.

"Hey guys," she greeted with a shit-eating grin on her face. "How's it… Yanging?"

Every member of SEES suddenly freezes in place and slowly, mechanically, turns to Yang with horrified gazes. Mitsuru freezes as well, a cup of coffee raised up to her lips when she did so. But unlike the others, her gaze remained solely fixed on the Scroll she was holding in her other hand. The rest of their teammates, even Ruby, just groaned at the joke, completely oblivious to SEES's strangely dramatic reactions.

Yang takes notice of Junpei's reaction, grinning slightly at the sight. And coupled with the way Mitsuru had stopped but did not react poorly to her opening pun, Yang took it as a sign that she was on the right track.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to wake up Ruby this morning."

"No you didn't," came Ruby's denial. Unfortunately, nobody really paid attention to it.

"Turns out she fell asleep really late. It took me a while but eventually Ruby… _Rose_."

More groans erupted from their lips, and the rest of SEES joined Junpei in the pale-faced group. Ruby's half-groaning response of, " _That's_ why you dragged me around for an hour? So you could make that joke?" went ignored once again.

Uncaring of their reactions, Yang went on. "Turns out the reason it took her _Xiao Long_ to fall asleep was because Weiss was being loud when she was counting _Schneep_ last night."

"Wha… I…. I did no such thing!"

"Anyway Ruby, you should try to be more like Ren. He doesn't… Lie around in bed all day." By now SEES were glancing uneasily in Mitsuru's direction, ignoring the apple that Nora had aimed at Yang's head, which the latter simply caught in her hand. "Then again, if he does I bet Nora would probably bug him until she _hammered_ her point home."

Then, looking around at everyone as though finally noticing the lack of positive reaction, Yang just reached behind her head to scratch it in faux confusion. "Woah, tough crowd. Talk about a… Weiss cold reception." She chuckled at her joke, ignoring Weiss indignant complaints.

Then, all of a sudden, she frowns and begins to look around. "Is it getting colder in here?" She asked, rubbing her arms with her hands. "It's like all the heat just… disa-Pyrrha-d." She chuckled again at her own joke before her smile faded. "No seriously, did someone turn down the heater or did someone turn up the AC?"

Finally managing to find his voice, Junpei nervously called out to the blonde. "Y-Yang?"

"Yeah?" Yang turned to Junpei with a semi-victorious grin, one that faded when she noticed how he, and even the rest of SEES, had slowly risen and inched away from the table and were looking ready to run.

"Maybe you should stop now," he requested, slowly backing away while glancing nervously at Mitsuru, the only member of SEES still seated at the table. In fact, she hadn't moved an inch since she heard Yang's first joke with the coffee cup still raised to her lips. Around him, the rest of SEES were sending Yang pleading looks as though agreeing with him.

"What's wrong? Are my jokes too… punny?" Again, Yang laughed.

Around them, people were beginning to complain about the cold just as Yang had done moments ago. Somewhere in the room, something cracked followed by the sound of something shattering.

"N-No. I-It's not that. It's just…"

"Afraid you'll lose our bet?" she interrupted, grinning viciously and victoriously at the fearful look on his face. "Come on, take your _pun_ ishment like a man."

Yang began to cackle, even as people around her yelped in surprise when their drinks suddenly froze in their glasses and cups. Her cackling was suddenly cut off when a hand landed on her shoulder. A hand that was completely ice cold. "Yang."

If the hand hadn't been enough to freeze her in place, the equally ice cold voice certainly did. Turning her head to look over her shoulder – barely catching sight of SEES running and exiting the dining hall, she found herself face to face with Mitsuru. A Mitsuru who had her eyes closed. A Mitsuru with a pleasant smile on her face. "Did you just make a pun?"

Despite every instinct telling her to deny it, Yang was still riding on her pun-induced high. Compounded by the bet she had made with Junpei, there was no way she would have responded with anything else. "Yes."

"I see." Mitsuru nodded slowly, as though coming to terms with something. "That's good. Now that I know for certain that you _were_ making puns, I can Execute you."

"Oh I see. Go ahead. You can… eh?"

"Since you like puns so much let me help you… cool off."

By the end of the day, every single student that had been inside the dining hall had to be admitted for counseling for severe trauma after witnessing Mitsuru's infamous Execution. And Yang? Well, let's just say she'll never want to see, touch, hear about, think about, be anywhere near, or even acknowledge the existence of ice ever again.


	7. Interlude 1 - Minato Arisato

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Bet more than a few of you are surprised I actually got this out less than a day after the last chapter. XD**

 **I did say I'd put it up after a few days but weather's pretty poor over here. Haven't seen the sun in days and the rain's all crazy. One moment it's like a wall of rain, then next there's nothing but they sky is still looks ready to piss on everything in sight. Five minutes later it's raining like hell again. Can't even go for a morning jog anymore without risking it. I had some plans with my friends but most of them changed their mind and didn't want to go out with the weather the way it was.**

 **So I decided to take the extra time to finish this up. Lucky for you guys, eh? :D**

 **Anyway, enjoy. Or not.**

 **Quick warning, this is not a happy interlude.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NEW AND OLD READERS:**

 **To those who have read this interlude before, you may notice the lack of song lyrics. I took them out. Obviously.**

 **It had completely slipped my mind at the time I first uploaded this chapter that song lyrics aren't allowed. As such, I removed them all and instead just described the music. Some of the impact may fade because of this, but I would rather not have the story deleted by the admins if/when someone reports the violation.**

 **To the new readers, I kept the title of the songs as they are played so, if you feel like it, you can play the song, whether on your playlist if you own the soundtrack, through youtube or something if you want to. At the bottom of the page, just so that nobody gets a spoiler they don't want (even if it's not that big of one), there's a complete list of the songs used in this interlude as well as which version it is (if applicable).**

 **Thank you for your time and patience. We now return you to your regularly scheduled update.**

* * *

 **Interlude 1: Minato Arisato**

 **September 11, XX13**

"Hey Aigis, what've you got there?"

Looking up at the sound of the voice, Aigis's bright blue eyes met with Yang's lilac ones as the latter looked down on the table the android was working on. She gave an offhanded greeting as her eyes returned to the small object in her hands.

It was a small, roughly rectangular object, only slightly longer than her fingers, with one end rounded-off while the other had a small ring attached to it. Attached to that small ring was a strap, long enough to fit over one's head to hang around one's neck, not unlike a necklace of sorts. One side had a small screen a little more than two-thirds its entire length with several buttons running down one of its narrow sides.

On the table was a small mess of tools, wires, a pair of earphones, and a portable Scroll dock.

"It is a music player, specifically an MP3 player," she answered setting down the object on the table. Picking up the wire cutter, she held the rubber-coated wire of the earphones up and cut the length of wire in half. Throwing away the half with the earphones into the trashcan next to her, she moved to the Scroll dock and did the same to its wire and discarded the half that connected to a computer.

Yang had initially come to the room to speak with Ruby about something but discovered that she had missed her by a few minutes. Since Aigis said that Ruby and Weiss only stepped out to get a snack, Yang decided to wait. And while waiting, she watched Aigis sit at the corner desk while holding onto the MP3 player. And so, overcome by her curiosity and a desire to not pass the time in silence, she had approached the android.

And now, watching her work, Yang found herself slightly intrigued. Though she was reassured that only the occupants of the room, the dormitory's assigned manager, the Deputy Headmistress, and the Headmaster himself could enter any given dorm room any time they wanted, Aigis still chose to not walk around naked in the privacy of the room.

Well, as naked as she could be without stripping off her mechanical body's outer shell that is. Yang had rarely seen Aigis without her clothes covering up her mechanical features, save for her headband. Even now, working on the music player, Aigis wore her old school uniform as though worried that someone unaware of her secret would walk in. Though she had taken off her gloves to better perform her task, revealing her artificial, gray-tipped fingers

"And what about all this?" asked Yang, gesturing to the collection of tools and wires on the desk. "Trying to hack into it or something?"

"In a way." Yang blinked, not expecting her little joke to be taken seriously. Or that it would even be remotely correct. "Most of our devices are incompatible with technology in the rest of Remnant. Take this MP3 player for example. I could still use it if I wanted to but its charger is incompatible with the power outlets here in more ways than one."

As Aigis continued to explain, her hands and fingers continued to work, moving with clear purpose and obvious ease. "Even if the prongs were able to fit into the outlet, the research I did indicated that the power running through the outlets is significantly higher than what we are used to. If I were to attempt to charge the device after the battery was drained the device would instantly be overloaded and become unusable because of the sheer difference in power running through the outlet."

Yang nodded along, showing that she could understand the explanation. "Well, it sounds like you know what you're doing but… what _are_ you doing?" But she still didn't know how Aigis planned to overcome that little problem. Shouldn't she be working on the MP3 player instead? Perhaps replacing the battery and/or circuitry to be able to handle the power?

"I am attempting to essentially fuse these two," responded Aigis, holding up the two halves of wire from earlier. One was from the earphones and the other was from the portable Scroll dock. Following the wire to its end, Yang saw that the one that had been attached to the earphones ended in a very small, roughly cylindrical shape, which she assumed went into the MP3 player. "If I can connect these two wires, and make it so that I could connect the MP3 player to the Scroll, I believe that with Fuuka-san's help we should be able to transfer the music to the Scroll."

"Something tells me it won't be as easy as that." Even with only a rudimentary understanding of technology, perhaps even less than that, Yang knew it wasn't as simple as being able to connect the two devices. After all, how the insides worked was also very different.

"Perhaps," admitted Aigis as she set the wires down. Then she looked back at the MP3 player with a look that Yang could only describe as longing. "But I wish to preserve his memory in every way I can."

"His?" Somehow, Yang got the feeling that whoever Aigis was talking about was already dead.

The android nodded. "Minato-san."

Minato. That was the name of SEES's field leader, the one who had led them in battle even as Mitsuru led the group as a whole. More importantly, he was the one who had somehow saved the rest of SEES, giving them a second chance at life in Beacon.

"So that's his?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "What kind of music did he listen to?"

"I don't know."

"Eh?" Yang was definitely surprised by that answer. "You don't?"

Aigis shook her head in response. "I never really thought to ask him. Then again, I don't think anyone in SEES knew. Minato-san was always so quiet. I do not doubt that he would have answered us had we asked, but, for myself, I did not feel the need to ask."

"Why haven't you listened to it yet?" asked Yang, looking at the small device on the table. "It still works, right?"

"It does. But Fuuka-san and I wanted to share it with everyone else. The others do not know that I have this since I wanted to surprise everyone once I managed to transfer the music. Fuuka-san only knows because I had to ask her for help since she is familiar with working with machines and computers."

"Even though you're a machine yourself?" Yang winced when she realized how that must have sounded. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." Somehow Aigis's understanding smile hurt more than had she gotten mad. "Please, do not worry about offending me. I understand that it is difficult to adjust. But as to what you said, most of what I was taught was related to combat. Because of my ability to use a Persona, I lack the memory capacity and the processing power that most would expect of me. As such, I cannot learn and memorize something merely by reading or seeing it."

"Wait, so you have to study?"

"It is a strange concept, I know," said Aigis, smiling at the dumbfounded look on Yang's face. "But we are digressing from the subject. Once Fuuka-san and I manage to transfer Minato-san's music into my Scroll, we will gather the other members of SEES and listen to it together."

Seeing an opportunity to learn more about their new friends, Yang swiftly made to capitalize on it. "Would it be alright if we join you?" At the curious look on Aigis's face, she added, "I mean, we're usually off doing our own things so we haven't had time to really hang out as a group. I just thought it would be a good way for us to hang out since we're all on teams with one another and all that."

The curious expression morphed into a smile even as Aigis nodded her assent. "I believe no one will have any complaints. It's true that none of you knew Minato, but he would not have wanted us to close ourselves off from others for any reason. Could I leave it to you to ask the others?" she asked. "Barring any unexpected problems, Fuuka and I are certain that we can have this ready by tomorrow. I believe the best time would be after we have dinner tomorrow night as that is less likely to interfere with any plans during the day."

"Sure thing. I'll make sure everyone keeps tomorrow night clear and that they keep it a secret. Where are we meeting? The lounge?"

Aigis shook her head. "I believe it would be best to do this in one of our rooms. Since we will be listening to music, I do not wish to inconvenience the other students."

"Makes sense. Do you want us to get anything ready? Drinks and maybe snacks?"

"A little, perhaps. Thank you."

"No problem. Just leave it all to me."

* * *

 **September 12, XX13**

' _Perhaps a different venue would have been wiser,'_ Aigis thought wryly.

In hindsight, fitting sixteen people in a room meant to house four people was not the best idea. Even considering that the room was fairly large, the sheer number of people made the room look a lot smaller than it was. Moreover, her maintenance station and ammo crates took up some of that space as well. She would have used a different room but she and Yang, with help from Ren, and Jaune, had already grabbed the chairs from their respective dorm rooms and brought them to ASYR's room.

The room now looked like a small movie theater considering how they had set it up. There were two rows of four seats on each side of the room, with a table in between and directly in front of the door. On that table was Aigis's Scroll, which was resting on an unplugged Scroll dock to help it stand, thereby allowing them to use the Scroll's projection capabilities. And to help with that, a bed sheet had been taped over the door as soon as everyone arrived, acting as a makeshift movie screen.

Each row was occupied by one team. ASYR, simply because they had three members who were among the shortest in the entire group, sat in front with Aigis seated on the chair closest to her Scroll. Seated behind them was KYBT, with Blake making sure to sit near the side of the room, as far away as possible from Koromaru, who was sitting on his haunches right in front of the table in the middle. On the other side of the room, JACN sat in the back row while ANKR sat in front, though Akihiko had to sit at the very end due to his height.

"So what exactly is this about Aigis?" asked Yukari. "All Yang told us was that you had a surprise for us."

Before she answered, Aigis held up a familiar object for the archer to see. "Do you recognize this, Yukari-san?"

It barely took the girl a second. "That's Minato-kun's MP3 player. Why do you have it, Aigis?" There was no accusation in her tone, merely curiosity.

"I entered his room one day while we were still in Iwatodai. While I was reminiscing, I saw this lying on the table. Asides from clothing, this was the only object left in his room. Seeing as we would never return, I decided to take it with me. "

"Ok, I can definitely understand that. But why bring it up now?"

"Fuuka-san and I managed to transfer the music into my Scroll," she announced with a bit of pride. "I felt like listening to the music and so I wanted to share the experience with you all as well."

"But why are the rest of us here?" Aigis turned to her teammate, who was seated at the end of the row and was looking at her with a slightly cold expression. Seeing that, Aigis began to feel some discomfort seeping into her. "For one thing, will we even understand it? You have a different language, correct?"

"What's wrong Ice Queen? Afraid of a little music?" taunted Yang, grinning at the white-haired girl from behind her. "Besides, it was originally going to be just SEES but I asked Aigis if it was alright to bring everyone else. I thought we could all do with a little bonding now and then."

"It is as she said," added Aigis. Jokes aside, she still did not understand why Weiss seemed so cold to her. And so she was grateful for Yang's intervention, even if she might not have known of Aigis's discomfort. "As to the language, I had considered that as well. Using the knowledge within my systems, Fuuka-san managed to create a program to translate the songs should they be in Japanese."

"Won't that make the song sound weird?" asked Junpei. "I mean, I'm pretty sure you can't just translate a song and sing it the exact same way."

"Oh, we didn't do it that way," explained Fuuka. "What we did was just make a basic program that would provide a set of translated lyrics for the songs if needed. And using Aigis's Scroll, we can project the lyrics like we were watching a movie while the song is playing. That way everyone can enjoy the song the way it is while also having a way to understand it. And since the translation was dependent Aigis's knowledge, it won't come out as a direct translation where the words may be out of proper order."

"I see. The two of you have certainly thought this through," said Mitsuru, smiling at Fuuka and Aigis with approval. "Well then, shall we begin?" she asked.

Everyone voiced their agreement, though had anyone been paying attention to Weiss they would have noticed that she did not speak at all, opting to grudgingly settle into her seat. After all, the door was now blocked by the bed sheet and since they were doing it in her team's dorm, she would have to return either way. Leaving now, when she would have nothing to do outside, would just be a waste of time.

Besides, music was music. If she focused on that perhaps it won't be such a bad way to spend the night.

"There were not many songs in his music player. I believe we should be finished in about an hour," Aigis said as she walked over to the covered door and reached behind the bed sheet, searching for the light switch.

Finding the switch, Aigis shut off the lights in the room then, walked back to the table, reached for her Scroll and started up the program that she and Fuuka had spent the day before and part of today creating. Immediately, a light came from the back of the Scroll, much like a movie projector, and hit the bed sheet even as Aigis returned to her seat.

In a few seconds, the first song began to play even as the title was displayed on the screen.

 **P3 FES  
Lotus Juice & Yumi Kawamura**

The first sound that came from the speakers, was the sound of the female singer, singing in a language that the Aura-users assumed was SEES's native tongue, Japanese if they remembered correctly. On the makeshift screen, the lyrics, both English and Japanese, were displayed as the words were sung.

As the last line of that verse was sung, the sound of drums began and was soon followed by the voice of a male singer. What caught all of them by surprise was that the words were being sung in English in a style vastly different from the previous one. Moreover, there was little to no hint of a Japanese accent.

The mix of instruments was also surprising as those more familiar with the sounds recognized them as brass wind instruments. As soon as the verse ended, the female signer picked up the song once more. But this time, she was signing in English as well with a slightly different style from either of the two previous verses. Unlike the male vocalist, however, her English was slightly accented. Then after a very brief instrumental break, the male singer continued the song.

The song came to an abrupt end after the last line. Almost everyone was looking around at everyone else, trying to understand what they had just heard. Junpei was the first to give voice to his opinions, even as Aigis stopped the program from playing the next song immediately.

"Dude, what the hell was that?" he asked before turning to Aigis. "You sure something didn't go wrong when you transferred the music, Ai-chan? Maybe the songs got mixed up or something."

"I think that _was_ the actual song," said Akihiko. "As… weird as it was, the instruments played smoothly from start to finish."

"You tellin' me this is the kind of music Minato listened to?" Junpei asked in disbelief. No one could blame him either. Then he just shrugged and said something that surprised half of the room. "Meh, he always was a bit of a weird one."

"That's true I suppose." The way that Yukari had swiftly agreed, followed by slow, agreeing nods from the rest of SEES, was just as surprising. "No surprise his music's a bit weird as well."

Finally, one of them couldn't hold it in anymore. "Woah! Woah! Hold on a moment!" Everyone turned to Yang at her sudden outburst. With only the light from the projector it was hard to see her expression but most could imagine that it was one of disbelief. "You guys always said he was strong, selfless, and all that stuff. So what's with calling him weird all of a sudden? Just… Okay, if you had to describe him in one word asides from weird, what would you use?"

As one, every member of SEES answered Yang without hesitation.

"Strange."

Right after they said that, those who could see Yang's face laughed.

Once she got her laughter under control, Yukari apologized. "Sorry," she said. "It's just… there really is no better way to describe him."

"It's not meant to be demeaning or insulting," Mitsuru said with a fond smile on her face. "It's simply that so much about him is so different from the norm that he stands out in such a way. But regardless of that, he is our friend. We have nothing but the utmost respect for him."

"Perhaps we should listen to the rest of the songs first," interrupted Aigis. As interesting as it would be to discuss Minato's… peculiarities, that was not the reason why they had gathered. Not giving them a choice in the matter, Aigis reached over to her scroll and resumed the program.

 **Want To Be Close  
Yumi Kawamura**

This time, the music started out with a mellow sounding rhythm played on an electric guitar accompanied by the drums. Like the last song, a brass instrument could be heard now and then. And this time, there was an instrument they could not identify. Though it was always possible that it was simply a synthesized sound. At around the half-minute mark, the same, accented English, was heard.

Unlike the mysterious blend of styles from the first song, this one used only a single, consistent style all throughout. Though the members of SEES had to cringe at the accent. If not for the lyrics scrolling upwards on the screen, a decent portion of the song might have been easily misunderstood, if not outright unintelligible.

Still, the poetic words provided an interesting distraction as some attempted to decipher the meaning of behind the words.

By the end of the song, there were more than few who looked to be enjoying themselves despite the… unique kind of music they were hearing. Aigis, for her part, just sat there and enjoyed the music to the best of her ability rather than attempt to understand any deeper meaning. She did not need to completely understand something to be able to enjoy it after all. _'Much like life itself I suppose.'_

A few more songs were played after that one. Most of what followed were instrumentals – credited to someone named Shoji Meguro – though one song, entitled 'When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars' also had lyrics and was sung by, again, Yumi Kawamura. Thus far, all the songs followed a similar style with the exception of the very first one.

But when they saw the title of the next song, they got the feeling that that was about to change.

 **Mass Destruction  
Lotus Juice**

Instantly, the difference in style was very apparent, even if the song seemed to be using the same instruments still. The previous songs had been fairly relaxing and mellow. But this time, the instrumentals were more powerful, more intense. Then an electric guitar was heard along with a fairly powerful bass guitar. Moreover, the artist listed had been one of two from the first song they listened to.

As they listened, a few people were nodding along to the semi-fast song pace and all of them could see why the song was titled as such, given the lyrics. Some had even tried following along but the irregular rhythm threw them off easily.

But when they reached the second verse, every member of SEES suddenly froze in their seats as they saw the very first word of the second line. As it was the first word, the capitalization of the first letter was understandable but that did little to ease the sudden tension that overcame them.

All of a sudden, the entire song took on an entirely different meaning for the eight Japanese. And none of them knew what to think about it. The final line in the song that the male singer had sung did not help. At all.

By the end of the song, SEES were all staring at the screen wide-eyed. Absently, Aigis stopped her Scroll once again, knowing that they would need the time to recover before the next song. They looked to each other with uncertainty, wondering where to start or who would start it. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your view. Someone else decided to start things off for them.

"Did that song just sing about the Grimm?"

Aigis wasn't sure whether Ruby's lack of tact was a blessing in this situation.

"I… I believe so… yes," Mitsuru replied slowly, still coming to terms with the fact that the song had, essentially, been about the Shadows.

"That's..." Ruby had no words for it. Interesting? Inspiring? Disturbing? Whatever it was, it was certainly unbelievable. After all, who would compose a song about creatures that aimed at nothing less than the eradication of all life? Even if it seemed to be about fighting them, it was still a... somewhat questionable theme.

"So you guys actually call them Shadows of Mass Destruction?" asked Yang, curious about that last line. Then she grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Definitely better than Creatures of the Grimm, that's for sure."

Her words sparked a small debate with Weiss, Blake, and Ruby as to whether or not that was something to be joking about.

For SEES, however, the implication was far more troubling. The Shadows were known only to SEES and the Kirijo. No one else should have known about them. If knowledge of it had been leaked, there would have been mass panic from the public.

So how was it possible that Minato had a song in his MP3 player about the Shadows? Moreover, had he had that song since before coming to Iwatodai? If so, did that mean he had been aware of it from the start? Or was the whole song, as unlikely as it was, just a coincidence?

"Think he was listening to this whenever we were out fighting?" Junpei attempts to lighten the mood with humor was, at the very least, appreciated. Sadly, the matter was just too important to sweep away so easily.

Unfortunately for SEES, they did not have time to consider it. In a bout of impatience, Nora had reached over to Aigis's Scroll and resumed the program before Ren could stop her, the title of the next song appearing on the screen. Aigis was tempted to undo what Nora had done but doing so would invite uncomfortable questions. Sharing a glance with Mitsuru, she knew that the redhead was thinking the same thing. They would consider things later. For now, they would do what they had come here to do.

 **Deep Breath Deep Breath  
Lotus Juice**

When they first say the artist connected with the song, they thought they would be hearing another song similar to the previous one. But when the music started to play, the tone was significantly lighter than the last song, almost playful.

Again, some people tried singing along but with an unfamiliar rhythm throwing them off, following along out loud was a lot harder than just following along in their head. There were some chuckles, some uncomfortable coughs, and even a slightly indignant reaction from Weiss, when the lyrics mentioned the signer's perspective as having several women each day.

Still, the light tone of the song, along with the humorous tale told by the lyrics – which some would admit were even a little bit romantic and touching – erased most of the feelings evoked by the previous song. It was just what SEES needed to remember why Aigis had gathered them in the first place.

 **Poem For Everyone's Souls  
Shoji Meguro**

Just by the name displayed, they knew that it was another instrumental piece. It started off with a powerful piano introduction but changed into a gentler, more somber melody. And then the vocals came on.

Despite the title, no words were spoken. The vocalist simply gave voice to the melody of the song. And what a powerful voice it was. Nobody in the room could deny that. It was as though the song was reaching deep into them, past all physical boundaries, past even their metaphorical hearts, to touch their very souls just as the title had implied.

Was it soothing? Calming? Cathartic? At times they felt strength welling up within them. Only for that strength to abandon them mere moments later, replaced by a feeling of grief and sadness, a desire to shed tears. No one had the words to describe what they were feeling. It was as though every emotion was being drawn out of them one by one but also all at the same time.

All too soon the song had ended, taking with it whatever power had taken hold of them. But that reprieve wouldn't last long as the title of the next song came up.

 **Battle For Everyone's Souls.  
Shoji Meguro**

The title had been clue enough for them. Though the song started off with a powerful drum and guitar intro, the rest of the song was much like the last, only stronger, more intense. If the previous song had simply drawn out their emotions, this one drew it out and seemed to be using those same emotions to inspire them to fight, awakening a desire to fight for a cause.

At the end of it, Aigis reached out to her Scroll once again. And looking around, she knew it had been a good decision. Nearly everyone looked to be locked in whatever emotion the last two songs had drawn out of them. It was Pyrrha who broke the silence first.

"I think I can see why you call him strange."

There were chuckles all around but nobody denied it. SEES already knew just how unique Minato was. And, listening to his choice in music, the others were slowly coming to understand that as well.

The next few songs that played were far more peaceful and relaxing, though a few carried a somber tone as well. Still, it was a needed break from what they had just experienced.

As the songs played, Aigis kept count of the number of songs they had listened to. She had not changed the arrangements of the songs, keeping them as they are in an effort to preserve how Minato might have listened to it. It wasn't a significant thing, but for some reason Aigis just felt the need to do so. Almost as though rearranging the songs would ruin the moment.

As they reached the final song, Aigis let everyone know just as they thanked her for telling them. Though it hadn't taken longer than expected, it was still getting late. Classes were due to start in two days and they would need to acclimate themselves to sleeping by a certain time so as to avoid oversleeping. And that time just happened to be drawing near. So everyone readied themselves to hear the final song that had been stored in Minato's player.

 **Kimi no Kioku (Memories of You)  
Yumi Kawamura**

Something about the title of the song struck a chord in SEES, tugging at their heartstrings for some unknown reason. Then a somewhat fast-paced introduction with a piano and the drums began to play. The tone was light, a fitting song to end the night, they all thought. And then the words came.

Just the first few lines sent a strange jolt into the hearts of the Japanese teens. Though the melody of the song sounded quite lively, they felt something heavy settle into their hearts and a light pressure coming from behind their eyes. When the first line of the refrain played, the weight grew heavier, pressing down on their chest and making it difficult to breath. And when the chorus began to play, they broke under that weight.

Yet next to each Japanese pair, their teammates continued to listen with faint, or not-so-faint, smiles on their faces. Their heads, fingers, or feet moved along to the melody, eyes following along to the translated lyrics, and oblivious to the growing storm.

As the part of the song that sounded like the chorus ended, many of those listening couldn't help but think that the song was beautiful. The tone of the song and lyrics sounded quite joyful. And though the words they read looked to be words of parting, it also seemed to carry a promise, a promise to never be apart. A beautiful love song.

Then something shattered that moment. A whimper of pain. One that they barely heard over the music.

"A-Aigis?" Those who heard Ruby's soft voice turned to her and to the one whose name she had called.

Due to sitting at the front and being one of those closest to the only source of light, Aigis's features, though shadowed, were still more visible than the others. As such, those who had turned to look could see she seemed to be in pain, her face was tight, her eyes and teeth were clenched shut as tightly as they could. Her shoulders were tense and seemed to be shaking slightly while her hands were curled up into fists, pushing down on her thighs.

Another soft sob escaped her lips. She seemed to be trying to hold in her voice, to hide the fact that something was causing her pain. But before anyone could act, another voice spoke.

"A-Aigis, d-don't…" The voice was female and was coming from behind Aigis. Yukari. "If… If you s-start then I'll… I-I'll…"

Yukari never finished what she was going to say as a loud sob escaped her own lips just as the second verse began. But it was not just Yukari.

Looking around, eight people realized that every single member of SEES was in a similar state. Aigis, Fuuka, Yukari, Ken, and even Junpei were all showing signs of pain. Hands were closed into tight fists, some gripping part of their clothing, lips were pressed shut while some merely clenched their jaws shut with their mouths partly open. Some even had tears beginning to flow down their faces.

Their bodies and faces were tense, and they seemed to be trying hard not to let the extent of their pain show, though shoulders had begun to quiver and shudder and their breaths began to come in staggered waves. Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Chidori were faring better, but it was clear that they, too, were trying to hide something.

Nobody knew what was going on. They couldn't see anything that could be the cause of their pain. But even so, more than half of SEES were openly crying now, faces in their hands or the crook of their arm, tears freely running down their faces, and heart-wrenching sobs emerging from their lips.

Having been the first to see what was going on, Ruby was also the first to act. Ruby disappeared in a flurry of rose petals and reappeared behind the table that held Aigis's Scroll. She reached for the yellow Scroll to stop the music just as the second chorus played over the speakers. Whatever was happening was more important.

But before her finger could tap the screen, another hand suddenly latched on to her wrist with shocking speed. Silver eyes followed the hand to its source. But in truth, she did not need to. The moment she saw the gray-tipped fingers, Ruby knew who had stopped her. What she, and those watching, did not understand was why.

But when Fuuka suddenly turned in her seat and wrapped her arms around Aigis's torso, some of them began to understand. Their pain was not physical at all.

When Ruby finally stopped trying to struggle against Aigis's literal iron grip, the hand slowly released Ruby's wrist. She knew, however, that Aigis would stop her again if she attempted to stop the music. With both hands free, Aigis turned in her seat as well to face Fuuka. And even as Fuuka buried her face into Aigis's bosom, the mechanical maiden wrapped her own arms around the smaller teen, her chin resting on Fuuka's teal locks and her face reflecting the pain she felt.

The other members of SEES soon followed suit upon seeing two of their number doing so. Mitsuru and Yukari, Chidori and Junpei, and even Akihiko and Ken, held onto one another.

SEES's sobs and cries could still be heard despite the merry melody pouring out of the Scroll's speakers, the stark contrast between the two sounds simply further emphasizing one another. And amidst all this, their teammates were at a loss.

What had happened? Why had they suddenly begun crying? Was it the song? But why? Wasn't the song singing about someone they loved? Someone they cared for deeply? Or was there something in the song's original language that they could not understand even with a translation?

Eyes immediately turned to the screen just as the chorus began to play once more. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that all of SEES had fallen into such a state. The music had to be responsible for it in some way.

One by one, they came to a startling realization as they read the translated lyrics of the chorus as it was projected before them. They had thought that it was a love song. At worst, they had thought it was a song about two people who were forced apart. In a way, they were right. But they had woefully misinterpreted one aspect of that separation.

It wasn't a matter of time or distance or even circumstance that brought about the separation. It wasn't something that could be mended even with an infinite amount of time, effort and will. It was the height of separation. The one thing that could sever the ties of anything and everything. A force that was unavoidable and irreversible.

And the song caused them to remember that they, too, had been separated from someone by this undeniable force.

And as the song faded away, only the sounds of sobbing and sniffling could be heard. None of them knew what to do. Did they approach their friends? Or did they just wait until they were ready?

Regardless of what they did, however, they all knew one thing for certain. Even now, seven months after the tragedy that had stolen away the lives they once knew, SEES had yet to move on. And now, they were witnessing SEES's collapse as they finally, and truly, felt the weight of the burdens they bear.

* * *

 **Okay, I'm sure a lot of you must be wondering why the heck I made a scene like this. Some of you already know why since the issue was brought up before. The last line pretty much explains it after all.**

 **In those seven months, all SEES did was train and learn. They never found the time to cope with their new situation. Moreover, they never had time to mourn those who had died. And until they can come to terms with all of that they had lost, they will not be able to move on.**

 **Another thing, one that I haven't seen anyone point out yet is how SEES is perceived by their teammates. Leaving out Weiss's perception of Aigis, all of them are pretty much in awe of SEES, of their power and their experiences. This interlude was made to shatter that perception. This was made to show them that SEES is** _ **still**_ **human despite everything they've shown so far, that SEES is not infallible.**

 **Admittedly, this second reason was also aimed at those who might have start thinking that SEES will steamroll over everything in their way despite their lack of Aura.**

 **When I first decided to include this scene, I had planned on writing it as part of a chapter. It was supposed to be the end of the previous chapter actually.**

 **But when I was listening to the Persona 3 OST to help me get in the mood, I realized that it didn't feel right having them as part of a full chapter. So I decided to make it an interlude instead.**

 **Also, some of you may be wondering "Why isn't Burn My Dread on the list?" Well the answer to that is... a secret for now. XD**

 **It will show up though so look forward to it.**

 **Anyway, the usual deal applies here. Let me know what you think of the story thus far. Like it? Love it? Don't like it? Despise it? Wanna print it out and frame it somewhere? Or do you wanna print it out so you can burn it? Well, whatever the case, tell me what you think.**

 **See you in the next chapter everyone.**

* * *

 **Here's the song list:**

 **1) P3 FES (Persona 3 FES)**

 **2) Want to be Close (Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)**

 **3) Mass Destruction (Persona 3 Movie #2: Midsummer Knight's Dream version)**

 **4) Deep Breath Deep Breath** **(Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)**

 **5) Poem for Everyone's Souls** **(Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)**

 **6) Battle for Everyone's Souls** **(Burn my Dread - Reincarnation: Persona 3 version)**

 **7) Kimi no Kioku (Original Version)**


	8. Ch 6 - The Fools Pt 2

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Hi, Hi, everyone. Long time no… see? Speak?**

 **(?_?)**

 **Well, whatever it is, I'm back with another chapter.**

 **I'm glad the last chapter was received positively. As I mentioned before, I was a little hesitant to turn that chapter into a song chapter. I'm not too fond of song-fics myself or even using songs in a chapter like what I did. But something just kept telling me to do it that way. So, rather than bust my head open over it, I just went with the flow. And I'm glad I did.**

 **Just like some of you admitted to crying, or coming close, while reading it, I shed my fair share of tears while writing it. It was probably worse for me since I had to envision the scene multiple times while listening to the music. My roommate actually caught me one time while writing in the living room. Now that was a fun time. She wouldn't believe me when I said that I made myself cry. XD**

 **I did some work on previous chapters. It was mainly to fix any typos I missed, but I also edited some scenes, added a few minor ones, and extended some existing scenes. It's nothing major though but feel free to check them out. I can't remember which scenes they were, not off the top of my head, so I can't really point them out here.**

 **Anyway, for now, let's get on with the chapter. I'm sure I've kept you all waiting long enough. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – The Fools Pt. 2**

 **September 16, XX13**

"Mr. Sanada." The stern voice of their professor rang across the room. And heeding her call, the silver-haired boxer, wearing his usual red vest over a white, collared shirt, stood from his seat and made his way to the front. "Mr. Thrush." Another name was called, and another person stood and made his way down.

Their Combat class, unlike their other classes, was held in a far larger room. And, unlike the half-circle arrangement of the other lecture halls, the room was completely circular. At the center of the room was a circular platform twenty meters in diameter and about a meter high. Directly above the platform were several large screens to allow the students to monitor the Aura levels of the combatants as well as offering different views of the combat area.

Around the platform, two meters away from the edge, was a special projector that created a circular, hard-light wall around the platform to simulate a ring-out area as well as preventing any stray projectile attacks from hitting the spectating students. Another two meters away was a solid wall five meters in height, and an additional two meters of reinforced glass as an added precaution. Behind the glass were the benches for the spectating students, each row elevated higher than the one in front of it to allow everyone a mostly unimpeded view of the fighting area.

Much like an arena or stadium, there were stairs leading down from the spectator's area. Those stairs led to a hallway that would take them to the exit, the small infirmary, the locker room, or the combat area. The doors separating the hallway from the combat area were heavily reinforced and were designed to remain shut if a fight was ongoing.

The hard-light wall, and the door's lock were linked to one another. The moment the facilitating teacher activated one, the other would activate as well. There were, of course, many safeguards to prevent accidents, and even more redundancies should something fail.

One might think that the multitude of precautions was more than just bit redundant. But when one considers that they were in a school for training Huntsmen and Huntresses, and that the Combat class allowed, and actually encouraged, the full use of one's weaponry, it simply made sense to be as cautious as possible. Even the small infirmary in the building was fully staffed and equipped for even a major surgical operation. Though thankfully that little precaution had never been needed since the day it came to be.

It was true that the students all had Aura to protect them but it was always better to play things safe, especially when it concerns a life.

As the two combatants stood opposite one another, Glynda Goodwitch standing off to one side while reiterating the rules to ensure there were no misunderstandings, Ren couldn't help but watch his team leader with worry. Outwardly, Akihiko seemed well. His body was relaxed but alert and his grin showed that he was looking forward to his first fight in their Combat class.

But it was quite a significant change from how he had been just before his name was called. Not two minutes ago he was only half paying attention, half lost in his own thoughts. Then, the moment he learned he was going to be fighting, his entire demeanor changed into the battle-ready fighter now standing in front of their entire year.

It had been completely unexpected, even for SEES. They had intended to listen to the music that their friend once listened to as a way to remember him by. Aigis had kept it a secret to all but one so as to surprise them all. That was all. Nobody had expected that it would result in all of them breaking down the way they did.

Even after it ended, SEES had held on to each other, tears flowing liberally down their faces, their sobs and cries unrestrained. They hadn't been able to help at all. They just sat there, watching their newfound friends with worry. No matter what they thought they could have done, nothing felt right.

Asking them how they were feeling would have been stupid. Physically comforting them would have been intrusive as they did not know each other that well. Verbal comfort at that time felt insincere, mere words without any real feelings whatsoever as they could not even begin to understand the depths of their pain, only see the surface that they had been allowed to glimpse at that moment. And leaving the room altogether, even if the intent was to give them privacy, was out of the question.

So all they could do was watch. Watch as their friends broke down and shut down, completely ignoring everything around them save for the one in their embrace. The only ones with even a modicum of composure were Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Chidori. But even then, anyone could see that they were simply holding themselves back.

Did they, perhaps, not feel as much as everyone else regarding what had happened? No, that was completely wrong. Rather, that was an impossibility given what little they knew of SEES. Whatever their reasons for reigning in their emotions rather than giving in like the rest, it was not something along the lines of insensitivity or apathy. Perhaps they simply felt they needed to be strong for those who had given in to their emotions.

Professor Goddwitch glanced at both teens. "Are there any questions before we begin?" It was only the third match of the day. And considering that their first two Combat classes had been spend testing the limits of their physical abilities through various exercises, this would also count as their third match as a whole. As such, Glynda had to ensure that the fighters _and_ the spectators are constantly reminded of the rules. More than a few in the past had, after all, claimed ignorance when they had stepped out of bounds just to win a fight.

"Yeah, I've got one. What's with that guy's Aura?"

The question had come not from one of the fighters, but one of the spectators. Understandable since neither fighter could see the screen displaying their Aura levels as it was directly above them. Turning to where the spectators were seated, her eyes met that of Cardin Winchester's, leader of Team CRDL. The same team that Russell Thrush, one of two combatants about to fight, was a part of.

Knowing what that the burly boy was talking about, Glynda glanced discreetly at Akihiko, who returned the look with a small, nearly imperceptible, nod. "This year, we have several students who do not possess an active Aura." As expected, her words caused quite a stir among the first-years. Only those who were already aware remained silent. "The reason why is something you will have to ask them yourselves. Regardless, however, they all passed the initiation, meaning they are just as capable as the rest of you."

"So how's this gonna work then?" asked Russel as he looked Akihiko up and down several time. Akihiko did the same though his eyes only passed over the other boy's form once. With a light green Mohawk surrounded by a bed of freshly shaven hair, a green, hooded sweater with its sleeves torn off, and a spiked pauldron on his left shoulder, Akihiko's only thought was that the boy's appearance was more fitting for a member of a street gang rather than a Huntsman. "If you ain't got Aura how do we know when the fight's over? When you're dead?"

Russel, along with his team and a few others, laughed at his joke, morbid as it was, while others just frowned at the tastelessness. One person, however, grinned. And the moment Russel saw the grin, his laughter faded and an uneasy look appeared on his face.

Akihiko saw this and his grin only grew more manic in appearance. "What's wrong all of a sudden?" The dark undertones of his voice carried past the barriers and even a few spectators grew uneasy at the sudden change in his demeanor. "Well, if you don't have the guts for a death-match then I guess we'll just settle for first-blood."

Glynda frowned at Akihiko's statement but said nothing. He had neither proposed nor decided on using death as an end to the spar after all, merely used the other boy's words against him. As to his declaration of losing if his opponent managed to draw blood, well that was something she had been ready for. After all, she had been the one to pull SEES asides after their first class with her to discuss the rules of engagement they would be using when they fought in her class. For SEES, it was all or nothing.

Because of the danger involved, they all agreed on that one simple rule. The moment a member of SEES received a solid blow, the match would be considered over. For a while, their teammates argued, saying that it wasn't fair. Not only did SEES not have Aura, but they were also physically inferior. A single hit would not give them much chance to fight back.

Some took their teammates' words poorly and had more or less shut them up, basically telling them that it was fine. Mitsuru, after calming down the more irate members, explained that it was something they had already decided upon after a long discussion with one another even before coming to Beacon.

"Have faith in us as your teammates," she had said.

And now, they would all see whether that faith was misplaced or not.

"H-Hey, you kiddin' me?" asked Russel, glancing over at Glynda for confirmation.

"What he says is not inaccurate," she replied. "To be precise, all you would need to win is to deliver a single, solid blow. Whether it is a punch, a kick, or even a cut with your daggers. Know, however, that I will not tolerate any attacks meant to kill." The sudden shift in her tone let everyone know how serious she was. "You are aware that your opponent does not have Aura, just as they are aware of their own disadvantages. They are aware that accidents happen and are prepared to face such. But if you…"

She paused and looked around the room to let everyone know that she was addressing them all. "If _any_ of you display even the slightest hint that you had intended to kill your opponent, or even purposely deliver a needlessly cruel attack, then you _will_ be held responsible."

This added restriction, even if it shouldn't have to be mentioned out loud, was all she could do to tilt the scales slightly in SEES's favor. Every student here had trained to kill Grimm, and are thus trained to kill as swiftly as possible. Even in training, few held back because their opponents all had Aura to protect them from most forms of damage. As a result, most of them would have difficulty adjusting to having to fight against an opponent without Aura.

' _I suppose this could be a good lesson in its own way,'_ she thought as she examined each of her students' expressions, making note of those who seemed willing to test how far they could bend that rule. _'Not every mission leads to a fight against Grimm or criminals who can use Aura and Semblance after all. I'll have to see if a lesson like this could be incorporated into the standard curriculum in the future.'_

Nobody dared to argue with her, not with the stern glare she was giving them all. Satisfied, her glare softened into her normal stern expression as she turned to the two combatants. "Now, I believe we've wasted enough time. Are you both ready?"

Russel drew his daggers just as Akihiko fell into a boxing stance, his right hand in front. Glynda tapped something on her Scroll and the lights were shut off, a single, wide-beamed spotlight illuminating the entire combat area. The hard-light wall went up around the circular platform just as Glynda called out, "Begin!"

Immediately, Russel went on the offensive, dashing straight for Akihiko. Once his opponent was within range, his daggers struck. Metal rang against metal as Akihiko deflected the daggers with the steel plates on the back of his gloves. Again, Russel struck. And again, Akihiko knocked them off-course.

Watching from above, the Aura-users of teams KYBT, ASYR, JACN, and ANKR looked on with a bit of worry. They knew Akihiko was good in a fight. Alongside Mitsuru, he had the most combat experience among SEES. But they could see how seriously Russel was fighting. He was still holding back, that much was certain given Goodwitch's added restrictions, but even so, the speed he displayed was already a step above what Akihiko was displaying.

The boxer was doing well enough but he had yet to attack, prioritizing defense due to his lack of Aura as well as the conditions for his loss. But as the fight went on, they could see his movements starting to slow down ever so slightly. It was to be expected. He was a seasoned fighter but at the rate that Russel was attacking, he hadn't had a chance to relax even a little bit.

Russel easily picked up on this and pushed even harder, his daggers coming in faster and faster as Akihiko stepped back more and more, fists frantically flying around him to block the daggers. With the increase in the attack's intensity, it was only a matter of time before the match ended. And soon enough, the opportunity to do so presented itself.

Russel's eyes narrowed as he spotted a small opening in Akihiko's guard right after he had blocked an attack. He grinned victoriously as his dagger cut through the air towards Akihiko's right arm. He would have aimed for the body, but Goodwitch's warning rang clearly in his ears and there were more than a few vital organs that could be struck, even by accident, if his opponent reacted poorly. Still, the arm was a good enough target since a single blow was all that was needed. _'This'll teach him not to be so cocky.'_

So focused was he on his impending victory that he failed to notice the equally victorious grin on Akihiko's face. Faster than the dagger-wielding boy could react, Akihiko's right hand backhanded his left wrist, moving faster than Akihiko had shown to be capable of. The impact caused Russel to cry out and lose hold of the dagger, sending it flying off to the side.

Shocked by the swift reversal, he was unable to react when Akihiko's dominant left hand flew towards his face in a powerful cross, the studded metal plate on the back of the glove striking the right side of his jaw. As useful as Aura was in that it prevented blades and bullets from drawing blood, it was little to no help when faced with concussive force. A fact that Akihiko was very much aware of and took advantage of.

The blow sent him stumbling back a few steps, his right hand, still holding his other dagger, rose up instinctively to cradle the side of his jaw. Akihiko didn't let the opportunity slip. Even as Russel stumbled away, Akihiko stepped forward and delivered a quick jab to the other side of the boy's face with his right fist.

The force of the blow was controlled, honed by years of boxing experience. Enough to be felt and disorient, but not enough to knock him back more than a single step, if even that much. Perfect for allowing follow-ups. And seeing the boy react in the exact same manner as many others before him, Akihiko knew that Aura did little to dull the pain.

Once, twice, thrice, several times Akihiko right shot back and forth like a piston, causing Russel's head to jerk back with each hit, sometimes taking a single step backwards. He continued to stumble away, but the shock factor of Akihiko's counterattack had yet to wear off so the silver-haired boxer had little trouble following after him. The continuous hits, despite their lack of power, continued to rattle and distract him. And when he regained enough presence of mind to raise his empty left hand up in a feeble attempt to ward off Akihiko's repeatedly punching right hand, the boxer grinned and made his next move.

Akihiko suddenly crouched and delivered a heavy right-hand blow to Russel's midsection, causing the boy to curl around the boxer's fist, air evacuating his lungs. Even as Akihiko pulled his right arm out of his abdomen, the left was already cocked back. With a loud shout, his left connected with Russel's chin in a vicious rising uppercut, the power of the blow increased as Akihiko swiftly rose from his crouch, almost leaping off the ground, and sending his opponent flying.

The buzzer sounded even before Russel landed on his back, the sensors registering that the boy had been completely knocked out by the final blow. At the end of the first two matches, there was some light applause from the students. This time, the crowd was completely silent. Looking down at her Scroll, Glynda could certainly understand why.

Despite being knocked out, Russel's Aura meter had not even gone below seventy percent. The students had probably never once considered the possibility that someone could be knocked out or beaten while their Aura was still at such a high level. It was rare, especially in a straight fight, but Glynda had heard of it happening before. And now, she was seeing it happen with her very own eyes, performed in front of her by a nineteen-year-old who did not even have Aura.

It was a good thing recordings were made so that both the students and the teachers could review them in the future. This would be a good fight to show the other classes as well as future students.

"And that's the match," she announced, dispelling most of the shock that the students were undoubtedly experiencing. "As you can see, it _is_ possible to defeat someone without having to first deplete their Aura. So let this be a lesson to you all. Having Aura does not mean you are invincible until it runs out. And not having Aura does not mean someone is weak."

Later that day, news had gotten around to nearly the entire school about how a nineteen-year-old first-year student with no Aura knocked out his sparring partner, who had not only failed to hit his opponent but also had more than half his Aura left when he had gotten knocked out.

And over the next two days, more news of first-years whose Aura was not unlocked spread as they emerged victorious in their own spars. And while none of them had managed to knock out their opponents, all of them, even the twelve-year-old who had somehow gotten into Beacon, had won without a single scratch.

* * *

 **September 18, XX13**

First-years had five main classes. Grimm Studies, History, Social Studies, Local Geography, and, of course, Combat.

Grimm Studies was self-explanatory, both in nature and in importance. After all, the Creatures of the Grimm were enemies of all living things. And Huntsmen and Huntresses were trained mainly to battle these creatures. To properly do so, a thorough understanding of the various types of Grimm and their known qualities and behavior would be valuable, if not outright indispensable.

History gave the students a background into recent events and ties in with their Social Studies class. As future Huntsmen and Huntresses, they would be traveling all over Remnant on various missions. But not all their missions would lead to battle against the Grimm. At times combat may not even be involved at all.

More importantly, they would be dealing with people from all walks of life. Knowledge of what led to events as they were, as well as how they affected the people in an area, would help them communicate better with the people they meet as well as foster understanding with such people. And if they were inspired to create a better future than the past they had learned about, then all the better.

Local Geography was, as its name implied, a class that focused on educating their students on everything to do with the land of Vale. From the shape of the entire kingdom, to the various flora and fauna found in any given area, to the locations of various bodies of water, and even the weather patterns across the kingdom. As long as it had even the slightest bit to do with the land, it would be covered.

Since missions assigned to the first-years in later months were limited to those within the Kingdom of Vale, such a class was invaluable should their missions take them out past the walls of Vale. Of course, most missions for first-years are kept within a certain distance of Vale. Few missions past that distance would be assigned to a first-year team, regardless of who their escort was and how strong the team was. Only second-years and above were permitted to accept missions beyond that radius, though second-years were still escorted by a Huntsman.

With proper knowledge of the surrounding area, one could survive far longer than someone who had no idea which plants were edible, or which place was best for a campsite. At times, a geographical advantage proved the difference between success and failure while fighting the Grimm. All in all, it was a class that not only prepared them for the wilderness of Vale, but it was also a class that prepared them for their Survival class in their second year, which, as the name implied, would focus on teaching them how to survive for extended periods of time with limited resources using that knowledge they had gained.

Combat class was, of course, the staple of every year level. It was here where their skills were honed under the watchful eye of a skilled Huntsman or Huntress. Some may argue that fighting against fellow Huntsmen and Huntresses would do little to prepare them for the Grimm. But those people forget that most Grimm are mindless, incapable of striking intelligently. Humans and faunus, on the other hand, are more than capable of examining and dissecting another's fighting style, finding one's weaknesses and then exploiting it to achieve victory, all within the same battle. Thus it could be argued that another person was a more dangerous opponent than a Grimm, especially in a one-on-one situation.

If a student could refine their skills to the point where they could cover most, if not all, of their own weaknesses, and could work with their team to avoid exposing any other weaknesses, then the Grimm would stand little chance of succeeding where more intelligent foes have failed. Theoretically anyway.

After all, few teams, especially first-years, could stand up against a rampaging herd of Goliaths, or hundreds of Beowolves and Beowolf Alphas, regardless of how skilled they were. But even so, a proper mastery of one's fighting style minimized the opportunity for an opponent to strike them down due to a careless mistake born of inexperience.

Those five classes were held on the weekdays. Grimm Studies and Geography on Mondays and Wednesdays, History and Social Studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Combat class every day as their last class of the day. It was also the only class they had on Fridays. Saturdays were left open for their electives, much to the dismay of some. Many mumbled prayers could be heard, praying that their choice of elective did not intrude upon their weekends.

And speaking of the electives, the students would soon be receiving their updated schedules once the electives were added beginning the next week. Many wondered how the classes would be scheduled seeing as they spend four days each week attending class from nine in the morning until six in the evening, with Combat being the only exception on Fridays.

Not everyone though. Others had worries far more troublesome than a simple class schedule.

* * *

The members of SEES have recovered, somewhat, but save for Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Chidori, everyone still showed signs of their breakdown. A lack of appetite, a general lack of focus, difficulty sleeping, and a lack of interest in social interaction were some of the things they had displayed over the past six days.

The two seniors were affected, there was no doubt about that. It was simply that they were better at hiding it and managing their emotions in general.

Chidori was different in that she had not truly known Minato. According to her, she had seen him a few times but had only spoken to him directly once, and that had been when she had been hospitalized for some time. Even then, their conversation had been brief and mostly insignificant. That was as much as she had shared with them, and nobody wanted to try and ask why it was that she was close to the rest of SEES but not to Minato.

The symptoms had abated over the week, but it would be a long time before they were back to their old selves. The only time that their focus returned in full was during Combat class, specifically when they were the ones called on to fight. It was as though a switch was flipped when their names were called to participate. But the moment the fight ended, the sharpness in their movements would fade and their eyes would gain that hollow quality that only the two seniors and Chidori lacked.

"Try not to worry about it too much," Akihiko had said to everyone else after noting how worried they were for their teammates. "Mitsuru and I expected this. We just didn't expect it to happen so soon, or that a song, of all things, would trigger it. For now, the best you can do is be there for them when we can't. Help them get through the next two weeks. Everything should be ready a little after the end of the month."

Neither he nor Mitsuru explained what 'everything' was or why it would take a little over two weeks to prepare. But if it would help SEES recover, they, as their teammates, would do what they could to help them make it that far.

The biggest problem was Team ASYR. Yukari had Mitsuru on her team to support her. Ken had Akihiko, and Junpei had Chidori. And although Mitsuru and Akihiko also had their own moments of distraction, they were far and few in between and had the rest of their team to pick up the slack when necessary. But with those three pairs formed, that left Aigis and Fuuka.

Neither one was in a position to properly support the other. And though she was an android, Aigis had displayed a shocking degree of emotion that night, openly weeping just like the others. Even the tears that had somehow begun to flow down her face had caught them off guard as they did not expect that to be possible.

Ruby tried her best to be supportive. But since she had always been the younger sibling, and was now the youngest on the team, she had little experience in cheering up people. Weiss was of little help, especially when Aigis was concerned. Even when she had tried to comfort Fuuka, her words lacked the sincerity and understanding needed, resulting in the teal-haired girl smiling gratefully at the effort but looking no better.

During dinner one night, Ruby remembered something that Aigis told her once and brought it up just as they were finishing their dinner. A number of emotions passed through Aigis's face when Ruby asked her question but the one that lingered at the end was shame. She had only seen it for a second before Aigis suddenly stood, startling several of them, and fled from the dining hall.

"Don't!" Ruby had been about to chase after her when Fuuka shouted. Her shout drew attention, even from those seated at the other tables. She drew in on herself a bit but soon refocused her attention towards her silver-eyed teammate, her tone and volume returning to normal as she spoke. "Out of all of us, I'm sure that Aigis is the one hurting the most. It's true that Aigis could shut off her emotional systems but she hasn't, not even once, despite the pain she must be feeling. Please, try to consider what that means."

Nobody saw Aigis afterwards. Even when they were settling in for the night, no one from either of the four teams knew where she was nor did Aigis contact any of them. Come morning, however, she was back in their room, sitting on her bed, wearing her uniform and ready for the day. Nobody knew when she had come in, if she had gotten any sleep, or if she had even changed her clothes from the day before. But asides from that, it was as though she had never left.

Their classes proceeded normally from that point. At least, as normal as it could all things considered. SEES did their best to pay attention in class but after the first few days, it was clear that only Mitsuru, Akihiko and Chidori could properly function for extended periods of time but even the two seniors lost focus after a little more than half an hour into the lesson. The rest could force themselves for a few minutes before their emotions began to drag them down.

Their teammates did their best to support those who were having trouble focusing but even that could only do so much. The first week was easy since all they did, save for Combat class, was recap what they were already expected to know.

The next week, however, brought two problems with it. The first was that they would start covering new topics, topics that most of SEES were unfamiliar with. The second was the start of their elective classes. Few of them shared an elective with another member of their group. They would still be evaluated and graded in those classes so SEES would be, for the most part, on their own during that time. Hopefully they could focus enough to avoid getting into trouble until whatever it was Mitsuru and Akihiko were planning could be put into action.

For now, however, there were more urgent matters that needed to be addressed. Even if not all of them were aware of it.

* * *

 **September 19, XX13**

"I see. You certainly have some interesting teammates, Weiss."

Staring at her through one of the CCT's intercontinental communication terminals was the stern visage of Winter Schnee, Weiss's elder sister. One glimpse would be enough to let anyone know of their relation. Beyond the snow-white hair and ice-blue eyes they shared, their faces shared enough similarities that anyone could easily come to the conclusion that they were sisters, or cousins at the very least.

Winter Schnee was a Specialist in the Atlas Military, a branch of the military formed from those who had graduated from Atlas's Huntsman academy, aptly and simply called Atlas Academy. Their branch was a highly controversial topic. Then again, so was the fact that Atlas's military and government were essentially one and the same, and that General James Ironwood of the Atlas Military also served as headmaster of Atlas Academy, which also existed as part of the government, hence the military.

When Huntsmen and Huntresses were first created after the end of the Great War eighty years ago, they were allowed to be free to serve whoever they wished. They owed no single kingdom, no single ruling body, their loyalty. The closest that could be called any form of allegiance was the fact that the Grimm were their enemies. In that way, it could be said that Huntsmen and Huntresses served the people of Remnant. But even that could be contested by pointing out the more unscrupulous individuals among the ranks of the Huntsmen.

Still, the fact remained that the Atlas Military actively recruited from graduates of their own academy – some have even been said to have been pressured into joining. While the Atlesian populace mostly saw their military in a positive light, the same could not be said of the other kingdoms.

Admittedly, having an active military composed of mostly androids as a means of fighting the Grimm ensured less people were killed. But many people also saw their actions as blatant disrespect, and sometime disregard, for the rights of Huntsmen and Huntresses. There were times when the Atlesian military was known to accept requests for Huntsmen from outside their kingdom. And though they claimed that they had accepted the request due to the high level of danger as a means to prevent the possible death of a Huntsman, very few people outside of Atlas saw it as benevolence.

In response, the military started sending their Special Operatives Unit on those missions, stating that as graduates of a Huntsman academy they, too, had a right to accept those missions if they so wished. The complaints died down after that, but that did nothing to change their perception of the military. If anything, their standing with the Huntsmen and Huntresses of the other three kingdoms sank deeper into the abyss as the decades passed.

"Still, I'm curious" continued Winter. "Why not simply introduce your teammate to us? Would that not be more efficient than you learning from our staff and passing on that information to her?"

"For now I just want to understand what it is she does," explain Weiss, reciting the excuses she had come up with over the past week while waiting for Winter to respond to her previous missive. "What she is working on is beyond my comprehension and I do not wish to bother her by having her teach me the basics."

"And so you wanted to see if I could assist you." Weiss nodded at her sister's deduction. "Still, I believe it would be better to refer her to us directly. After all, if her research proved to be beneficial she could receive backing from Atlas in terms of funding and materials."

"I don't want to pressure her too much. Not now anyway. Classes have just begun and she is still recovering from the destruction of her home." Thankfully she had not needed to lie about that. Winter knew her well after all. Outright lies would be easily noticed. Misdirection and half-truths were the best for the moment though she still had to be careful. "Moreover, she already has a backer. Not on the level of Atlas's military of course, but her backer is a good friend of hers. I don't believe she will abandon them just because of a better offer."

That was partially true. They had mentioned that Aigis was created by a branch of the Kirijo Group. And Mitsuru was the heiress of the group. Though the company no longer existed, Winter did not need to know that. Not now at least.

"I see, commendable." Left unsaid was that it was not a pragmatic choice. After all, who would turn down financial and material support from the military, which also happened to be the governing body of its kingdom? "So I assume your plan is to learn from us and show her that it would be more beneficial if she were to come to us, is that it?"

No, that wasn't it, Weiss thought. But considering her sister had already assumed that much, it would be difficult to explain what it was she truly wanted to do with the information she learned. Best to go along with it than risk further questioning. "Y-Yes. How-"

"Did I know?" finished Winter, chuckling at what Weiss hoped was a convincingly surprised expression on her face. "You forget that, before I entered Atlas or joined the military, I was the one father had groomed as his heir. I may have left that life but that does not mean I have forgotten what I learned."

No, Weiss definitely did not forget. After all, that was why… Weiss shook those thoughts out of her head before they could form. Now was not the time for that especially since Winter was still speaking.

"I do not know whether my superiors will allow it but I suppose there would be no harm in asking. Not to worry, I will leave out your name for the moment though I will have to explain at some point."

"That's fine, thank you." And she meant it. The less they knew about those involved the better. That way she minimized the risk of the military getting directly involved. At least until after she finished her research. Then, perhaps, she would decide one way or another what to do.

The two spoke about less consequential things afterwards. Thankfully no one else was in the CCT's communications level that early in the morning. As much as she loved her sister, and even the way she doted on her at times, that was not something she wanted others to see, a sentiment that Winter shared.

Weiss waited for one of the elevators to reach her level, ready to return to the dorms and take care of any homework she had not finished the day before. Afterwards, she would look into some material that Winter sent her. It might be outdated, compared to what Atlas was producing these days anyway, but it would give her some basic information in the field of robotics that would serve as a decent foundation should she be allowed to speak with one of their engineers or programmers.

The tone signaling the arrival of the elevator sounded. She took a step forward, ready to enter, when she caught sight of who was about to exit. "Mitsuru? Why are you here?"

Walking out of the elevator was none other than the former Kirijo heiress, dressed in the same coat and pants she wore the time they went to Vale. In her hand was the crimson Rotulus model, a message displayed on the tiny screen. Mitsuru looked up when her name was called and her face lit up in recognition when she saw the white-haired girl.

"Ah, good morning Weiss," Mitsuru greeted with a smile. Instantly Weiss felt a small blush creeping up onto her face as she realized how rude she must have sounded. "I'm here to make a call to the Adamas Corporation. I received a message earlier this week asking to contact them any time this morning."

The name of Mistral's largest corporation, as well as the one responsible for producing most of Remnant's Scrolls and other various bits and pieces of technology used in everyday life, caught Weiss's attention immediately. She wondered why they would be contacting Mitsuru. Did it have something to do with the Scrolls they received?

Her curiosity must have shown despite her efforts not to let it show, or perhaps Mitsuru was simply that observant, because Mitsuru chuckled. "You're welcome to come along if you're curious. They never said I would have to be alone but I'll have to ask that you remain off-screen regardless."

Weiss accepted the offer of course. It was an opportunity she couldn't afford to ignore. Afterwards she might even be able to spend a bit more time with her fellow heiress. Though she clearly did not need as much support as the others, she would surely appreciate having someone to lean on now and then. And if she could later be one of the first people she went to in times of trouble then all the better.

After informing the holographic AI of their intent – the sight of which had left Mitsuru slightly stunned – the two were soon in front of another communication terminal. Mitsuru took a seat in front of the screen while Weiss stood off to the side as agreed. She would be close enough to listen while not being visible on screen. She would just have to remain silent to avoid being discovered.

Soon, the call connected and a blue-haired young woman appeared on the screen with Adamas's black diamond logo visible behind her. "Good morning and thank you for calling the Adamas Corporation. How may I help you today?"

"Good morning," greeted Mitsuru. From where Weiss was standing, she could see the smile on Mitsuru's face. It looked completely natural on her face. Even Weiss couldn't find any hint that it was just a show of politeness and amiability. She wondered how much time Mitsuru spent practicing to master such a smile. "I'm Mitsuru Kirijo. I received a message the other day asking me to call."

As soon as Mitsuru mentioned her name, the woman on the other side of the call had already glanced to the right, seemingly searching for something. "Ah yes, here we are," she declared after a moment. "Please give me a moment while I redirect your call. Thank you for calling and have a nice day."

"Thank you, and you as well."

The call was cut-off at that moment but immediately returned. This time, Mitsuru was met by an older woman dressed in a black business suit with short black hair in a page-cut and a stern face. Sharp, angular eyeglasses added to her already stern features but the neutral expression on her lips told Mitsuru that the woman's stern expression was not something she put up on purpose. Not now anyway. "Good morning. Ms. Kirijo, I presume?"

"That would be me, yes."

"You called at a good time. Director Claire should be free for the next hour or so before her first meeting of the day. Please give me a moment while I inform her."

"Of course. If I may, why I was asked to call? I don't believe something like this is normal for a shareholder."

Weiss had to hide her surprise at what she had just heard. As a business partner to the Schnee Dust Company, many key personnel within Adamas were well-known to the SDC. Even she had been briefed as to key personnel to familiarize herself with since she regularly accompanied her father to business meetings and such. And now one of those people had just requested to meet with Mitsuru, who… just so happened to be one of their company's shareholders?

When did that even happen? More importantly, they had mentioned that the money they had was worthless outside of Japan. So how had Mitsuru been able to afford those shares? The prices of Adamas's shares were second only to the SDC's own. And the only reason that the SDC's was worth more was because Dust was a far more profitable business venture than Adamas's technological developments, despite the latter's broader business coverage. After all, Dust was used to combat the Grimm. And as useful as Adamas's technology was, few of what they produced were useful against the Grimm.

There was clearly more to Mitsuru than she had first thought if she had been able to gather resources and form such connections within a short amount of time.

"I am unaware of the specific reasons for the summons," replied the secretary. "I do know, however, that it has something to do with that strange woman who often met with the Director."

"Strange… woman?" A thoughtful look appeared on Mitsuru's face. "Would this woman happen to have short, white hair, a pale complexion, and wearing a sleeveless dress, gloves, a cap, and knee-length boots, all in shades of blue?"

Recognition shone in the woman's eyes even before Mitsuru finished describing the eccentric woman. "Yes. Am I correct in my assumptions that you are an acquaintance of hers?"

"Yes, I am. My friends and I owe her much for her aid in recent times."

"I see. In that case, I believe that-" her words were cut-off by a sharp chime on her end. "Pardon me for a moment." Glancing at something off-screen, the secretary nodded before turning back to Mitsuru. "It seems we need not speculate any longer. The Director will meet you now. Have a nice day, Ms. Kirijo."

"Thank you. And you as well."

The secretary's visage was then replaced by another, presumably the Director who had asked to meet with Mitsuru. She was an older woman, possibly in her forties. Her graying brown hair was tied in a bun and her face showed a few signs of wrinkles. But her expression was more relaxed, more welcoming than her secretary's.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to finally meet you Ms. Kirijo," greeted the woman, a smile blooming on her face. "I'd shake your hand but I don't believe we have the technology to do that just yet."

Mitsuru chuckled at the small joke. "The pleasure is all mine, Director."

There was a searching look on the woman's face as Mitsuru spoke and even afterwards. Eventually, she nodded as though satisfied by what she found. "Elizabeth was correct, there is something about you that makes it hard to mistake anyone else for you."

"Oh?"

The Director waved it off. "It's nothing to worry about. Rest assured, she had nothing but good things to say about you and your friends." Inwardly, that wasn't what worried Mitsuru but she was grateful nonetheless. "Now then, as much as I would like to get to know you know better I do have to meet with the various departments under me in about an hour so we'll have to cut straight to the point for the moment."

"That's fine. I have some business to attend to as well later on so I understand."

"Good, good. We can arrange for a longer meeting at a later time. Perhaps you can even come to the labs at some point. I believe Beacon students have a two-week break near the end of the year."

"The… labs?"

It was only then that Mitsuru actually noticed the Director's clothing. Rather than a business suit, the woman was wearing what seemed to be a white lab coat over a navy blue button-up shirt. "Ah, my apologies. I had assumed you were aware of why I asked to meet. Allow me to properly introduce myself. Claire Bernard, Adamas Corporation's Director of Research and Development."

A look of understanding passed over Mitsuru's face as Claire made her position known. "To start things off, how are the Scrolls we sent you? Elizabeth mentioned that there were no Scrolls where you were from. I imagine the level of technology of the rest of Remnant must have come as quite a shock to you."

"Shocked would be quite an understatement," Mitsuru replied with a short laugh. "We have nothing that even comes close to this level of technology. Even this… terminal I'm using is beyond anything I've ever seen prior to my arrival in Vale. As for the Scrolls all I can say is that they've been quite helpful. I can't say more since I have no prior experience to compare them with."

"Oh no, that's fine. I just wanted to make sure they were working as intended since we hadn't exactly planned on producing more at this time." Mitsuru's expression showed her confusion at Claire's statement. "I don't know if you've heard but so far we've only released one hundred of the Rotulus models. That one hundred, given to various people within and connected to Adamas, was both a gift, and a test to see how well they worked. The eight you have were actually produced _after_ the first hundred were released, made with the data received from the test batch."

It barely took Mitsuru two seconds to put the facts together. "I suppose that Elizabeth-san had something to do with that."

"You'd assume correctly. She came to Adamas one day and met with Elmas, the CEO. Don't ask me how she pulled that off," Claire added quickly when she saw the shocked look on Mitsuru's face. "All of a sudden there were orders to produce eight more Rotulus models, each one of a different color, as well as three custom-made weapons." At least Mitsuru finally had an answer as to where the weapons had come from. "And then there's the fact that during the next meeting two days later, all of us Directors found out that she voluntarily paid double the price, and in cash, on that same day."

By the look on Claire's face, it was most definitely something they were still having trouble believing. Mitsuru knew she'd likely be the same in such a situation.

The Director shook her head. "Anyway, I don't exactly know what else went on with her meeting with the CEO but a few days after that I was called to meet with her in person and in private, just the two of us. Turns out she had cut a deal with Elmas to borrow the R&D for a little project in exchange for funding the project as well as paying an additional fee since her project would draw personnel away from our own projects."

That certainly made Mitsuru curious. "What kind of project?" Elizabeth certainly didn't strike her as the scientific type. What kind of project could she have hired an entire research division for?

"She brought a strange object, said it come from your homeland, and gave it to us to study under the condition that anything we discover would be shared with you, and only you, unless you give us permission to do otherwise, and that we were only to study it unless, again, you give us permission to go beyond just studying it. So when your name entered our systems as a shareholder, Elmas informed me immediately and I made sure to keep my morning clear of any important business."

As interesting as that information was, something else that Claire mentioned had caught Mitsuru's interest. "A strange object?"

The R&D Director nodded slowly, a frown forming on her face. "I'll be honest, what we can do with it is limited by the fact that we specialize in technological research. What Elizabeth gave us seems to be some sort of Dust crystal, the likes of which we have never seen before."

"A… Crystal?" A thoughtful look appeared on Mitsuru's face for a moment before an idea popped into her head. "Tell me, what does it look like? Specifically, what color is it?"

"Like a luminous electric blue, perhaps a shade lighter? It's a little hard to describe to be honest," Claire responded with a bit of a frown, a look that was mirrored on Mitsuru's face. "Did you have some idea of what it is?"

"Maybe," she admitted. She raised her fist to her chin in a thinking position, trying to remember the crystals she saw in Iwatodai, in the room where SEES had been sealed away. "Electric blue you say," she murmured. She must have spoken louder than she thought since Claire nodded, a slightly hopeful look on her face. "Unfortunately the crystals I'm familiar with were a deep blue in color and gave off a pale blue light. And admittedly, I do not even know much about them. If I were ever to return to Iwatodai, or have the chance to do so, I will see about procuring a sample for comparison."

Claire nodded once more but the frown did not leave her aging face. "That would certainly be helpful. Though personally I think you should look into someone more capable of studying this. As I said, we specialize in technology rather than gems, minerals, and whatnot. Since you're using the CCT's communications room, I feel it would be best for me not to share any specific findings with you over an unsecure line, considering the conditions of the contract. What I can say is that the crystal bears some similarities with the Dust crystals we are all familiar with. Might I suggest transferring this task to the Schnee Dust Company in Atlas? I believe they should be more readily equipped to study something like this."

"No." Mitsuru's response was calm even though it had come swiftly. Even so, the response shocked Claire, who had frozen in surprise with her mouth slightly parted. Had Mitsuru looked to the side, she would have caught the brief expression of utter shock on Weiss's face at how swiftly her family's company had been turned down.

"With the resources she had, Elizabeth-san would have brought it to them in the first place had she wanted to." Mitsuru's expression was locked into one of firm resolve. Her tone reflected the shift in her demeanor but remained calm and polite. "I have not known her for very long but, despite her eccentricities, she is not one to act foolishly. If she gave it to you to study then I believe it would be best to leave it in your care for the moment."

Then her expression softened, and the Mitsuru that had led Kirijo Group for just shy of a quarter of a year was gone. "However, I do understand your concerns regarding your limited capabilities. Though my own resources are limited, I will see what I can do in that regard but for the moment please continue studying it as she asked. If you feel that there is nothing more you can learn then by all means, minimize the number studying it or even suspend your observations entirely, and return to work on the company's own projects."

"I see." Claire looked amused by Mitsuru's response, more so when the young woman gave her permission to abandon the study entirely if it proved fruitless. "Very well, I'll let the team handling it know. As to the preliminary results, do we wait until you can find the time to visit us, or would you like us to provide a secure method to send it to you in some way?"

"Let's wait on that for now," Mitsuru suggested with a shake of her head. "There are some things I have to deal with at the moment that require my full attention so I won't be able to review the findings either way. If need be, should I contact you in the same way?"

"Of course not," Claire responded with amusement. "I'll have my secretary forward my office's contact details to you. Understandably, I won't be able to answer every call that comes my way but this way you can let me know if something comes up. Similarly, we already have your Scroll number so we can send you a notice if anything similarly noteworthy comes up on our end."

Mitsuru gave the woman a respectful nod in gratitude. "Thank you. I'd appreciate that."

The Director returned the gesture. "For the moment that was all I needed to tell you. One last thing though. Please let us know what you think of the weapons we made. It's rare that someone avails of the company's services to create a weapon since most Huntsmen and Huntresses create their own so we want to know how well they turned out. And if something is off, we do offer free tune-ups and minor adjustments since we were the ones to create it."

"I'll speak with my friends about it and send you a response as soon as I am able."

"Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Kirijo. Have a good day."

"And you as well, Director."

The two had time to exchange brief but pleasant smiles before the feed was cut. With her business finished, Mitsuru stood and turned to face Weiss only to find her deep in thought. "Weiss? Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" Mitsuru's voice shook Weiss out of her thoughts and she barely remembered where she was. "Oh… I-I'm sorry. I was thinking about something."

"I could see that," Mitsuru replied with a chuckle. "Well, shall we go? I'm sure you have other things planned for the day."

"I do, yes."

The two proceeded to the elevator and descended the building in silence. They parted ways outside of the CCT after a few words of farewell, Weiss's original plan to join or invite Mitsuru to spend more time with the red-haired young woman abandoned in lieu of more important pursuits.

As she walked back towards the dorm, Weiss was deep in thought about the things she had just learned. But the one thought at the forefront of her mind was the description of the woman who had helped Mitsuru and her friends. A white-haired woman with pale skin.

* * *

The repairs of the club were going fairly well. If things continued to proceed as scheduled they would be able to reopen in two weeks. Maybe even less if they were lucky, which Junior hoped they would be for once.

Dressed in a simple long-sleeved dress shirt and black pants, Junior watched over the workers like a hawk, circling around the entire work area as though seeking out the slightest mistake to prey upon. Thus far the day had been going fairly well. The workers arrived a little earlier than normal and had not made any mistakes, even minor ones.

His other business was going just as well. Every man he had hired out the past week had reported in without incident and his informants had gotten back to him sooner than expected with various bits and pieces of information he and his various clients needed or wanted to know.

Unfortunately, that meant just one thing.

"Yo! How's it going little big bear?"

The large man resisted the urge to sigh. _'And there's the catch.'_ Turning to face the direction of the door, he soon came face-to-face with the same young man he had met a week ago. In fact, thinking about it, he had come in with that other woman at about the same time last week. Was there some meaning behind that? Another sigh bubbled up in him as Thantos approached. And he had managed to completely forget about the annoying young man too.

"Don't call me that," he responded sharply. Not even there for a minute and he was already pissed off. Was there something about him that attracted annoying people? Even without Thantos and Roman, he was acquainted with well over a dozen people who seemed to enjoy pushing his buttons and causing his blood pressure to rise. The worst part was that he could not refuse their business as they were, strangely enough, some of his best paying clients.

"Aw, come on, lighten up Junior." The red-haired, grinning young man attempted to place his arm around Junior's shoulders but the height difference and a quick shrug brought that idea to a swift end. "If you keep frowning so much you'll have wrinkles before you even hit thirty."

"I'm thirty-six," he growled out slowly through clenched teeth.

"Really?" The bodyguard's eyes widened enough that Junior saw the top of his eyes rise over the sunglasses he wore, though not enough to see his irises. "No way! You don't look a day over forty!"

"OF COURSE I DON'T! I'M-" Junior quickly cut himself off, taking as deep a breath as he could before slowly letting it out. "Look," he began, speaking calmly but sharply. "Why the hell are you here? I don't have all the information that boss of yours wants just yet. Besides, she gave a month. I still have at least three weeks. You here to tell me she wants it now?"

"What? I can't come hang out with my favorite grumpy bear?" Junior frowned and growled at Thantos's playful response. "Okay, okay, I admit it. You're the only grumpy bear I know. So no need to be jealous of the other bears out there, alright?" The bear-like man's growl only increased in volume at his 'admission'. Seeing this, Thantos sighed, his grin fading away. He reached into his jacket's breast pocket and handed Junior a folded piece of paper. "Man, you really need to lighten up. But fine, let's talk business. Boss-lady's got a couple of other things she wanted you to check out and keep an eye out for."

"Tch, why'd she have to send you then?" Junior violently grabbed the proffered slip of paper and unfolded it, grumbling the entire time. The first item on the list caused his eyes to shoot open in shock, his hand unconsciously clenching tighter around the slip of paper. The other two items didn't make things any better.

"You alright there _Junior_?" The way Thantos said his name made it clear that he was not referring to him by name alone. But right now, the information broker couldn't care less. "You look like you're about to have a conniption or something."

"You might as well just give me a heart attack and get it over with!" Junior reversed his grip on the paper and thrust it towards the bodyguard's face, holding it up barely an inch away. "Is that boss of yours trying to get me killed?! Why not ask me to spy on the Vale Council while you're at it?!"

The bodyguard remained unfazed by Junior's explosive moment as he raised a hand to his chin and hummed in thought. "Let's see here, locate targets of opportunity that the White Fang may be interested in, locate White Fang bases within and near the vicinity of Vale, and identify any notable White Fang members within the same range." Thantos hummed louder, as though considering the requests. "Easy enough if you ask me. Just send in some of your faunus informants. If they're good they won't have any problems getting in good with the White Fang, will they?"

"I don't _have_ any faunus informants!" snapped Junior, whipping his arm to the side and throwing away the piece of paper, causing it to drift around. "Any faunus willing do underground work would rather join the White Fang than some human-run group."

All of a sudden Thantos lost all of his playful demeanor. His entire posture straightened up and, despite being more than half-a-foot shorter, seemed to be looking down on Junior. "Well, that's not _my_ problem now, is it?" Even the tone of his voice had changed, growing colder, much like Shade's. Cold enough that Junior shivered. "You know, you really should lighten up a bit. In case you haven't realized it yet, I was giving you a way to do your job. All you had to do was play along. If you were a good enough liar you might've even made me believe that you really _did_ have faunus informants working for you. But nooo, you get riled up so easily that you just react to every little thing that comes your way."

Thantos placed his hands behind him and started stalking around Junior, looking him up and down as though examining a new purchase. Or prey. Junior, for his part, could only stand there and let him do so. There was something about the man that just screamed 'danger' in large block letters. Extremely large letters. Painted in fresh blood.

"So instead, you come out looking like someone lacking common sense." The red-haired man scoffed, a humorless grin appearing on his face though he retained his cold tone. "How you've made it this far in this dark little world of ours is an absolute mystery. You don't even seem to have the street smarts one would expect of an underground information broker. I mean, really, do you actually try to intimidate everyone who comes in? What if you end up pissing off someone way more powerful than you are?" Left unsaid between the two was the fact that Thantos may very well be one of those people.

"And besides, what kind of idiot walks into a crowded club to discuss underground business?" He shook his head. "Sure, everyone's too busy fooling around to pay attention to someone, but that just mean that many more people who could suddenly notice you and decide to pay attention in some way and be able to identify you later. I'm surprised you don't have cops or Huntsmen in disguise staking out the place for any criminals they were after. Then again, you probably do and you're just too stupid to realize it."

Junior clenched his fist, trying to ignore Thantos's jabs at his intelligence. He had known the young man was dangerous from the way he moved, he would have to be if someone trusted him enough to be the sole bodyguard. But now that he had dropped all pretenses of friendliness, every wall that had been hiding the true level of danger he posed had dropped as well.

Smooth, carefully calculated movements, each one steady and purposefully done to maintain proper distance from his target should they decide to attack. He spoke carefully as well, never speaking too long that he would run out of breath and be forced to break his calm and steady breathing. Though his hands were interlocked behind him, his feet were carefully positioned with each step to allow him to evade any attack from the known threat, perhaps even from surprise attacks.

If there had been any doubt in his mind before, his movements now erased them. This man was incredibly dangerous. Far more than the blonde who had wrecked his bar. Possibly even more dangerous than that sadist of a girl who was almost always at Roman's side. And if he was just the bodyguard, there was no telling whether the woman Thantos worked for was someone who needed protecting, or someone who was powerful enough to command him.

"Now then, let's try this again." Thantos returned to his position in front of Junior, standing exactly where he had been standing before he dropped his façade. But his demeanor remained the same, cold and almost aloof. "The boss gave you an additional job. What do you say? Will you take it?"

Junior swallowed the lump in his throat along with any retorts he might have considered throwing out. Now was definitely not the time for that. "Yeah, I'll take it," he said with a resigned growl. "How soon does she want it?"

Thantos hummed in thought. "Could use a little more respect but considering where we were earlier I suppose it's an improvement." A small, cold grin made its way to his face as he noticed Junior tense up at the jab. "For the first, let her know immediately as soon as you find something. She'll either send me to pick it up or we'll both come by to discuss it. For the bases and personnel, throw it in with the other information she requested."

"Fine. Anything else?"

"Just one last thing," said Thantos, placing his hands in his jacket pockets. And just like that, the deadly air surrounding him disappeared as though it was never there. The cocky grin returned to his face and his movements became carefree once more with that underlying layer of alertness. "Try to remember this little lesson next time we come by," he said cheerily, turning around and walking towards the door.

Then, just as he got to the exit, he turned around and faced Junior with a grin. But his grin had lost all its cheer and Junior froze as the man's bloodthirsty nature hit him once again. "It'll save you a whole lot of trouble in the future."

It wasn't until Miltia and Melanie came up to him five minutes later that he recovered from his shock.

* * *

"Now then, is there anything else we need to discuss before we end today's meeting?"

Sitting in front of Ozpin's desk were all of the school's teachers. Every week, they held a meeting to discuss how the students were doing. As it was only the beginning of the school year, they mostly relayed how the first-years behaved in their respective classes. News regarding second-years and above were often just small updates such as whether someone's behavior was noticeably different from last year. Glynda usually had the most to share as the teacher in charge of the first-years' Combat class. This time, however, there was a far bigger issue that was circulating the school.

"Yeah, I've got something."

The speaker was a tall, fairly muscular man with short red hair and a full beard. On top of his head were a pair of wolf ears covered with fur just as red as his hair. Combined with piercing, amber eyes, and sharp, angular features, the man's calm face was known to be just as fearsome as the wolves whose traits he shared when he was enraged. He was wearing a dark blue tunic that was unbuttoned, a black sleeveless shirt underneath, a thick, white cloth belt around his waist, and loose black pants tucked into dark brown combat boots. This man was Ruadh Giollah, one of Beacon Academy's teachers.

"Are they true?" asked the woman sitting beside him, bringing up the same topic he was about to. "The rumors about students without Aura."

Rosalyn Peach was a petite woman, easily the smallest in the room and perhaps even one of the smallest people in the entire academy, students included. Her shoulder-length hair was pale pink, like the rose she was named after, and her eyes a deep violet in coloration. She wore a simple, but fairly oversized, white dress that reached down to her ankles, with short, loose fitting sleeves. The modesty of her chest, which would have been highly exposed due to the loose neckline of the dress, was protected by a loose, white sleeveless shirt. Few knew the reason why she wore such loose-fitting clothes and those who knew kept it to themselves.

To her right, a fairly tall but portly man laughed, his belly rising with each syllable. "Ohoho, yes, do tell Headmaster. These children must be quite the aspiring Huntsmen and Huntresses to be able to accomplish the feats we've heard."

Peter Port, an older, middle-aged man with short, neatly combed gray hair and an equally gray moustache. He wore a burgundy with gold-colored buttons and trimmings that somewhat hid his portly form, and black pants tucked into olive-colored boots.

"Indeed," began the man to Peter's right as he took a long sip from his coffee mug. "While it is hardly impossible, it is quite interesting that we would have not one but eight children capable of such feats. Not to mention that one of them is five years younger than his peers." The man sitting beside Peter spoke so quickly that most people would still be trying to make sense of his first few words by the time he finished speaking.

Bartholomew Oobleck, often shortened to Bart or Barty, was a younger man with messy, swept-back green hair and dark brown eyes covered by a pair of round spectacles. His white, long-sleeved button-up shirt was only partially tucked into dark green pants and a yellow necktie loosely hung around an upturned collar. Nobody knew for certain if he just didn't care for his appearance, or if his swift movements resulted in this, so much that he had gotten tired of fixing himself up every time.

"You know, we probably would have gotten an answer already if not everyone decided to speak up. Or do answers come faster the more people ask?"

The fifth and last person in line was Khloe Fair, a slim, statuesque woman with lavender-colored hair in a waist-length braid, striking blue eyes, and a sardonic grin on her face. Her clothing consisted solely of a black, leather bustier with several rows of silver studs that accentuated what little curves she had, and black, tight-fitting denim jeans tucked into heavy, black boots. In a sheath strapped to the outer side of each boot was a combat knife and on each thigh was an empty gun holster.

The five of them, alongside Glynda and Ozpin, made up Beacon Academy's main teaching staff.

"Rather than answer, perhaps you should see for yourself," Ozpin responded with a barely concealed grin. He nodded to Glynda, standing beside his desk as always, who returned the nod and tapped on her Scroll.

Within seconds, the five teachers reached for their Scrolls when they heard the familiar tune of a message being received. Opening the message, they found several video files, each one labeled by a name. Specifically, the names of the students said to not have an awakened Aura. Soon, the sounds of combat could be heard coming from the five Scrolls as its owners watched each of the eight videos that Glynda had forwarded to them.

Glynda and Ozpin, the latter having watched the recordings the day before after Glynda had compiled them all, watched the various expressions flit about the five teachers' faces. Peter was the easiest to read as his face showed pure excitement, most likely at the idea that people without an active Aura could fight on par with trainees, perhaps even actual Huntsmen. Bart was completely intrigued and enthralled. As a man who valued knowledge, anything new and unusual was bound to catch his interest.

Ruadh was as calm as ever but the way his eyes were focused on every movement the members of SEES made was quite telling to them. Moreover, the fact that he had not dismissed them outright meant he had acknowledged their skills to a degree. Rosalyn, despite already knowing the outcome due to the rumors, looked worried as she watched the fight due to the knowledge that one participant in each fight was fighting without Aura. Khloe looked just as excited and intrigued as both Peter and Bart, but her eyes told of her own worries. Worries that surpassed Rosalyn's own.

Once they had all finished watching the collection of recordings, Ozpin addressed them once more. "As you can see and as Glynda can personally attest to, the rumors are indeed true. This year, we have eight skilled students without Aura. Moreover, they came from the same place and are actually close friends with one another."

"Amazing! Simply amazing!" Bart exclaimed in his usual, hurried manner, pausing just long enough to take another sip of his coffee. "Why, I don't think I've ever seen so many skilled first-years in one class. Not to mention we have Mistral's four-time champion in that same class as well. I almost can't imagine how this group will turn out."

Peter gave another of his full-bellied laughs. "Agreed. Despite their handicaps they emerged victorious against what one would assume was a superior foe. And to defeat them without receiving a single scratch in return, quite an astounding feat."

"Yes but…" Rosalyn spoke then paused, looking at her fellow teachers. "Am I the only one who noticed?"

"You mean the way they fought?" asked Ruadh. Rosalyn nodded, and all of a sudden the cheer left Peter's and Bart's faces. Looking at them now, no one would have thought they were the same two people who were lauding the eight Aura-less students just seconds ago. "As amazing as it was, I doubt any of us didn't notice."

The five of them faced forward, answer-seeking eyes meeting the Headmaster's and the Deputy Headmistress's.

"And what was it that you noticed?" asked the gray-haired Headmaster. Everyone in the room knew that Ozpin knew what they saw in the video that had gotten their attention and that there was no need to ask. But, at heart, he was still a teacher. He gave hints and guides, but he very rarely told people the answer. It was just his way of teaching people to think for themselves, to try and seek out their own answer before asking somebody else for the answer. In this case, he wanted to see what answer they had come up with before giving them his.

"Their fighting styles," answered Khloe, already used to the Headmaster's little games like all the others. It was a bit tiresome at times, but they could understand why he did it. As long as it wasn't hurting or endangering anyone, they were willing to waste a bit of time to play the teacher-student game. "Despite using different weapons, their styles are almost identical at its core."

"In what way?"

This time, it was the diminutive Rosalyn who answered. "They fought defensively and deceptively. They let their opponents make the first move to gauge their abilities while also hiding their true abilities. Some switched to offense now and then, but none of their early attacks were truly committed to winning. It was like they just wanted to be seen attacking."

"Why would they do that?"

"To give their opponents a false measure of strength," said Bart, eyes closed as he ran through a mental image of the fights he had just witnessed. "The first fight to occur, with the Sanada boy, ended almost as soon as he began to attack. He remained on the defensive the entire fight and only attacked when he knew enough about his opponent to win. Afterwards, people would be wary of a similar trick. So the others made token attacks to make their opponents think that they have a measure of their abilities. But when the time came, they always struck with strength and speed greater than what they previously showed."

"The only exception," he continued after another sip of his coffee, "Was Ms. Arisato, who struck so swiftly and decisively that their opponent did not have a chance to attack even once before their Aura was brought down to red levels."

"They seem quite capable then. So why does this worry you?"

Rather than answer his question, Peter turned to the Deputy Headmistress. "My dear, I believe that you tested the physical limits of all the first-years, correct? How did those eight students fare in comparison to their peers?" The other four teachers turned to Glynda with expectant looks.

Without even having to look up the data, the tall blonde answered Peter's query. "Seven out of eight of them ranked at the bottom of the class in nearly every aspect. Only Mr. Sanada and Ms. Kirijo showed slightly higher limits than the others but they were still physically inferior to nearly the entire class. Only Ms. Arisato ranked higher, her overall performance placing her within the top ten students of the class in terms of physical capability."

Their reaction said it all. Glynda's words had proven their expectations true. And that lack of physical ability was the source of their worries.

"Oz," began Ruadh, one of two people in the room who were older than Ozpin. His face was still calm, but his eyes showed the depths of his worry. "I rarely question your decisions but this time I'm sure you can understand. Surely you knew of their shortcomings before their entry. Why would you accept such students into Beacon? Why did you even allow them to take the initiation in the first place?"

"To be fair, I was aware of this no more than you were," Ozpin said casually. In turn, the five teachers before him reacted with varying levels of shock at his admission. He then explained the circumstances behind SEES and their arrival at Beacon, making sure to leave out two things, the fact that Aigis was an android, and their Semblance and the nature behind its awakening. He did, after all, promise SEES not to reveal certain things without their permission.

Although he did mention, for the sake of reassurance, that SEES did possess a Semblance, just that the awakening of their Semblance was so vastly different that the success rate was low and that it bypassed the prerequisite of unlocking one's Aura first.

Having so few teachers made things difficult but, he thought, not many who became Huntsmen and Huntresses had the proper mindset and attitude to deal with schoolchildren on a daily basis, never mind teaching them properly. But for once, Ozpin was grateful that only he and Glynda actively monitored the entirety of the Initiation. In this case, it was a bit of a blessing. While the two of them monitored the Initiation, the others were busy patrolling the borders of the Initiation area, ensuring that none of the more powerful Grimm would enter while the initiates were inside.

The Giant Nevermore was unexpected. How they missed it during their final sweep the day before baffled them all, but there was little to be done about it once they saw it. To interfere then would invalidate the efforts of the initiates since he, himself, told the students that they would not interfere. All they could do was pray that the students escaped or, somehow, fought it off.

That and the hundreds of Grimm that had chased after SEES, were the reasons why Ozpin ordered two of the upper-year teams patrolling nearby to move closer to the temple ruins. He was willing to place the students in danger to test both their ability and resolve. He was not, however, willing to let them face certain death by allowing them to fight such an overwhelming number of Grimm all by themselves. But in the end, SEES's Personas made their help and worries unnecessary.

So in the end, the Personas were known only to Ozpin, Glynda, and the two teams he had on stand-by, whom he had already ordered to remain silent on the matter. All that the other teachers would know, for the moment anyway, was that SEES was capable enough to make up for their lack of Aura and physical ability. He would have to speak to Mitsuru at some point about revealing more to the other teachers.

The end of his explanation left the five teachers with speculative looks, though Ozpin caught a hint of doubt appear on more than one face during some points of his story. "Still," began Ruadh, raising his ambers eyes to meet Ozpin's spectacled ones. "They may be capable enough against the Grimm but are you sure about pitting them against their classmates? They might have won their first fights but it was clear that their classmates not only underestimated them, but that first fight clearly shook them all up to the point that some even overestimated them and were too cautious."

"The way that kid took advantage of it was pretty well done too," added Khloe, a clear look of approval on her face. "They underestimated him since he was young and his opponent, that Mercier girl, also held back, probably thinking he had relied on his partner to get through the Initiation. But when the kid switched to offense, he was quick and relentless. She realized she had underestimated him but overcompensated and ended up overestimating him instead, focusing solely on defense. Had she remained calm, she would have been able to sneak in more than a couple of attacks, enough to get that one hit in to beat him. Instead she panicked and he drained her Aura enough to win. Still, Ruadh's right that a tactic like that won't work a second time."

"I do worry about that girl though," Peter began, stroking his moustache. At the questioning looks he received – more than half of SEES were female after all – he added, "That small one with the arm guards that opened into shields. Ms.… Yamagishi, I believe." Receiving looks of understanding and agreement, he voiced his own concern. "Clearly her abilities lie in her defenses. Even though her opponent was far superior in terms of capability, she read his movements and defended against all of them easily, slowly wearing down his Aura with the firearm built into her shields. Against people she is certainly capable enough, but against the Grimm I cannot help but be concerned."

The Headmaster accepted their concerns. They were honest and made with the students' well-being at heart. All that prevented them from fully trusting the students' abilities was their lack of knowledge of SEES's Personas, something he hoped to rectify soon. He then turned to Rosalyn and Bart. "Do either of you have anything to add?"

Bart shook his head, the main concerns covered by both Ruadh and Khloe, but Rosalyn nodded. "Yes. You mentioned that their people had a different method for awakening one's Semblance, one that bypassed the unlocking of one's Aura. Now that they are here, wouldn't it have been prudent to unlock their Aura? I'm honestly surprised that you haven't yet, after learning that they did not have an active Aura."

"I considered that, yes," Ozpin responded, taking a sip from his own coffee mug. "However, Ms. Kirijo and I agreed to test the possibility at a later time." He held up a hand when Rosalyn made to speak, no doubt concerned about the need to wait. "There are… other factors at play that need to be considered, factors that she requested remain confidential for the moment. I will, however, speak to her soon about allowing me to inform the rest of you, as well as key members of our infirmary, of these things."

"And are these secrets of theirs so important that you would agree to keep them even from us?"

It was a well-known fact that Ozpin was fond of bending the rules and skirting the very edges of what society found acceptable behavior. At times his behavior was done openly, often drawing attention from the Vale Council or other important figures in society. Other times, however, he kept his dealings completely hidden, never once revealing which secrets he had shared and with whom. So for him to keep a secret shared to him by several teenagers was enough to let them know that those secrets were dangerous on some level. The question now is, just how dangerous those secrets were and for whom.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation. "For now, allow me to speak with Ms. Kirijo about it. Until then, I ask that you trust my decision. As to their continued attendance in Glynda's class, they were well aware of the risks when they chose to enter Beacon. Even after we questioned them, they were resolute in their desire to attend the school and even the Combat classes without any special treatment. As you get to know them in class, perhaps you'll come to see why I did not exercise my right to deny them entry."

"I'll take your word for it," replied Bart. "Their behavior in their matches certainly did not coincide with the behavior they displayed in my class so I suppose I'll give them the benefit of the doubt."

That sent alarms ringing through Ozpin and Glynda's heads. They glanced at one another and, after confirming that the other did not know what the green-haired teacher was talking about, faced forward once again. "What do you mean?" asked Glynda. "What sort of behavior did they display in your class? None of them gave me the impression that they would cause trouble or anything of the sort."

"Ah, and that is precisely the problem." Bart took another sip from his mug, emptying it. "If anything, revealing themselves as troublemakers would have at least given me a measure of their personalities." He spoke even as he retrieved his thermos and refilled his mug with coffee so thick it may as well have been sludge. Beside him, Rosalyn was leaning away from the mysterious substance. "But in my class, all but one were quite listless, clearly unable to focus. Some did an admirable job of hiding it or forcing themselves to pay attention, yet they were clearly unable to remain focused for too long. The red-haired girl was focused for a while, but seemed to be distracted by her partner's lack of focus."

"Do you mean Ms. Kirijo?"

Bart shook his head, putting away his thermos once more as he took a sip from his mug, ignorant of Rosalyn's cringe as he did so. "The girl with the axe. Ms… Yoshino, I think." Ignoring Glynda's slightly shocked expression, Bart continued one. "I noticed her paying attention for the first half-hour but as the class went on she spent more time keeping an eye on her partner and growing just as distracted."

"That is indeed troubling," said Ozpin. "Has anyone else noticed this behavior?" He hid his surprise as Peter, Ruadh, and Rosalyn all nodded. He raised his arms onto his desk and interlaced his fingers, resting the bridge of his nose on his hands with his eyes shut as though in prayer. "As Glynda has said, none of them gave any indication of being poor students. Mr. Iori seemed quite playful and may very well be a student who might have difficulty focusing in class, but the fact that all of them were unfocused means that something has happened that affected them all."

He spent a few more moments in thought, thinking back all the way to the previous week. After his meeting with SEES the day of the Initiation, nothing of note occurred that involved the group. His last meeting with Mitsuru, Friday of last week if he wasn't mistaken, was brief and unexpected. The two of them crossed paths as he was leaving Beacon Tower to check on the various facilities on campus. They had exchanged pleasantries and Mitsuru returned the Scroll he had lent them. She hadn't seemed different at that time.

Since they had only begun behaving as such this past week, it meant that whatever happened occurred between last Friday afternoon, and Monday morning. But try as he might, nothing of note came to mind. Part of him wanted to investigate the matter, to see what had so deeply affected a group that had not hesitated to rush headlong against a horde or Grimm. Another part of him argued that their actions had not affected anyone else, meaning he had no reason as Headmaster to invade their privacy.

In the end, the latter half won. He would just have to believe that whatever was troubling them was something they could resolve in time. As long as their academic performance did not suffer and their troubles did not affect other students negatively he would leave them to it. Decision made, he relayed his thoughts to his staff, including his reasoning behind the decision.

Glynda clearly did not like it but she agreed, nonetheless, that they could not invade a student's privacy on such shaky grounds. The others were more ambivalent about it, having had no prior interaction with the students involved.

As Ozpin concluded the meeting, nobody noticed the way Glynda's brows furrowed in thought. They may not be allowed to investigate, but nothing in the rules prevented a teacher from expressing concern. All she needed was a proper setting to ensure nobody suspected her of setting it up. Ozpin would be suspicious, or probably even realize it, if he found out but that was fine with her. He bent the rules often enough that he had no room to complain if someone else did the same.

Glynda exited Ozpin's office alongside her fellow teachers. As they descended the tower, only one thought remained in her head. Who would be the best to approach and when?

* * *

Junpei sighed and collapsed onto his bed, one arm raised up to cover his face. Earlier, he had taken his team to try out the training rooms since today was the first weekend that it was open. Unfortunately, he was far too distracted to even put up a noteworthy amount of effort into it. Even Jaune's strangely familiar way of fighting, as ineffective as it was, had beaten him due to his inability to concentrate for more than a minute. He hadn't even been able to appreciate the technology of the room as he normally would have.

So, admitting to himself and to his team that he was useless the way he was, he returned his katana to his rocket locker – something that he still found useless since to him, barring unexpected emergencies, needing to call your weapon to you was like going into Tartarus without an Evoker or even a Persona – and returned to the dorm. Chidori, Jaune and Pyrrha had attempted to accompany him back but he made it an order as team leader for the trio to continue training. Just because he was doing poorly didn't mean he had to drag them down after all.

"Wonder what you'd do if you were here?" Junpei asked the empty room. After a heartbeat, a bitter chuckle escaped his lips. "Stupid question. If you _were_ here this wouldn't be happening, would it?" He sighed again as thoughts about SEES's field leader came to the forefront of his mind. "But even if you were in our shoes, you'd just move on wouldn't you? Nothing ever kept you down for long after all. Not even finding out about Ryoji-kun and Nyx."

He wasn't sure how long he lay there, just thinking about the past. His thoughts had ran through his junior high school years all the way up to the trip to Yakushima so it must have been quite a while. He rose up to a sitting position, his body tired from staying in the same position for so long. As he stretched his entire body, feeling a few joints popping and his muscles relaxing, his eyes caught sight of something on his study desk.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." He rose from the bed and walked to his desk, looking down on his old laptop.

When SEES left the Iwatodai dorm, they had taken everything they owned with them, knowing that it was highly unlikely they would ever return. It hadn't taken long to discover that their laptops and cellphones were useless now considering the technological gap between Earth as they knew it, and Remnant.

But when Aigis revealed that she and Fuuka had managed to at least transfer the data from Minato's MP3 player to Aigis's scroll, he thought that perhaps they could do the same for his laptop. Or at least, whatever could be transferred to Remnant's equivalent of their laptops. He hadn't seen any yet so there was a possibility that the larger Scrolls were both tablet and laptop for the people of Remnant. Unfortunately, that same night's events put that idea on hold.

Seeing his laptop now, just as he was thinking of the past, brought another idea into his head. He knew the laptop would still work even after sitting unused for thousands of years. Yukari, Fuuka, and Mitsuru had been able to use theirs during the seven-month training period after all. But he couldn't remember if he had charged it all the way that night they left to fight Nyx. It might last several hours or only just one. So did he still want to use it?

His body answered for him as he found himself sitting down at his desk, one hand already flipping open the laptop while the other pushed the power button. It probably wasn't the best idea. That much he could admit to himself. But would it really be that bad? He leaned back against the chair, allowing his head to hang over the backrest so that he was looking upwards towards the shelf above the table. He was already drowning in the memories of the past so adding a lake's worth of water to an ocean would hardly make a difference. What harm could looking at old photos and videos do? Drown him even more?

In no time at all, the laptop had booted up and the desktop was displayed. The change from a mostly black screen to a blue one caught his attention. He shut his eyes, and took a slow, deep breath. He would do this. If not now, then it would keep tempting him until he did. Might as well get it over with. Maybe after this he'd feel better and actually be able to focus for once.

All at once, he opened his eyes, lowered his gaze to the screen, and let out the breath he had taken. Only to freeze the moment his eyes saw the screen. "What the…" It took him a moment to figure out what he was staring at. And when he did, his expression shifted from confusion to shock. "No way," he breathed out, unable to believe what he was seeing. "This is…"

* * *

When the rest of JACN returned to their room, they found Junpei pacing around the room, mumbling and looking deeply worried about something. As soon as he saw them, however, he stopped then rushed over to the trio.

"Sorry you two," he said hurriedly to Jaune and Pyrrha, his hand latching onto Chidori's wrist. "I need to talk to Chidori real quick. We'll be back in a while."

Before either one of them could get a single word in, Junpei was already pulling Chidori out of the room, speaking rapidly in a language they couldn't understand. They barely caught the look of surprise on Chidori's face as they turned into the hallway and left their sight. The couple's voices carried into the room for a moment longer before they could no longer hear them.

As they contemplated going after them, despite Junpei's unspoken request for privacy, neither noticed the open, but switched off, laptop on Junpei's desk with a small puddle of liquid right in front of it.

* * *

 **September 21, XX13**

Monday morning brought with it a new school week, which of course included moans and groans as students struggled to rise from their beds after a restful weekend. Some, however, had been awake even before the sun had fully risen above the horizon.

A lone female figure walked towards the school building, the rising sun shining down upon her from her left as she crossed the distance between the dorms and the school. Many students would consider such a thing inconceivable. More so since it was still ten minutes to six AM, more than three hours before the first class of the day. No, that was somewhat incorrect. Rather, it was three hours before the first _regular_ class for today marked the beginning of their elective classes.

The girl wore Beacon Academy's uniform, a white dress shirt with a thin ribbon tie, a dark tan vest, a dark brown jacket with lighter brown lining, and a plaid skirt. Completing her outfit were thigh high socks, brown boots that were more casual than the usual pair she wore, and plain white gloves on her hands.

Ahead of her, she could see a few other students entering the school's main building, no doubt headed for the same class. She wondered briefly if she would know anyone in the class. She knew that no one on her team had taken the same electives as her but she had forgotten to ask if someone else from one of the other teams did. Just as she was contemplating that, she heard someone behind her speak.

"Is that you Aigis?" The blonde android stopped and turned on around, catching sight of a familiar head of black hair with a black bow. "I thought it was you. I forgot that you were taking Field Medicine too." Aigis nodded in response as Blake caught up. Together, the two of them resumed their trek to the assigned classroom. "Still, it's surprising. I'm guessing it's for your team rather than for yourself since… you're…"

Catching the way Blake trailed off, Aigis said, "It is."

"I see."

An uncomfortable silence descended on the black and yellow pair as they entered the building. Although, Blake felt that she was the only one feeling uncomfortable. Glancing at Aigis out of the corner of her eye, Blake could see the same distracted look on her face that she and the other members of SEES had on the past week.

She hesitated for a brief moment before mustering up the courage to ask, "Are… Are you alright?"

Despite the vagueness of her question, it was easy enough to understand exactly what she was concerned about. "I am well enough, thank you."

' _At least she didn't say 'I'm fine','_ thought Blake.

It was strange to the feline faunus just how close SEES had become to their respective teammates, herself included. A few had even forged friendships across teams as a result of how close their four teams were. And yet, barely a week after they first met, she could already see the newly formed bonds beginning to strain under the burden on SEES's shoulders.

And what a burden it was.

She had always thought that SEES had seemed too well adjusted to the loss of their home. True, there was some sadness and longing when they spoke, but their expressions had lacked one crucial detail. One detail that she had seen on the faces of many members of the White Fang. And it was that same expression that had appeared on their faces that one night a little over a week ago.

Pain.

In every conversation when their home was brought up, mostly times when she and Yang would speak to Yukari, and sometimes Mitsuru, about Japan, neither one ever showed even a shred of pain. Sadness, longing, fondness, all signs that they miss their home. Homesickness. That was what it seemed like to Blake whenever they conversed, whenever their home was a point of conversation, even tangentially.

But pain? The one constant of a loss as significant as that? Never. It was as though they felt nothing for the destruction of their home. _'That's just it, isn't it?'_ she thought, glancing at Aigis's far off expression once again. _'They felt no pain because they had yet to truly accept that it had happened. They either denied the reality of the situation, or locked up their feelings as deep as they could bury it. But then that song drew out their feelings, their memories, and forced them to acknowledge reality.'_

Had they done it on purpose? Had they been trying to run away from reality, hoping that by starting a new life they could bury all the pain and forget it? Or had they simply not realized that they had done so?

They said so themselves. The day after the tragedy was spent figuring out how they had survived. The day after that, the woman named Elizabeth began training them and would do so for the next seven months. Alongside that training was their studies into the English language and the world of Remnant as a whole.

Had they poured all their energy into their training and studies in an effort to forget? Or did they just move on so quickly that they had forgotten to resolve the past?

Blake shook her head, clearing her mind of thoughts that would only serve to distract her from the present. Regardless of how it happened, it did. And now SEES was, from Blake's point of view, barely managing to scrape by each day without incident. Their Combat class would not be a problem if they could switch into combat mode as easily as they have.

Today, however, would be the start of a more difficult time. Today, they would move on from reviewing lessons that were covered in the basic combat schools and move on to lessons tailored specifically towards those aspiring to be Huntsmen.

Attending lessons and paying attention to those lessons while ensuring their less attentive teammates listened to lessons they most likely have yet to study was going to be difficult. Tutoring could only help so much, especially if they were just as unfocused. Homework was another matter entirely.

And then, there were the electives like the one they were headed to now. As much as she and the others were willing to help, they wouldn't – couldn't – always be there to help. She had taken Field Medicine, and Stealth and Reconnaissance. She knew that the only other person in their group to take Stealth & Recon was Ren and, asides from Aigis, she wasn't aware of anyone else taking Field Medicine.

After all, as close as they all were they didn't exactly spend every moment together. Especially during the week before class started. With new bank accounts and plenty of necessities, most of them had spent quite a lot of time separated from the rest to obtain what they needed as well as to explore Vale further. Thus, they had not really though to discuss their choice of electives with one another beyond those of their teammates'. Though she did piece it all together through various conversations during their first week of classes.

She knew that Yukari had taken the Marksmanship and Ranged Combat class while Mitsuru had taken Combat Tactics and Dust Manipulation. It's true that she wouldn't be able to use Dust since Aura was the spark that lit the fuse, but she had spoken to Professor Goodwitch about it and received permission to attend simply to learn more about Dust, though she would still have to study if she wanted to pass the class's written exam.

Yang had taken Unarmed Combat and had mentioned sharing the class with Ren and, of course, Akihiko. Surprisingly, she mentioned that Fuuka had also signed up for that class as did Ken. Blake had been with Yang when she had spoken to Ruby, who was accompanied by Weiss, about their own decisions.

Ruby had taken Marksmanship and Advanced Weapons Designing. The later was a bit of a surprise since taking an advanced class meant having to approach Professor Goodwitch and taking the final exam of the basic class to prove they were qualified for it. Then again, Ruby was a weapons nut. And bringing _that_ up in front of the girl brought a pout to the girl's face that had Blake turning away to resist.

Weiss had taken Leadership and Advanced Dust Manipulation. Neither was really all that surprising.

Through Ren, she learned that Nora signed up for the Demolitions class. _That_ had worried Blake for all of fifteen seconds, as that was how long it took Ren to calm her down and explain that Nora was already fairly adept at creating explosives. "Who do you think makes those grenades of hers?" he had asked her at the end of his explanation. In hindsight, cylindrical grenades marked with a pink heart, and exploding in pink should have been clue enough that they were custom-made and not store-bought.

Jaune mentioned at one point that he wanted to focus on the five main classes first since he had never been the best student. His partner, Pyrrha, had taken the Combat Tactics class and had briefly considered Marksmanship but decided otherwise at the last minute.

With all the Aura-users accounted for, that simply left SEES. It was Mitsuru who provided the final pieces of information.

Junpei would be joining Mitsuru and Pyrrha in the Combat Tactics class along with Akihiko. And having decided to take his role as leader seriously, Junpei had also joined the Leadership class since he had never led anyone before, never mind a combat team.

Aigis had shared that sentiment and joined that class as well. Nobody was sure what Chidori picked. The last thing Mitsuru knew on that end was that she was still undecided on the day of the deadline so she may or may not have picked one at the last minute.

And finally, Fuuka had also signed up for Weapons Designing in addition to Unarmed Combat.

All in all, most members of SEES were fortunate to have someone there to make sure nothing happened. The only unfortunate ones were Fuuka, who was the only one to take Weapons Designing – though she did have Ruby to help her out since Ruby was qualified for the advanced class – and Aigis and Junpei, who were with Weiss in the Leadership class. Try as she might, Blake could not imagine Weiss being sympathetic enough to help them out if they fell behind.

Blake recalled Akihiko's words back when they had shown concern for SEES, specifically the amount of time they needed to help hold SEES together. _'It's still about two weeks away though. That's still ten days of classes, twelve for those with electives on Saturdays.'_ She sent Aigis a worried look as she pushed open the door to the designated classroom. _'Hopefully we can last that long.'_

Inside the classroom, they found several dozen students of varying ages already seated and waiting for whoever the assigned professor was. At first glance, there were at least three other first-years in the room. Looking around for a vacant spot, Blake blinked when she found a familiar head of red hair. The owner of said red hair was already waving them over, a small, near unnoticeable smile edging up the corner of her lips.

Both Aigis and Blake made their way over to Chidori, the former taking the spot beside the normally white-clad girl. Even now, Blake couldn't help but look over Chidori as she greeted her. The girl who had only ever worn that white dress of hers looked so different in her school uniform. Along with how she had taken to styling her hair differently every few days – right now it was tied into a ponytail with a white ribbon just below the nape of her neck – many of them found themselves giving Chidori seconds looks when they met up.

She had said something along the lines of wanting to try out something new since she rarely deviated from the norm in the past. Regardless of the reason, it certainly made her look more… normal. So much so that her appearance actually looked strange in their eyes.

"I'm surprised to see you here," Blake admitted once the greetings were passed around. "I didn't really take you to be someone interested in Field Medicine."

"I'm not." Chidori's own admission surprised the faunus, her surprise causing her bow to twitch. Hopefully nobody saw that. "But it's something our team will need so I decided to join."

"What do you mean? Technically every team needs a medic or someone capable of first-aid but it doesn't mean someone has to force themselves to come to a class they don't want to be in."

"I never said I didn't want to be here," explained Chidori, a slight frown on her face. "Just that I'm not interested." Discreetly glancing at those around them, she considered her next words carefully. "Among our four teams, JACN is the only team without someone capable in terms of healing. While our methods are… unconventional, Aigis, Mitsuru, Yukari, Ken, and Akihiko are more than capable of taking care of various injuries."

It took a moment for Blake to understand what the redhead meant by unconventional, but the moment she did her eyes slowly opened in surprise along with her mouth. _'Their Personas can heal?!'_ Blake resisted the urge to slam her head against the desk. Repeatedly. Powerful physical attacks, elemental attacks, a timed Aura-like ability, and now healing? _'Is there anything their Personas can't do? What next? Instant death?'_

Blake was saved from the growing urge to introduce her head to the table when the door opened and admitted a brown-haired woman wearing a white lab coat, most likely their teacher, into the room. Beneath the lab coat she wore a black dress shirt and black slacks. "Good morning everyone."

"Good morning Doctor Blackthorne," responded about half of the class, all of whom were second through fourth-year students. None of the first years responded, having yet to meet the woman standing in front of them.

"First things first." The woman walked to the center of the room to allow everyone to see her clearly. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Doctor Flora Blackthorn. I work primarily in Beacon's infirmary but also teach the Field Medicine class once every two or three years. Now then, we won't be doing much today but I expect everyone to come to the next class prepared. Since we only meet twice a week for two hours each class we will only spend, at most, fifteen minutes going over the readings, which you should all receive by the end of the day along with a rough timeline of which topics you will need to familiarize yourself with by a given date."

She glanced around the room, especially towards those she knew were first-years, carefully taking in their various expressions and reactions. Some were already looking more than a little uncertain about their decision to take the class. She made a mental note of their faces for later. "This elective is one that I take seriously whenever I am chosen to teach it since how capable you are at this may very well determine the fate of your teammates, or even civilians, during your missions. Sometimes even being able to properly diagnose an injury could determine whether that person will survive until you can get them to someone more capable or get someone to them in some cases."

A few more uncertain faces appeared around the class but about half of them looked more than ready to tackle such a huge responsibility. "Now then, for today we will begin with introductions, grouping you all into four, or perhaps just three, for future lessons, as well as going over what you can expect from this class and how it will be conducted. Now then, let's start with the first row." Doctor Blackthorn pointed to a second-year sitting at the end of the row. "Name, year, and whatever else you want to share."

"Gracia Jiong," began the black-haired, bespectacled girl. "Second-year student. Member of Team LGTG (Lightning), and…"

* * *

 **September 24, XX13**

It was three days later that the first major incident surrounding SEES occurred. At least, if one didn't count the initiation and their breakdown. The entire group of sixteen were eating lunch while occupying a single area within the dining hall as they usually did. The SEES half of the group was, as usual, unnaturally quiet. To make up for it, Nora had decided to share with them stories of hers and Ren's various exploits in the past.

"It was the middle of the night," she began, speaking slowly and dramatically.

Beside her, Ren threw in a comment of his own, speaking blandly as he blew on his mug of tea. "It's was day."

But Nora continued on, ignoring Ren's comment-slash-correction. "There we were, surrounded by Ursai." Yang, sitting directly opposite Nora and leaning forward with her arms on the table, leaned in closer, eyes going wide as she listened to Nora's tale.

"Beowolves."

Nora suddenly shot to her feet, hands on the table. "Dozens of them!" Her sudden and loud exclamation caused Ruby to jump, curled hands rising up to her mouth as she gasped while Yang leaned back and away from Nora.

"Two of them." Ren took a sip of his tea.

"But they were no match," the orange-haired girl proclaimed proudly, crossing her arms as she sat back down. "And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling Ursa-skin rugs."

Ren sighed as he lowered his mug from his lips. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"That was a dream?" Ruby half-exclaimed, half-questioned, before slumping down. "Aw man, that sounded so cool too."

"Rubes, you do realize that they couldn't have skinned those Ursa, right?" asked Yang, ignoring the fact that she had been just as enraptured by the tale up until that little detail was revealed.

Ruby just turned away, knowing that Yang would just continue teasing her if she gave in. Looking away, however, meant seeing Fuuka, Aigis, and their dejected forms. Fuuka's movements were mechanical as she ate, ironic considering Aigis was the android. Aigis, meanwhile, was deep in thought as she always was. But what was beginning to scare Ruby was the utter lack of emotion in Aigis's eyes and how the sight was becoming more and more frequent as the days passed.

She had seen it for the first time two days ago. Aigis was, rather than lying on her bed, sitting on the reclining chair of her maintenance station. When Ruby and Fuuka went to wake her for class, they were greeted by a completely blank and emotionless face. It only lasted a few seconds before Aigis's eyes lit up with emotion. Sadness and pain, but emotion nonetheless.

Ruby had her suspicions as to what had happened but Fuuka's words the week before were still running through her head. 'Aigis could shut off her emotional systems but she hasn't, not even once.' Ruby could understand, to a degree, why Aigis would refuse to take the easy way out. Even if she shut off her emotional systems, those feelings would still be there. She simply wouldn't be able to comprehend or display them. And the moment those systems were reactivated, those same emotions would resurface.

' _Much like everyone else,'_ she mused, thinking back to the time when her mother had disappeared from their lives. She had been too young to properly understand what it meant when her mother never returned home one day. Yang and her father, however, were different.

Both had shut down for a time. One was unable to come to terms that he had lost not one, but two women that he had loved. The other was simply too young to know how to process her feelings. The fact that her father was in no condition to help her certainly didn't make things any better.

Yang once told her that she had pushed those feelings of depression aside when she realized that the younger Ruby needed someone to be there for her. Their father had not recovered from the loss, and their Uncle was neither a skilled nor responsible caretaker for children. And so Yang, despite only being two years older than Ruby, had done her best to take care of her younger sibling.

Later, when Taiyang Xaio Long had managed to piece enough of himself together to care for them again, all of Yang's suppressed emotions had come rushing out as she finally allowed herself to stop forcing them down. Sadness at the loss of Summer from their lives, anger at her father for essentially abandoning them, hatred towards whoever had sent her mother – Summer was the only mother she had known, after all, despite the lack of blood relations – on the mission that took her away, disappointment towards the uncle who had barely attempted to care for them before leaving for an extended 'mission', and a large host of other emotions.

While Yang had suppressed her emotions by placing priority on Ruby's well-being, constantly reminding herself that she could not afford to break down and forcing herself to function despite already going past her limits, Aigis was doing the same by manipulating her own programming. Ruby could only remember parts of Yang's emotional outburst when she had finally been released from her responsibility of taking care of Ruby and their home, but she remember how scared she had been at seeing Yang lose control of her emotions. She wondered, with curiosity and a small dose of fear, what would happen if Aigis ever lost control like that.

"Ow! That hurts."

The cry of pain followed by raucous laughter caught Ruby's attention. She, along with everyone else at the table, turned to the source and immediately frowned. A little ways down the hall, a rabbit faunus, her heritage marked by the long ears on the top of her head, was being harassed by a familiar team of first-years.

Cardin Winchester, leader of Team CRDL, had a tight grip on one of the poor girl's ears, pulling them downwards and forcing her to bend down while also trying to balance her lunch tray in her hands without spilling the food. All the while, his entire team laughed as the other students either looked on with unease, disinterest, or amusement for a few of them.

"I told you they were real," jeered one of the boys. They recognized the boy as Russell Thrush, the same boy Akihiko had knocked out just last week.

"What a freak!" exclaimed another, earning another bout of laughter from the group.

"P-Please stop…" pleaded the girl, doing her best to keep her ears as still as possible. But Cardin's constant movements made it difficult to maintain the proper distance, causing pain to shoot through her ears with every movement.

"Atrocious," Pyrrha commented with a scowl. "I can't stand people like him."

"And he's not the only one either," added Blake, watching with sympathy as the girl tried to escape only for Cardin to tug harder on the girl's rabbit ears, eliciting another yelp of pain.

Beside her, Yang nodded, also frowning at the scene but sympathy in her eyes. "It must be hard to be a faunus."

BANG!

Everyone at the table jumped at the loud sound, followed by the clattering of various tableware as they shook, which had been caused by Yukari slamming both hands on the table and pushing herself up onto her feet. When she turned towards Team CRDL and stepped over the bench, they immediately realized her intentions.

"Yukari!"

"Yukari-chan!"

"Oi, Yukari!"

Everyone called out to the brunette in varied ways but their words failed to reach the teen's ears. From behind, they could see the tenseness of her shoulder, the anger in her gait, and her tightly clenched fists. They could almost imagine her teeth clenched just as tightly and the anger that must be burning in her eyes even as she closed the last few steps separating her from Cardin and the faunus girl.

Once she was close enough, the rage-filled teen decided to make her presence known. "Hey!"

Attention drawn by the loud yell that pierced through his and his team's laughter, Cardin looked away from his team just in time to receive a harsh slap to the face.

The entire dining hall fell silent as the ringing sound of flesh meeting flesh seemed to echo repeatedly across the entire hall. Eyes were wide in shock at the sight of a girl at least a foot shorter and less than half of Cardin's width slapping the boy with enough force to not only turn his head, but also cause him to stumble, his hands hastily slamming down onto the table to keep him from falling onto it.

Yukari might not have been the strongest amongst her friends, but she certainly had enough strength in her arms. Constantly holding up and repeatedly pulling back the bowstring of Sharanga, which was heavier than normal, both in overall weight and string tension, would certainly build up her strength over time. And that was in addition to Elizabeth's hellish training and the exercise regimen that Akihiko had put them all through to complement their various styles.

"Don't you have anything better to do than to pick on others?!" screamed Yukari, turning to the rest of Team CRDL with a smoldering glare that would have put even Glynda's to shame. "Bullies like you are the worst kinds of people!"

"Damn bitch!" Yukari quickly stepped back when her sharp eyes caught sight of movement, Cardin's sudden backhand just barely missing the skin of her nose. Just to be safe, she put just a little more distance between them, making sure to grab the rabbit faunus by the arm and carefully move her out of Cardin's reach while doing so. "What's it to you? You some kind of animal-loving freak?" His tone was a mixture of anger, disgust, and even a hint of amusement, his words causing his team to leer and laugh at Yukari. Even a few spectators did the same, much to the archer's disgust. "Why the hell do you care anyway? Those faunus are just a bunch of stupid animals on two legs."

" _Just_ animals?" Yukari repeated with a growl. "Faunus are people just like you and me. They think and feel just like any human does. If anyone's an animal here, it's you! You, your team, _and_ every other bully out there!" That certainly brought an end to CRDL's laughter, grins and leers turning into frowns and scowls. "You're pathetic! All people like you can do is prey on those weaker than them but then run away when someone bigger and stronger comes along. Bullies like you are nothing more than cowardly scum!"

Everyone in the hall turned to CRDL at those words, some wondering how they would react while a few were even brave enough - or perhaps foolish would be a more appropriate term - to call for them to 'put the faunus-lover in her place'. Three loud bangs, of flesh meeting wood echoed throughout the hall and Russell, Dove, and Sky imitated Yukari's earlier actions and rose from the bench. Slowly but surely, the stepped around the table and stood slightly behind Cardin in a show of support while their leader slowly approached Yukari with a deep, angry scowl on his face.

The air in the dining hall grew tense as the other students just watched the confrontation, some far too enraptured by the scene while none of the rest were willing enough or brave enough to assist. Whether they wanted Cardin to put down a faunus sympathizer, or Yukari to stand up to the racist bully, no one made a move or a single sound. Instead, they watched as Cardin stood just a few feet from Yukari, his entire demeanor reflecting his anger.

And yet, throughout all this, Yukari's eyes never left his and her determination never once wavered. Instead, she unbuttoned the flap holding her Evoker in place and drew the gun-shaped tool. Even as enraged as she was, she knew she would stand no chance without her Persona. It would not be a repeat of what happened last time she had confronted people like him with such words. She kept her arm at her side, the muzzle of her Evoker pointed down, but she kept a close eye on Cardin's movements, watching for any sign of his impending attack.

"Last chance," said Cardin, glaring down at the smaller girl. "Don't think I'm gonna take it easy on you just 'cuz you don't have Aura. Gun like that won't do much to me with my Aura and you don't have that bow of yours with you. And unlike you, I don't need my mace to beat you down like the filthy, faunus-loving bitch you are."

The rest of Team CRDL chuckled darkly at his words but Yukari's own glare just hardened. "Last chance?" she repeated with a mocking tone. "What, you scared? Trying to get me to leave so you don't have to show people how cowardly you are?" she taunted, watching as Cardin's scowl deepened. "Like I said, bullies like you are just cowards who push around others to hide the fact that they can't face people stronger than them."

Yukari saw Cardin's shoulders begin to shake in anger, her own body ready to react to whatever he did. A part of her wanted him to charge in then and there, wanted to have an excuse to let out the violent storm of emotions swirling around inside her, unable to escape as she refused to lose control without reason. Cardin let out a harsh roar and cocked his fist back, one foot stepping forward.

A dark grin bloomed on her face, ready to dodge the telegraphed punch and her arm already beginning to bring her Evoker up to her forehead. A dark part of her wondered how he would react to her Persona and the summoning process.

Her arm was halfway up and Cardin had already begun to shift his weight forward to deliver the punch.

"TAKEBA!"

"ENOUGH!"

Both teens froze mid-motion at the simultaneous shouts that rang throughout the hall. Cardin growled when he saw Professor Goodwitch sternly marching up to them, riding crop in hand. With her here he knew he wouldn't be able to get away with a fight. He could blame the girl who had slapped him but he'd still get in trouble for participating in the fight.

A small part of him wanted to go on and just punch the girl now that her attention had been taken from him, wanted to put her in her place and just damn the consequences. But Goodwitch was known to be a strict and harsh disciplinarian. Even if the girl struck first, he'd face the heavier consequence for attacking even after she had already called for a cessation of all hostilities. At worst he may even be expelled outright. And so, with great reluctance, he lowered his arm.

Yukari, however, couldn't have cared less for Goodwitch's presence. If it had just been her, Yukari would have gone ahead and called forth Isis to put Cardin and his team in their place regardless of whatever punishment she would have to serve. It was the other voice that had shouted that chilled her emotions faster than they could erupt.

And so, with equal reluctance, she replaced her Evoker into its holster. Sending Cardin one final glare and a snarl, she spun around and marched towards the doors.

"What is goi- Ms. Takeba!" Glynda's surprised cry was a result of Yukari storming past her, coming close to shouldering her out of the way, and ignoring both hers and her friends' attempts to call her back. Several of her friends – none from SEES, she noted – made to stand but a few words from Mitsuru stopped them in their tracks. Some argued but the red-haired leader was quick to placate them. They grudgingly sat back down but kept sending furtive glances towards the doors which Yukari had marched through.

But while they all sat down, Mitsuru stood and calmly walked over to Cardin, who was still standing in the middle of the hall with a seething glare. "Winchester." There was a coldness to Mitsuru's tone that surprised even Glynda as the redhead addressed the taller teen. "Let this be your only warning. Neither I, nor my teammates and friends, will tolerate such behavior in our presence. Know that if I witness, hear of, or even suspect you or any member of your team acting in such a disgraceful manner again, then it will be the last time you will ever do so."

With the girl's back turned to her, Glynda didn't know whether the uncomfortable look on Cardin's face was because of Mitsuru's expression, her frosty tone or her harsh words - perhaps a combination of the three - but it was clear that the brave face he was attempting to put up was nothing but pure bravado. "Y-yeah?" he sneered, unable to completely suppress the stutter that escaped his lips. "What're you g-gonna do about it? Report me?"

"No." Something in Mitsuru's expression must have changed as Glynda watched Cardin's hastily erected bravado disappear. "I will Execute you."

At her cold, threatening words, Cardin, his team, and even some of those who had laughed alongside Cardin earlier froze and even paled. Even Glynda couldn't suppress the shiver of fear that went down her spine at Mitsuru's words. That certainly had not been an idle threat. Glynda wasn't sure what the boy had done to warrant such a threat, but she wouldn't stand by as one student threatened another so blatantly.

"Ms. Kiri-"

For the second time within just as many minutes, Glynda was cut off as Mitsuru spun around and began to walk towards the door. Unlike Yukari, who had practically stomped out of the hall, Mitsuru's gait was calm but imperious, the sound of her heels the only sound that could be heard across the entire hall.

With her arms crossed beneath her breasts and chin held high, the blonde disciplinarian couldn't help but compare Mitsuru's actions to that of a Queen, an Empress, who had just spoken to her subjects, declaring a new law before walking away, leaving no room for argument. And even if those people wanted to voice their displeasure, the girl's demeanor alone was enough to dissuade them, like that of a tyrant who would strike them down at the first sign of dissent.

By the time Glynda gathered her wits, Mitsuru had already left the hall. Resolving to speak to her and Yukari at a later time, she turned to the still frozen Team CRDL and approached them. Regardless of who started it, she would need to find out their side of the story. Hopefully they would be coherent and cooperative enough to not waste any more of her time. Given what she had seen of them the past two weeks, even that little bit seemed unlikely.

* * *

 **October 3, XX13**

Many more incidents occurred over the following week-and-a-half. Most as a direct consequence of Yukari's actions, while a few were a result of SEES's continued inability to properly come to terms with their emotions.

Yukari had received a single day's detention with Glynda after their Combat class, simply sitting there with a few others to quietly contemplate their misdeeds while the telekinetic professor worked on some papers. Afterwards, she called Yukari to remain for a while longer and asked her for her side of the story. Once that was done, she had asked why Yukari had reacted in that manner, making sure to mention that she did not seem the type to lose control of her emotions.

The thought of Team CRDL and their bullying caused Yukari's anger to rear its head once again, but not at Glynda. Unable to stop herself, she recounted the incident with Fuuka that had led to her joining SEES. Thankfully, she had calmed down a bit by the time that she got to the point where she mentioned Fuuka being locked in the gym.

She managed to avoid mentioning Tartarus entirely, spinning a tale of how Fuuka, at that time, had been incredibly shy and insecure - which was not very far from the truth - how the Grimm had attacked the city that night, and how some of the Grimm homed in on Fuuka's fear and insecurities due to being locked in the gym, nearly resulting in Fuuka's death.

Needless to say, Glynda felt significantly more understanding of Yukari's outrage and reaction to Cardin's own acts. She did not agree with how she handled the situation, but she did understand why she had done so. While her questioning had failed to reveal why SEES seemed emotionally compromised, she did, at least, learn more about the group and its members.

Team CRDL, on the other hand, had all their privileges suspended for one weekend - which included unsupervised training sessions, and visits to Vale - as a result of their discrimination, and bullying. Needless to say, their ire at the archer grew at what they felt was an unjust punishment seeing as Yukari had landed the first blow. Glynda countered by pointing out that Yukari had done so in defense of another student. A student that _they_ had harassed first, both physically and verbally.

Even so, that did not stop CRDL from attempting to take out their anger on the Aura-less girl. Unfortunately for them, many of Yukari's friends had seen their retaliation coming. Yang and Blake had made sure to stick close to Yukari as much as they could. Thankfully, for them, Yukari had more or less returned to her distracted and unfocused state now that she did not have a proper outlet for her more negative emotions. As such, they did not have to worry about Yukari noticing or being offended at the idea that she needed to be protected.

But this also made it difficult to watch out for her as it meant she was completely vulnerable to retaliation as long as she did not directly come in contact with a member of Team CRDL. The one time they did, Yukari's rage had resurfaced and Yang had to physically restrain her while Blake tried to calm the girl down.

Though Yang did find it funny afterwards that she was the one holding someone back from lashing out in anger. Usually she was the one who had to be held back. And usually that attempt ended in failure due to her Semblance.

But it wasn't just Yukari that Team CRDL targeted.

The all-male team had noticed how close Team KYBT was to teams ANKR, ASYR, and JACN. As a result, they had focused their attention on the other seven Aura-less first-years. Obviously Mitsuru was out of the question. Despite the obvious difference in strength, none of them could doubt the credibility of her threat.

They had started with Akihiko, mainly because of the humiliation that Russell suffered after being knocked out by the boxer. That attempt was railroaded the moment they tried to corner him one day. The dark, manic grin on the boxer's face had scared Russell as he vaguely remembered that exact same look the day that Akihiko had beaten him. That fear slowly spread to the others. Despite his lack of Aura, none of them could dispute Akihiko's sheer skill in combat.

Ken was second on their list. Not only was he young and an easy target, he was also Akihiko's teammate and partner. Unfortunately for them, the other students quickly took notice. While many of them weren't willing to get in the middle of a confrontation that did not involve them, it was clearly a different matter when the one involved was a twelve-year-old boy. A cute twelve-year-old boy that many female students doted on – most from afar – for that matter.

Junpei and Chidori were their next targets but for some reason strange things always happened to them when they attempted to intimidate or prank the boyfriend-girlfriend pair. Lockers would suddenly pop open and hit them in the face hard enough to knock them back or down. Someone or something would push or pull their legs while they walked, causing them to trip. Food trays, work tools, and even collapsed weapons would suddenly strike them with the owner denying having thrown them.

That left Aigis and Fuuka. They had seen Aigis fight, seen that, despite her lack of Aura, she was just as fast and strong as any of them. And so, they aimed for the easy target. But, for some reason, they could never find her when she was alone. She was either with her friends, or she was completely gone, almost like a phantom.

Left with no viable targets, CRDL's anger was left to simmer.

Beyond that, only three other things of note had occurred. The first was Yukari being approached and thanked by the Velvet, the rabbit faunus she had helped. This, in turn, led to her meeting with Velvet's team as they had been with her when she approached the archer.

They had immediately noticed Yukari's dispirited demeanor and had reacted with a bit of alarm. It had taken a while to convince them that neither Cardin nor his team had anything to do with it, that it was just some personal problems she had to sort out. Before they left, Coco had mentioned their dorm and room number along with an open invitation to drop by for a visit, or even for a favor if she ever needed anything.

When Yukari had gotten too modest for her tastes by attempting to turn down the offer beyond the invitation to visit, Coco simply told her, "Of all the people in the hall, you were the only one who did anything. That makes you okay in our book."

The second was that SEES as a whole was no longer undefeated during Combat class. As the teachers had predicted, SEES's tactics had not worked as well the next time they were called to fight. While not all of them lost – Aigis remained undefeated, and Akihiko and Mitsuru won most of their fights to date – the rest of SEES now struggled in every fight. Yukari, Chidori, and Fuuka especially since they were not front-line material in the first place. Junpei and Ken fared better but lost more than they won.

This led to a lot of demeaning and degrading remarks from Team CRDL and a few other first-years but those went mostly ignored. After all, SEES knew the truth. Their teammates, however, could not accept such words so easily. Very often, Yang and Nora had to be held back and calmed down in order to prevent them from assaulting one of their classmates in anger. They argued that SEES shouldn't have to hear such slander but Mitsuru argued back, saying that they were merely words. That one day they would be able to act and prove them wrong.

It was only the promise from Akihiko that they intended to reveal their Personas in such a way that those who looked down on them would have no choice but to swallow their words or choke on them that the two relented. Though they did hope for the latter option in the case of Team CRDL.

And the third was that Ozpin had sent Mitsuru a request to meet whenever she was free. She had gone earlier that day, right after breakfast. After a quick exchange of pleasantries, Ozpin had, in accordance with their agreement, requested permission to reveal more to the school's main teaching staff as well as some of the doctors in the infirmary. "Should anything happen, I feel it would be better if certain others were aware of your unique circumstances rather than merely Glynda and myself."

The two had spoken more about that topic for a while but in the end, Mitsuru agreed but on the condition that she meet those people first and would be present when their secrets were revealed. Ozpin had no complaints and had agreed just as quickly.

It was then that she brought up a request of her own.

* * *

"You do realize that this is highly unusual, especially considering that you and some of your friends are part of the Combat Tactics class tonight," were Ozpin's first words after Mitsuru made her request.

It had come as a great surprise to everyone in the class when Ozpin showed up for the first Combat Tactics class and had announced that he would be one of their many teachers in the class. All their teachers would take turns in teaching the class, allowing them to learn from the experiences of several accomplished Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Mitsuru nodded but her eyes never left Ozpin's. "I am aware of that. However, we had already planned this since the day after Initiation. At that time, we had not been aware that some of our electives would take place on a Saturday. But even if we did, we would have gone through with it nonetheless. This is simply far too important for us to decide otherwise."

Ozpin carefully regarded the young woman before him. As always, there was more to the situation than she was revealing to him. What was the event that SEES needed to attend so urgently? Why was she only asking for permission for SEES rather than all four teams?

She had purposely avoided mentioning the reason why SEES needed to travel to Vale tonight and remain there overnight. Even now, she showed no indication of revealing that one piece of information. While he no longer suspected them of having anything to do with the attack on Amber, it did not mean that he trusted them completely.

There was still too much that they had not revealed regarding their backgrounds and their Personas. And considering the power of their Personas, he had to wonder whether that secret was a danger to the rest of the students. They mentioned that there existed the possibility of losing control of one's Persona. A construct with the power to utterly destroy dozens of Grimm by itself was not something he wanted rampaging in a school full of trainee Huntsmen.

Was this outing of theirs related to that? A method to prevent or minimize the chances of such an event coming to pass? No. If it was that then the red-haired leader would have mentioned it.

Still, she did have a point. They had scheduled the event while unaware of their class schedule. While they generally kept the schedule the same every year, SEES had no way of knowing that.

So now it all came down to one question. Did he trust them enough to allow them this one request?

He sighed inwardly and gave his answer.

* * *

"Hey Yukari," called a near lifeless voice. "Any idea what senpai wants?"

Yukari shook her head, looking just as lifeless as Junpei's tone. "Sorry. This is the first I've heard of this."

The six members of SEES sat together in the dorm's lounge. Next to them or at their feet was a single bag each that contained a change of clothes for an overnight stay in Vale, as per Mitsuru's request via Scroll. Missing from the message was the reason why they were going to Vale. Knowing Mitsuru, she had done that on purpose. She did at least mention that she had gotten permission from the Headmaster to make the trip and that Junpei, Akihiko, and herself were excused from their Combat Tactics class later that night.

Still, that left a lot of questions still unanswered. Akihiko, it seems, might be in on it since he was the only other person missing besides Mitsuru.

"Still, I'm a little concerned."

Everyone looked to the half of the lounge where Pyrrha was sitting alongside the rest of their teammates. The message had only been sent to SEES, making it clear that nobody else was coming with them. That raised a lot of questions from their teammates when they heard about it.

Some of them, like Pyrrha and Jaune, had been present when the message for SEES arrived. Similarly, Ren had been doing homework with Ken in their room when the message came. Blake and Yang had come back from the library – where the former practically forced the latter to finish her homework rather than wait until the last minute – to find Yukari packing her own bag. Ruby and Weiss were the opposite. They had been doing their homework in the room when Aigis entered and began to pack, followed shortly by Fuuka.

Nora was the only person who did now know of SEES's plans due to her Demolitions class but Ren had left earlier to pick her up and return as soon as they could. Hopefully they returned before Mitsuru and Akihiko did from wherever they were.

"Why so suddenly?" asked Pyrrha, gazing at each member of SEES. "I do not believe Mitsuru would simply forget to inform you if it was important enough to miss class for, even if it is just one class."

Yukari sighed, leaning back into the couch and listlessly gazing up at the ceiling. "Who knows," she replied just as lifelessly as her demeanor. "I mean, we haven't exactly been at our best these past few weeks. I don't even care that she hasn't answered any of our messages. I just wanna get this over with."

Several people had tried sending Mitsuru a message asking about what was going on, Yang among their number. But despite the numerous messages each one sent, nobody received so much as a single response. Calling her Scroll ended in much the same way. So now, they were all waiting in the lounge as Mitsuru instructed, waiting for the leader of SEES and her second to arrive.

"Oh good, we made it."

Several people looked up when Ren arrived, Nora beside him and looking decidedly un-Nora-like. Her childhood friend had most likely explained what was going on. Needless to say, she didn't look all that enthused at SEES's sudden, though temporary, departure. Had he been in a better mood, Ken might have joked that she was just going to miss using either him or Koromaru as a body pillow like she did some nights.

"Senpai'll probably be here soon though."

As though she was waiting for those words to be uttered, the next person to walk into the dorm was Mitsuru herself. And following closely behind her was Akihiko, a duffel bag already hanging from his shoulders.

"Good, you're all here," said Mitsuru, glancing at the six of them and the bags they had with them. "Give me a moment to collect my things then we can go." And without another word, she walked to the stairs and climbed up to KYBT's room.

Her abrupt entrance and exit left eight people speechless while SEES just stood and got ready to leave.

"Well that was… a thing." Yang turned to Yukari and asked, "Did I just not notice that she was always like that?"

Yukari shook her head, shouldering her own travel bag like the others. "She used to be worse. Now she's only like that when it's important."

Yang waited but no further explanation was forthcoming. And that caused her to frown again. Ever since that night, practically all of SEES had been like this. Short and quick answers just to get it over with. It was like talking for extended periods was too tiring in itself.

Yang could see that everyone else was just as worried as she was. Well, save for Weiss. Yang honestly wasn't sure whether she was worried or not. Her words tried to convey worry but her body language didn't show it very well. It was either Weiss was just like that, or she wasn't actually concerned for them and just spoke to try and show that she was.

But honestly, Yang didn't care about that at the moment. Weiss could be completely insincere and it wouldn't matter one bit to her. Not right now.

The moment Mitsuru came down the stairs carrying her own bag, Yang stood from her seat and walked up to her. "Hey Mitsuru?" She waited until she had the older girl's full attention before continuing. "Think you guys could wait for a few more minutes while the rest of us grab some stuff too? We didn't exactly get the memo on our end." Fifteen pairs of eyes widened at the blonde's request but one had only widened marginally before going back to normal in the time it took Yang to blink. Still, it was good to know that Mitsuru could be caught off guard too.

"There'll be no need for that," said Mitsuru. With how normal her voice and tone was, Yang couldn't tell just how Mitsuru felt about the sudden request. "This is a personal matter for SEES. Besides which, I only asked the Headmaster for permission for SEES to stay in Vale overnight. Even if you came with us, you would have to return to avoid getting into trouble."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." This time, Mitsuru's eyes widened more than just a little bit at Yang's words. "We have permission too, see?" Yang held up her Scroll, showing Mitsuru a message from Ozpin granting them permission to stay in Vale for the night. Taking advantage of the redhead's shock, Yang turned around to face the rest of her friends. "Anyway, you guys should go on up and pack some clothes for the night. Don't wanna hold them up longer than we have to after all."

Thankfully for her, everyone took the hint and swiftly departed from the lounge, walking past the still stunned Mitsuru to do as Yang asked. Nora was dragging along a reluctant Ren, who felt that they may be intruding on something private as Mitsuru's words suggested, just as Ruby was tugging on Weiss's wrist, denying the girl every possible excuse ranging from homework to simply not wanting to go.

Soon enough, only Yang was left in the lounge with SEES, smiling nonchalantly as though she hadn't just ran over Mitsuru's own plans for the day. Everyone could see through it though. The moment she had produced that message from the Headmaster showed that her recent actions had all been planned out. What they couldn't understand was…

"Why?"

"Hm?"

Mitsuru glared slightly to show that the time for games as over. That was enough for Yang's innocently oblivious expression to fall off her face as soon as she had put it up, replaced by an equally serious look. "Why did you want to come? Or rather, why force your way into this?"

"Is there something wrong with wanting to come? We're a team after all."

"Yet this has nothing to do with Beacon or being a Huntress," countered Mitsuru. Yang just shrugged unapologetically, showing that she didn't really care what Mitsuru thought about her decision. In turn, Mitsuru sighed, knowing there was little she could do at this point. Not without raising her voice or using needless force. "Very well," she conceded.

"But," she cut in just as Yang looked ready to cheer or celebrate her little victory. "I expect everyone to be on their best behavior. If a single one behaves inappropriately, even in the smallest possible way, then _all_ of you are returning here even if I have to use Artemisia to take you all back. Understood?"

Yang, however, just waved off Mitsuru's words, still inwardly cheering for what she had just pulled off. "Hey, don't worry about us. I'll personally make sure everyone behaves. If they do anything, I'll take full responsibility."

"I'll hold you to that."

At the same time that Mitsuru spoke, Akihiko spoke up from behind Yang. "You're gonna regret that."

Hearing the doubt in his words, Yang rounded on the boxer. "What, you don't think I can keep them in line?"

"If you say you can, then I believe you," said the boxer, causing Yang to preen. "I just don't think you'll manage it for the whole thing."

Her proud bearing fell apart immediately as annoyance crept into her expression at Akihiko's continued doubt. Before she could retort, Yukari chose that moment to speak up. "About that senpai." Akihiko turned his attention to the archer, giving her a nod to go ahead. Yang just frowned at being snubbed. "Where exactly _are_ we going?"

"I'm curious as well," said Pyrrha, who returned carrying an overnight bag.

Beside her was Jaune and following soon after were Ren, Nora, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. The black-haired girl walked over to her partner and handed her one of the bags she was carrying.

Mitsuru's eyes narrowed slightly at their swift return. It had barely been two minutes since they left after all. Either they _really_ wanted to come along and had packed in a hurry, or they had packed ahead of time without letting SEES know, having known of Yang's request to the Headmaster to accompany them.

"You'll see when we get there," was Akihiko's evasive response towards the new arrivals. Then he turned to the rest of SEES, giving them all a searching glance before a sad smile appeared on his face. "Considering everything that's happened and how we've all been I'm not surprised you all forgot or just didn't notice."

"Forgot what?"

"The date, what else?"

"The date? But what does…"

Yukari froze as her mind caught up to Akihiko's words. Around her, the rest of SEES came to the same startling realization. Almost as one, they pulled out their Scrolls and opened them, their eyes immediately locking onto the date as heavy lumps formed in the back of their throats.

October 3, XX13.

* * *

 **Okay, show of hands and be honest, how many of you paid attention to the dates I've been showing and noticed that it was October 3, BEFORE the end of the chapter?**

 **Any Persona 3 fan should know the significance of that date. Or rather, the next day.**

 **Given all that, I'm sure just about everyone can figure out what the next chapter is going to be about. Will it be a tearjerker like the Interlude? Perhaps, but this time I can promise that it will at least be more positive than the Interlude. SEES has been broken down so now it's time to build them back up.**

 **On my profile, I posted a link to the class schedule I made up for Beacon's curriculum in case anyone is interested in seeing how I envisioned their classes going. Right now all I have are the first year classes plus the school-wide electives but I have a tentative idea for the second through fourth-year classes already written down.**

 **If anyone wants to use it for their story, feel free though I'd appreciate a little heads-up if you do.**

 **And now, unfortunately, I have some slightly bad news to get out of the way. The next update may or may not take as long as this one did. It may even be longer for two reasons.**

 **1) Writing this chapter was harder than it should have been. I knew all the scenes that would go into it, I knew how I wanted it to go, but the words just didn't flow out like they used to. I found myself erasing as much as 2,000 words in one go because I started feeling like the entire scene was too forced. So I had to redo the scene but also think of a different way to approach and write it. And this happened at least once for more than half the scenes in this chapter.**

 **2) To offset the lack of inspiration, I'm going to step back into planning mode. Specifically for a new story idea I came up with recently. It's going to be a purely Persona 3 story focusing on a major 'what if' situation. As far as I'm aware, no one has ever written that particular scenario just yet so it's going to take some planning since I don't have any prior stories to go off of. So yes, I'll be taking some time to plan out this story for a bit, let my inspiration for Messiah's Legacy build back up before I work on the next chapter. I'll still stick to my personal goal of having a minimum of one chapter per month though hopefully it doesn't get to that point.**

 **I tried going back to my other story but it seems like inspiration for that has dried up completely. I'm still trying, but I can't even finish the first 3,000 words, never mind the entire chapter. I'm guessing it's because I was never that enthused about writing it. Sure I found myself interested by the idea of switching the partnerships and teams around but I had no grand designs for it like this one. I'll probably delete it in time but I'll give it a chance until the end of next month. If it doesn't get moving by then I'll scrap it and search through my idea/plot bunny graveyard to see if any of those ideas are still kicking.**

 **Parts of this chapter still felt forced to me but only slightly. Hopefully I managed to smooth those over so let me know what you think. If any part feels like it wasn't as good as it could have been, let me know and I'll see about giving it a once over to see what I can do about it.**

 **Until next time everyone.**


	9. Ch 7 - The Fools Pt 3

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **I'm back everyone. That was a longer break than I expected. I know I promised to write at least one chapter per month at a minimum but I didn't think I'd get to that point this soon. I was thinking I'd only have to resort to that once I'm past fifteen or twenty chapters, not the seventh.**

 **Lost some days off a while back since two people at work fell ill and I needed to go in and take their place. I also had to visit some family and take care of a couple of things so that cut into my writing time quite a bit too.**

 **Planning for my new story isn't going as well as I had hoped but I got a decent portion of it planned out over the past few weeks. I wanna finish the planning before I get to work on it so don't expect the new story any time soon.**

 **Similarly, I had a bit of trouble with this chapter as well. Specifically around the point where the group reaches their final destination of the night, or day as it so happens. I'll point it out at the end of the chapter so hopefully I can see whether it holds up well enough but I'm not feeling too confident about it. I'll try to edit this in the coming days but for now this is the best I could manage. Hopefully the standard didn't drop that much.**

 **Quick little note before we get started. To anyone interested, I also finished the class schedules at Beacon for all four year levels. The link is on my profile if you're interested in checking it out. If you want to use it, I don't mind. All I ask is to give me a heads-up if you do and to give credit where it's due.**

 **Now, on with the show!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – The Fools Pt. 3**

 **October 3, XX13**

The journey to Vale was made in near absolute silence. The uninvited half of the group seems to have picked up on the somber mood SEES had adopted upon realizing the date and maintained the silence as best they could. Some did it out of respect while a select few also did it out of shame for their poor decision.

Weiss sat with a frown and her arms crossed in front of her, doing her best to ignore everything around her as she cursed Yang in her head. She did not know if the buxom blonde had seen it, but Weiss had seen the brief flare of anger in Mitsuru's eyes when she realized that Yang had all but forced her to allow them to come. She didn't particularly care that Mitsuru was angry with Yang. She just hoped that the redhead's anger did not extend to everyone else. Or at least, not to her.

Ruby didn't know what was so important about the date, but she could see the effect it had on the entire group. Their mood had noticeably dropped, more than it already had over the past few weeks, when they saw the date and, apparently, remembered its significance to them. But at the same time, there was a hardness in their eyes, a small flame that he been missing since their breakdown. The dark-haired scythe wielder didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing. She could only hope it was the former.

Pyrrha could not decide how to feel. Should she be grateful to Yang for giving them the chance to spend more time with their teams? The chance to, hopefully, help them recover while making sure nothing else happened to them? Or should she be ashamed for not speaking against going with them on what Mitsuru had explicitly mentioned was a personal matter?

Jaune felt much the same way. He hated seeing Junpei, who had been so upbeat and laidback during that first week, look so defeated, but he couldn't help but feel that they were going about it the wrong way by forcing themselves on SEES like they were. It felt so much worse since, as well as they got along with one another, they weren't all that close as friends. Certainly not enough to attend what should have been a private event.

Only Yang and Blake, and Ren and Nora did not maintain such a strict silence. They did, however, keep their voices down so as not to disturb anyone else.

"What made you think this was a good idea?" Blake whispered to Yang, doing her best to keep her tone neutral.

She may have gone along with it, but that did not mean she agreed with everything that Yang had done. More so when she learned that it was related to something personal to the members of SEES. But, much like her fighting style, Yang had simply powered her way through the obstacles in her way, heedless of the collateral damage she was causing.

And in this case, everyone else was the collateral damage caused by Yang's actions. Yang had gotten Mitsuru to let them come, but at what cost? Blake had felt the hostility in Mitsuru's gaze when she returned from their room carrying the bags that they had packed in secret after Yukari left their room. She had even seen the suspicion in Mitsuru's gaze, probably considering the possibilities behind their swift return from their rooms. How badly would Yang's actions damage their relationship to their teammate and leader? To SEES as a whole?

Keeping true with what Blake knew of the girl, Yang shrugged lightly. "Was it really so wrong?" Blake had no idea where and how to begin answering that question. "I mean, they've been in the dumps for three weeks now. I know you've been worried about them too."

"Worrying about them is one thing," Blake whispered firmly, trying to convey her feelings without letting others overhear their conversation. "Invading their privacy like this? Especially after Mitsuru mentioned that this was personal? That's a completely different thing altogether."

Yang sighed and leaned back against her seat, showing, for once, that even she had some doubts about her plan. "Well what would you have done?" she asked Blake in turn, her face a cross between exasperation and irritation. "None of them have opened up to us in the past three weeks. At all. I know we aren't exactly all that close but we're supposed to be a team. We're going to be spending the next four years with one another. How are we supposed to work together if we don't know the first thing about each other?"

Blake had to concede that point to Yang but she wasn't giving up the entire conversation just yet. "But don't you think this went a little too far? Yes, we might learn more about them but what if they close us off completely because they don't like how we did things? You saw Mitsuru's reaction to what you did."

"Then I'll just apologize later." Contrary to her words, Yang did not look the least bit apologetic. "Besides, I did this because I was worried about them. What's wrong with that?"

This time it was Blake who sighed. "Forget it."

Yang tried to get her to answer but Blake repeatedly refused to do so. She had known that Yang could be quite bullheaded about things but she didn't realize just how bad it was. Ignoring her partner's quiet but insistent questioning, Blake leaned back into the seat and shut her eyes to think about their situation now that Yang had singlehandedly and underhandedly managed to invite herself and everyone else to SEES's mysterious outing.

Blake was no stranger to the use of underhanded means to achieve a goal but she had always reserved that for enemies and for people who were in the wrong. Mitsuru… SEES was neither. They had done them no wrong, nothing to deserve the use of underhanded methods. Yang had a point that the enigmatic group of eight had not opened up to them in any way but Blake could see things from a perspective that Yang could not.

Blake found herself torn when the White Fang had first turned to increasingly aggressive acts. What was once loud but overall peaceful protests turned into angry, verbally violent and abusive accusations of racial discrimination. Carefully handled cases of known racists turned into public beatings, sometimes followed by spreading photographs and videos of the event to show what would happen to any who persisted in following their discriminatory beliefs. Attempts to negotiate with the government and various forms of leadership, or even just small businesses, turned into harsh, forceful demands of equality.

It had taken a few months before Blake realized that their methods did not just include new methods but had changed completely and utterly. That one realization drained her of her resolve to remain in the White Fang, making her question her continued membership. So she turned to the people within the organization that she had trusted the most. People whom she had been acquainted with even before they had joined the once peaceful group. And they all reassured her that what they were doing was for the best of all faunus, that force was needed to fight force in order to bring the change they all desired.

Even when many faunus turned against them, decrying their violent acts, her friends – some of whom had risen to a low-tiered leadership position by then – had reassured her that those naysayers were simply misguided or too idealistic, that they refused to see the truth of the matter. Humans would never see faunus as an equal unless they were forced to acknowledge that faunus were more than just mindless animals and beasts, that the faunus were capable enough to stand amongst the humans on equal footing

And so she fought, just as they did, to show humans that the faunus were worthy of being considered equals. For years she embraced the White Fang's new doctrine. Beating up racists in public, displaying the end result in public when the beatings occurred in private, sabotaging and destroying various businesses that refused to serve faunus, stealing supplies for the organization and less privileged faunus from those same businesses, and, in time, killing those who stood as public symbols for faunus discrimination. All in an effort to eliminate racism and discrimination.

But all the while her heart broke with every act. Every punch or kick delivered struck her heart just as hard, theft and destruction chipped away at her justifications for performing them, and every life she claimed, directly or not, tore at her very soul. And each time she felt herself begin to break, she would seek comfort from her friends in the organization, seeking reassurance that their violent actions, _her_ violent actions, were just.

It was only on her second-to-last mission that she began to see, to truly see and acknowledge, just how far the White Fang had fallen, how far she had fallen. It pained her to leave her friends, to leave the only home she had ever known, the first place that made her feel safe. But she knew that if she stayed she would only come to regret it, that she would one day pay a price that no one should ever have to pay. And so, as difficult and painful as it was, she fled the White Fang, hoping to find another way to achieve her goal of equality for the faunus.

And just as Blake found it difficult to break away from the White Fang, it was clear to her that SEES was having difficulty opening up to their new teammates regarding personal matters. It wasn't surprising after hearing a bit about their shared past. Though they had initially come together due to their common ability to summon Personas, the bond was strengthened by fighting alongside one another against the Grimm. And when you could trust one another with your very lives, was it not natural that they would first turn to one another in difficult times rather than to a newly formed friendship?

Moreover, unlike her, who had broken away when she realized that the path she shared with the White Fang was not the one she wanted to follow, all eight of them still walked the same path. It would be doubly difficult for them to open up to newcomers, even to those who walked the same or similar road as them, while those they trusted wholeheartedly were still there by their side for them to rely on. While they would not need to break old bonds to form new ones, they would still instinctively reach out to those they knew long before they considered a new acquaintance.

That was something Yang obviously could not see. Yang seemed naturally outgoing, the kind of person who could befriend most everyone around them with her open and easy-going personality, with a bright and friendly smile that was as natural to her as breathing was to everyone else. She was the least likely among them to have difficulty opening up, even to new people. She wouldn't be sharing deep, personal secret or problems but she would be more willing to share things with them than anyone else in the group.

And now that bullheadedness of hers, compounded by her belief that they should be sharing their problems to one another as a team, just might cost them what cohesiveness their team had formed over the past month since arriving at Beacon.

As the airship began to descend towards the landing pads in Vale, Blake could only hope that the damage to their relationship was not too severe. That Yang had not inadvertently ruined their budding relationship with their new friends.

* * *

Sitting closer towards the back of the ship, Ren and Nora were having their own hushed conversation. Contrary to what one might have expected from the girl, Nora's face bore a fairly serious expression very much unlike her normally cheerful one.

"Do you think they hate us now?" she asked, one hand placed over the other on her lap while her knees were tightly pressed together.

Ren shook his head, half-turned to where SEES was sitting in solemn silence. "I don't think so. Only Mitsuru looked angry and that was only with Yang as far as I could tell. She looked suspicious that we came back down so quickly but I think she understands that this was mostly Yang's doing. Hopefully anyway."

Nora just nodded, her mood just as somber as everyone else's. It wasn't exactly the right time to be her usual bubbly self. Even she knew that. But just like everyone else she couldn't help but worry that they had damaged their relationship with their new friends. While it was, as Ren stated, mostly Yang's doing, none of them had really spoken against it even after learning that it was meant to be a private affair.

Sensing Nora's mood, Ren placed a supporting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. At the very least, nobody seemed to mind too much that we're coming along."

However, Nora shook her head before turning her gaze towards SEES. Following her line of sight, Ren found her looking at the youngest member of his team, of the entire group, watching as he absently stroked Koromaru's head with a sad look on his face. The level of sadness they could see was second only to that night three weeks ago.

"Ah."

It was unsurprising that Nora was worried about Ken the most. It was something he had yet to explain to his two new teammates. The reason why she doted on Ken so much. Then again, it wouldn't have made much sense unless they knew about their past.

Neither one of them have opened up to the other pair about their pasts, despite Akihiko and Ken speaking openly about parts of theirs. Akihiko was more forthcoming, as Ken was far too lost in his grief to converse on most days. He wasn't sure how Nora felt about their openness, or if she was considering opening up to them in return, but for the moment it didn't matter if they did. Even if they wanted to, now wasn't the right time.

And so all they could do was watch and show that they were there for them. Akihiko accepted it graciously but never took them up on their offer to talk. He hadn't needed to, though that didn't stop them from worrying. It was Ken who worried them more.

The twelve-year-old boy had practically shut down since that night. He wasn't completely lifeless, able to go about his day with only a small amount of difficulty, but they could see that it was merely the memories of his body going through the motions. Mentally and emotionally, he was absent. His studies were barely passable, which made their fellow classmates doubt his place in the school even though his combat skills were somehow just as sharp as it always was.

Ren attributed it to sheer instinct. With their past of having fought Grimm before, Ken, as well as the rest of SEES, most likely had a separate mindset going into a fight. It wasn't uncommon to have one but it honestly worried him and Nora just how easily someone as young as Ken could slip into a combat-oriented mindset despite how emotionally compromised he was outside of a fight.

Was it a side effect of how their Personas were awakened? He and Nora had discussed that in private one time when the latter mused on how amazing it would be if she had a Persona of her own. But leaving aside the fact that Personas were essentially their version of a Semblance, meaning that no one with a Semblance would be able to awaken one, was it really worth the trauma that would undoubtedly come with being so close to death in order to awaken it?

Neither he nor Nora were strangers to danger and they had come close to death on more than one occasion. And that was why both of them knew that there was no way Ken, or even any member of SEES, could have been completely fine even before they broke down.

Even now, roughly a decade after the loss of their home, neither of them could completely say that they had recovered from the things they've gone through since that time. So that begged the question, how was it possible for SEES to have completely recovered from their own experiences in less than a year?

It was possible that - especially after seeing their seamless transition from lethargic to battle-ready - they had utilized training and combat as a way to suppress their emotions. By losing themselves in the fight, they could forget all unnecessary feelings and thoughts to focus on surviving. Again, it was hardly uncommon in a world where monster killing was an actual career choice. It was simply disturbing to see it happen to people their age and especially to one who was five years younger than them.

But then what about outside of combat? How did they cope with their feelings then? They hadn't behave anything like someone suffering from a great loss in that short week after the Initiation. They had behaved so normally that Ren doubted that he would have seen them as anything more than students from a faraway town or village had they not revealed their troubling past.

They couldn't even bring up the subject with Akihiko or Mitsuru, the two oldest of the group. It wasn't a topic that could be discussed in a public setting, especially with everyone else around, and both Akihiko and Mitsuru had been fairly occupied the past three weeks, making it difficult to speak to them in private to share their concerns. At least now they could understand why they were so busy, even if they still didn't know where they were going.

"Don't worry," repeated Ren, his hand never leaving Nora's shoulder. "Whatever happens, he'll pull through. Even if there's little we can do, Akihiko will be there for him."

Nora nodded but he could see that his words did little to lift her mood. "I know. I just don't like seeing him like that. It reminds me of…"

She didn't need to say it. He knew exactly what she was thinking of whenever she saw Ken. Lifting his hand off her shoulder, he instead wrapped his arm around both her shoulders. Nora nodded her thanks but didn't take her eyes off of the despondent preteen across the room.

As they felt the airship begin its descent, both he and Nora could only hope that whatever Akihiko and Mitsuru planned would bring the life back to those dark brown eyes. It was just wrong and disturbing to see dull, emotionless eyes on a child so young.

* * *

After disembarking, Mitsuru and Akihiko led the entire group to the bus stop, making them wonder, once again, where they were headed. The two seniors remained tight-lipped whenever someone asked. Those familiar with Vale and its transit system were even more confused when the bus they rode took them south towards the residential district. A short walk from the bus stop brought them to the gates of a large, three-story house that stood one house away from the corner of the block.

A gray van was parked on the driveway but none of the lights in the house were switched on despite it being early evening, adding to everyone's confusion. The house itself didn't have any notable features asides from its size.

"Are we visiting someone you know?" asked Yang. Even after everything she did, or maybe _because_ of it, she was the only one who had the courage to speak beyond a whisper, or even just speak in general, while in Mitsuru's presence. Mitsuru, however, pointedly ignored the question, causing Yang to sigh out loud even as Ruby placed a consoling hand on her sister's slumped shoulders. "Thanks Rubes."

The sound of tinkling metal drew their attention back to Mitsuru and everyone watched in growing incredulity as the source of the sound was revealed to be a set of keys. Keys that, to the observant, looked completely brand new. And one key, in particular, was now inserted into the lock that kept the gates shut. The loud clicking that signaled the unlocking of the gates was almost deafening in the silence of their shock.

Whose house was this? And why did Mitsuru have the keys to it? Even the other six members of SEES had trouble believing what they were seeing. Had Mitsuru actually gone and bought a house sometime over the past three weeks? Even knowing how much money Elizabeth had left behind for their use, none of them could believe what they were seeing.

When the gates swung open silently, nobody followed as the two seniors stepped onto the stone path leading to the front door. Everyone turned to each other with looks filled with uncertainty and disbelief, still unable to believe that they were actually there. The distant click of the doors being unlocked barely even registered to their ears, still in shock of the possibility that Mitsuru had bought a house.

"What're you all waiting for?" Akihiko's lightly amused call broke them out of their trance as they turned as one to see him standing beneath the doorway, a grin on his face. "Come on, we still have somewhere to be after this."

SEES and their teammates walked into the building, understandably still in awe of the entire situation. As they stepped through the front doors, breathy exclamations of awe escaped their lips as they saw the inside. It wasn't so much the beauty as it was the size of the interior and the way it was designed.

The room they were in couldn't even be called a simple room. From where they stood, they could see all the way up to the ceiling of the third floor without any obstructions. To their left was the living room, though considering the lack of a dividing wall it could be said that they were already in the living room. In it they saw two long couches in an L-shape, one facing a wall and the other facing the empty fireplace, and a large, square coffee table in the middle. Directly ahead they could see a large, round dining table with a turntable surrounded by ten chairs. There was a countertop close to the table and they assumed that the other side of the countertop was the kitchen.

To their right was another door but right beside the door were the stairs leading up to the second floor. The second floor, what they could see of it anyway, was a large, L-shaped balcony that overlooked the first floor's living room. There were three doors visible from where they stood but given the size and shape of the house it was safe to assume there were more.

Directly in front of the second floor landing was the base of another set of stairs, placed perpendicular to the first set to conform to the L-shape. The third floor looked much the same from their position, an L-shaped balcony that overlooked the first floor, with presumably more rooms on the outer side of the L.

The house was only decorated to the bare minimum, understandable since Mitsuru had to have bought it only recently. Yes, there was definitely no doubt about it now. Mitsuru had bought a house. An entirely new house at that since the interior lacked any signs of prior decoration or ownership. SEES was aware that Mitsuru, or rather they, could afford it. They had seen for themselves the funds available to them.

Their teammates, one the other hand, were now staring at the former heiress with looks ranging from awe to outright shock. While they were aware that SEES had a benefactor who had left them a sum of money to use, none of them were aware of just how much they had. Was this house bought with that money? Or did Mitsuru obtain the house in some other manner? Perhaps it belonged to their mysterious benefactor at some point?

A soft clicking sound drew their attention to the front. When they realized where the sound had come from, several of them gasped or just let out surprised or panicked sounds.

A mischievously grinning Akihiko lowered his Scroll while Mitsuru just shook her head behind him. "I thought you said you wouldn't do that." Despite her lightly chiding words, a faint grin could be seen on her own face. The silver-haired boxer just shrugged as he pocketed his Scroll. Shaking her head once more, Mitsuru addressed the members of SEES even as Akihiko went up the stairs. "Junpei, Ken, go with Akihiko."

The two wondered what they would be doing but obeyed with just a nod. As the trio left, followed closely by Koromaru, Mitsuru turned to the four remaining members of SEES. "As for the four of you, go on ahead up to the third floor. Go into the first room to your right and look in the closet. I'll be there shortly."

Yukari, Fuuka, Aigis, and Chidori proceeded up the stairs without a word. It didn't take a genius to imagine the different possibilities of why Mitsuru wanted to remain behind for a while longer.

Once she heard the door on the third floor click shut, Mitsuru turned to the eight teens who had been observing her with growing unease. Specifically, she turned to Yang, her arms crossed beneath her breasts and a frown on her face. "I hope you know how disappointed I am with what you did."

Yang winced as Mitsuru spoke. While her voice lacked the sharp and cold quality she had come to associate with a displeased Mitsuru, it also lacked the fairly warm tone she had gotten used to hearing. "Sorry," she said, bowing her head slightly but maintaining eye contact. "But… I'm just worried, you know? Heck, we all are. Is it so wrong to worry about our friends?"

Mitsuru sighed, shutting her eyes. "And I appreciate that. We all do." Yang raised her head, a small smile forming on her face that faded immediately as Mitsuru continued to speak, her eyes opening but still bearing that disappointed gaze. "But do you really think so little of us that you felt the need to invite yourself to a private event? Did you think us so incapable in our current state that we needed to be chaperoned like children?"

Yang winced a second time, looking down and away as her right hand traveled across her body to rub her left arm. As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. Barely anything had changed over the past three weeks after all. In some small part of her mind she really did start to think that SEES _needed_ them to be there as they recovered, that SEES could not recover on their own despite Mitsuru and Akihiko's constant reassurances.

The others shuffled uncomfortably and looked away as they considered Mitsuru's words as well. Though it had been Yang who came up with a way to join them, they were all just as guilty for not stopping her and considering SEES's opinion. Instead they all went along with it. Even Weiss had to admit that she could have tried harder to remain behind, possibly even convincing the more rational of her new acquaintances, rather than giving in to her own curiosity at the end.

And a few of them, like Yang, really did think that they needed to come along to make sure nothing happened to the despondent group while in Vale. It was, admittedly, incredibly arrogant of them to think so. Despite their depressed state and their lack of Aura, all eight of them were still accomplished fighters. They had proven that over the past three weeks. Even Fuuka was quite capable as long as she focused on defense. Even if they weren't, Aigis and Akihiko were with them. Neither one needed a weapon to be dangerous. And that was before they even considered their use Personas.

Mitsuru saw the various expressions on their faces that reflected different levels of shame. She took no pleasure in what she was doing but it was something they needed to hear. Yang especially. Mitsuru's thoughts might have distracted her far more than she liked, but she was still the former Kirijo heiress. It did not escape her notice that Yang was very much like Akihiko had been around the time they had first mer. From her perspective anyway.

Brash and headstrong, charging into a situation with little consideration for the possible consequences, easily excited by the prospect of a fight, and, as she had displayed just now, willing to bypass rules – hopefully not all of them – and authority if she felt it necessary to achieve her goals, strength and power in the younger Akihiko's case. There was very little doubt in Mitsuru's mind that Yang would have followed them, somehow, even if Ozpin did not give them permission. The blonde might have even just pretended to have a message from Ozpin if he hadn't given it.

Feeling that she had let them consider their faults long enough for the moment – they'll have more than enough time for that in the future after all – Mitsuru addressed the group once more. "I hope you realize your mistakes in this matter, all of you," she added the last part just to make sure they all knew she was speaking to them as a group. "Do not expect me to be so lenient should any of you act in this manner again. As I said, I appreciate your concern and I know everyone else does as well. But being concerned is not permission to do whatever you feel is necessary just to soothe your own worries."

None of them could do more than nod, suitably chastised by Mitsuru's calm but stern words. "Now then," she resumed with a slightly softer tone and demeanor. "What some of you are wearing can hardly be called suitable for where we are going. Yang, Pyrrha." At the sound of their names, the two stood slightly straighter. "Go to any of the rooms on the third floor, except for the one Yukari and the others are using, and change into something less revealing and, if you have it, preferably something in darker shades."

"The latter goes for the rest of you as well." Similarly, the rest of them also straightened their postures. "If you have darker colored clothing, please change into it as well. If not then remain as you are. Also, leave behind your weapons and any jewelry you are wearing in the rooms."

"Um… where exactly are we going?" Ruby asked with a hint of hesitation.

"You'll find out when we get there." Mitsuru's tone was just as relaxed as her facial expression, giving absolutely nothing away. "Consider not knowing our destination part of your punishment for what you did."

' _That's a punishment?_ ' was the thought that echoed through their thoughts but nobody dared to try fishing for more details and risk further punishment. If that was all she was going to punish them with then all the better. Instead, they all nodded and turned to the stairs.

"One last thing." They paused and turned back to the redhead, whose expression hadn't changed at all. "After you are dressed, remain in the room. Akihiko will come collect you when we are ready. Jaune, Ren, you can use the room at the end on the left side of the second floor."

As strange as her orders were, they just nodded and accepted it. Jaune and Ren, as instructed, entered the room on the far left of the second floor while the six girls proceeded up to the third floor, followed by Mitsuru. Ignoring the first door they saw, which the female members of SEES had entered, they entered the next room they came to, hearing Mitsuru call out a warning to the occupants of the room that she would be entering.

The inside of the room was as simple and bare as the rest of the house. The wall directly opposite the door they walked in through had tall windows that covered two-thirds of the wall's height as well as its entire length. Beneath the windows, towards the left side of the room, was a full-sized bed between two bedside tables, each one with a lamp placed on top of it. And on the right side, also beneath the windows, was a simple wooden desk and chair with another lamp situated on the corner of the desk.

On the wall to the left were two sliding doors with mirrors on the front. Sliding it open, they found a fairly large wardrobe built into the wall, with enough vertical space to hang even full-length dresses, a row of drawers, and a row of cubicles for the room's occupants to use however they wanted. Walking through the door on the right side of the room, the girls found a simple bathroom containing a countertop with a sink, a mirror spanning half the wall above it, a medicine cabinet on the wall beside the mirror, a toilet, and a shower stall.

Having explored the entire room, the six girls walked back to the main room and set their bags down on the bed.

"So," began Yang, hoping to break up the uncomfortable silence that had descended upon them all. "Asides from me and Pyrrha, do any of you actually need to change?" She glanced at Ruby and Blake but they just gave her a flat stare. She turned to Nora, who raised a finger to her chin for a moment before raising her hand with a nod. "Okay, that's three of us then."

The last occupant of the room, however, had something to say. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

In response, Yang turned to Weiss, who was glaring at her with her hands on her hips, and raised an eyebrow. "Do you even _own_ anything that isn't white or pale blue?" Weiss growled and her eyes narrowed but said nothing to deny the blonde's words. "Thought so."

Yang entered the bathroom with a change of clothes in hand while Pyrrha and Nora waited their turn, neither the blonde nor the redhead really comfortable with the idea of changing clothes in front of everyone else. Nora didn't mind changing in the room with them but the others did, forcing her to use the bathroom as a changing room as well. Everyone else in the room was silent, not really knowing what to talk about given the current situation.

Yang stepped out of the bathroom wearing slightly different clothing. She kept the yellow crop-top but switched her vest for a dull, gray jacket she brought just in case it got too cold out. It was short enough that part of her midriff was still bare but she zipped it up high enough to hide the cleavage revealed by her top. She had also switched out her shorts and the belt she wore for a pair of tight fitting jeans. She had brought them with her hoping to take SEES to a club or something to try and get them to have fun. It didn't exactly match the loose jacket she wore but from Mitsuru's tone of voice she'd probably force them to stay behind if their clothing didn't pass inspection.

As Pyrrha entered the bathroom, Yang walked over to her bag to deposit her vest, belt, and shorts. Then, with a bit of hesitation, she undid Ember Celica from her wrists and placed them in her bag along with her gloves.

It felt strange knowing that she would stepping out of the house without them. The only times she ever took them off were when she was about to sleep, and when she needed to bathe. She didn't even like taking them off when she put on the Beacon uniform but it didn't feel as strange since she was still on campus, which was definitely safer than the streets of Vale, especially now that the sun had long since set. The city may have been behind the walls but there were more dangers than just the Grimm after all. Hopefully nothing she couldn't handle with just her bare fists.

After only a few minutes, Pyrrha stepped out of the bathroom. Her appearance caused everyone to stare at her, Ruby even doing a double-take after seeing her. Gone were the armor-like top, miniskirt, gloves, and leg armor that Pyrrha favored even on the weekends. The bronze circlet she always wore, which she even wore while wearing the school uniform, was also gone along with the other accessories she normally wore.

Wearing only a long-sleeved, white dress shirt, light brown slacks, and her usual boots, Pyrrha Nikos looked almost unrecognizable in their eyes. Her face, which normally had a little eye-shadow to accentuate her eyes, was clear of make-up as well. Since Mitsuru had asked them to remove all jewelry and such, Pyrrha opted to remove the eyeshadow as well just in case her fellow redhead had simply forgotten to mention it.

All in all, Pyrrha's appearance was… plain. It almost seemed unbelievable that someone known across all of Mistral, as well as a decent portion of the rest of Remnant, could look so plain, so normal, with just a change of clothes.

"Wh-What?" Pyrrha stammered out, unnerved by how intently the other five girls were staring at her. Correction, four. Nora had already stepped around her and had entered the bathroom, seemingly unaffected by whatever had bewitched the other four. Whatever the reason for the staring was, it obviously wasn't as interesting to the orange-haired girl. The other four shook their heads, mumbling words like 'it's nothing' and 'don't worry about it' while looking away, completely avoiding Pyrrha's searching gaze.

Seeing that she would not receive an answer, the Mistralian just shrugged slightly and walked over to her bag, placing her neatly folded clothes inside it before placing the bag itself on the floor between the bed and the desk, right next to where Miló and Akuóu were leaning against the wall.

As someone trained in combat with the intention of being a huntress, one thing she had been taught was to always be armed whenever she stepped outside. Even when inside the city, no one ever really knew if something would happen. So, much like Yang, it felt strange to know that she would be walking around outside unarmed, especially at night. She was incredibly hesitant to do so and was even a little insecure despite knowing she could still fight even without her weapons. Not as well, obviously, but well enough to handle a bit of trouble.

Then, barely a minute after stepping in, Nora stepped out as well. And this time, five people stared at her change of clothing, though the looks they were giving her were different from the one they gave Pyrrha. But rather than pay attention to it, Nora hummed to herself as she half-skipped to her bag.

But before she could open her bag, Ruby called to her. "Nora?" The girl didn't stop humming but she turned to Ruby with a smile to show that she was listening. "You uh… didn't change?"

Nora seemed to look confused for a moment before looking down at herself. A white top with a heart-shaped opening above the center of her chest, a black, collared vest, that strange metal frame that went down from between her shoulders and neck and encircled her torso underneath her breasts and also around her waist, a short pink skirt, and white and pink high-topped shoes. Checking her arms, she saw he separate white sleeves and pink fingerless gloves that she usually wore. She looked back at Ruby. "Of course I did."

"Wha… But you… Huh?"

"I think," began Pyrrha as Ruby spluttered and gestured wildly, trying and failing to find the words she wanted to say. "What Ruby is trying to say is that the clothes you are wearing are the same ones you were wearing before you went in."

"Yeah! That!" Ruby shouted while pointing at Pyrrha and nodded vigorously. Blake and Yang voiced their agreement, though not as vocally or excitedly.

But still, Nora just looked confused. "What are you talking about? Of course I changed." She held up the articles of clothing in her right hand, showing them that she did change into something else. "See?"

"Wh-What the…"

"Gyah!"

"N-Nora!"

Three people cried out, two of them turning away, while the remaining two could only gape at the matching set of pink underwear in Nora's hands. All five had turned varying shades of red. Unbothered by their embarrassment and discomfort, Nora just grinned cheerfully. "Mitsuru said to change into something darker so I did. Here, I'll show-"

"NO!"

Nora's left hand, which was already reaching for the bottom of her skirt, shot up into the air in surprise along with her right, sending her pink underwear flying into the air. She recovered quickly though. She scratched her cheek and grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry."

"Th-That's fine, Nora," said Pyrrha, looking everywhere but at Nora. "J-Just don't do that again. I don't think Mitsuru would take too kindly to that."

"I-Is it safe to look now?"

Yang sighed. "Yeah Rubes, it's fine. She didn't actually get the chance to do anything."

"Speak for yourself." Everyone turned to Weiss when she spoke and winced at the sight. Nora's underwear had somehow found its way onto the white-haired heiress. Nora's panties had landed on the girl's left shoulder while her bra now hung down in front of Weiss's face, one of the cups hanging in front of her left eye. "Would you like these back now or should I hold on to them a little longer?"

Despite the very noticeable sarcasm in the heiress's tone, Nora just literally waved off Weiss's concern, grabbing her bag from the bed and turning away from the group. "You can hold onto them, or even keep them if you want. I've got more."

"Weiss? What are you- No! Don't!"

Nora could hear a commotion behind her as she walked to the corner of the room. It sounded very much like a struggle, along with some shouting, but she paid it no mind, humming a merry tune as she set her bag down next to Magnhild. Next she removed her gloves and the white sleeves on her arms. No sense in wearing them after all.

When she turned back to the others, she found Weiss slowly dragging herself along the ground towards her with an angry look on her face, half-covered by the bra still hanging off her head, and the two siblings piled onto her back trying to stop her from moving. It didn't take long before Nora's eyes opened wide, realizing the situation.

"DOG PILE!"

* * *

Five out of eight pairs of feet arranged in a straight line shuffled nervously just as five pairs of hands were tightly interlocked behind their owners. The owners of two of the other three pairs of feet just glanced at the five with confusion. The last was rocking back and forth on her feet, humming another jaunty tune as though she had nothing to do with the situation.

And standing in front of them all was Akihiko.

Not long after Nora had jumped on top of the three girls, a knock came from the door with a voice calling out, asking if they were ready. Unfortunately, before they could correct their situation or think of a proper response, Nora decided to speak for them all, inviting the person on the other side of the door.

And so in walked Akihiko, who had barely stepped into the room when he froze at the sight of the four girls lying atop one another while the other two just looked on, one flustered and the other embarrassed. His face gave away nothing up until he slapped his forehead with one hand, shaking his head the whole time. "I don't want to know," he had said, turning around. "Come downstairs when you're done."

The girls swiftly corrected themselves and put away their things. Nobody said anything about what had happened, some out of embarrassment and some knowing that it would simply be a waste of time that they didn't have. And soon, not even a minute later, they stood in front of Akihiko along with Jaune and Ren. While he had not specifically asked them to, the eight of them stood in a straight line with equally straight postures like soldiers on inspection.

And while Akihiko glanced at each of them briefly, most likely checking their clothing, they also did the same. But as they did, a large, heavy weight began to settle in the pit of their stomachs. And with every piece of clothing they examined, the weight grew heavier and heavier.

He was wearing what some of them recognized as a black kimono with an oversized coat or a jacket of sorts over it with a piece of string holding the lapels together. Both the jacket and string were black as well. The collar of a white article of clothing – one that looked very much like the kimono itself save for the color – peeked out of his kimono. A wide sash was wrapped around his torso, beneath his stomach. Once again, it was black.

Covering his lower body was something that looked like pants that were pleated, almost like a skirt, with narrow, black and gray vertical stripes. In fact, the pants were so wide and loose that they couldn't even see where one pant leg began and the other ended. If they hadn't know any better – after all, Akihiko was male and showed no signs that he was the type to dress in female clothing – they would have thought that it was a skirt. A long one at that. They could barely even see his ankles without bending down first.

He was wearing white socks on his feet, but not a kind they recognized. The material looked smooth, like a single piece of cloth that had been sewn into the shape of a sock. Along with this, he wore what seemed to be straw thong slippers. The more observant ones, Blake, Weiss, and Ren, noted that the thong was black as well.

If Akihiko noticed their unease at the sight of his outfit then he gave no indication of it, instead looking them over. Neither Jaune nor Ren had changed their clothes, though Jaune took off the armor pieces he wore, leaving him clad in jeans and a black hooded sweater over a red shirt. Next were Yang and Pyrrha. After a brief inspection, he gave them a nod. Finally, he turned to the four who hadn't changed.

"You don't have any pants or a longer skirt?" he asked Nora.

"Nope. They're back at Beacon."

Akihiko nodded and moved down the line to Weiss, raising an eyebrow. "Do you… even own anything that isn't white or pale blue?"

Yang and Ruby didn't even try to hide their snickers. The corner of Blake's lips turned upwards just a hint while Pyrrha coughed into her fist, pressing her lips shut tightly to avoid grinning. Weiss just resisted the urge to growl. "I don't have them with me." It was an outright lie and she knew it. Hopefully, no one else did.

Again, Akihiko nodded and moved on. He barely spared Blake's outfit a glance and just gave his approval. When he came to the last person in line, Ruby just smiled in confidence. "Leave your cloak behind." Confidence that was shattered by four words.

"Wh-Why?" The look on Ruby's face was a mix of disbelief and distress.

"The color," came the curt response.

"B-But what about Weiss?" she stammered out, gesturing to the heiress's clothes. "A-And Pyrrha? They're wearing white."

Akihiko shook his head, his expression never once wavering despite the pitiful look on Ruby's face. "Assuming they aren't just pretending not to have any, then neither of them have anything in a darker color at the moment. The color's not that bright but it's still not an appropriate color for this. Since it's only your hood then you don't really have an excuse not to take it off."

"Hey, come on," Yang cut in, stepping up to Akihiko. "That cloak was a gift from her mom and it means a lot to her. Besides, it's like you said. The color's not even that bright. Can't you let it slide?"

"If it was only up to me I would. But it's not my call to make."

"So what? You're just gonna follow Mitsuru's orders?" asked Yang, her tone growing harsh as she took another step closer. "I know she used to be your group leader but you're not on her team anymore. You're both team leaders now. You don't have to do everything she says just because of how things were in the past."

Both Ren and Blake inhaled sharply at Yang's words, causing those who heard to look at them in confusion. But all heads turned back to Akihiko when they felt a shift in the air. There was no change in his demeanor or his expression but Yang's words clearly had an effect on him as the air seemed to grow heavier.

"That may be so." His voice was still calm despite the tension in the air. "But you're forgetting that this was supposed to be a gathering for SEES, not KYBT, ANKR, ASYR, and JACN. The only reason all of you are here is because you chose to be here despite the fact that none of you were invited. You're more than welcome to choose to stay behind if you want."

Yang swallowed nervously and took a step back, knowing that Akihiko was right on all points. It had been her plan that led to them accompanying SEES to Vale. It had been her plan that had more or less forced Mitsuru to include them in their plans. And it had been her plan as well that had gotten them, though mostly her, into trouble with the redhead.

Her words to Blake on the airship weren't false. Yes, she wanted to come along to help SEES. Yes, she did it to try and bring their teams closer, to let them know that they could rely on their new friends. But she knew. She had known from the start that, despite her goals, the way she had gone about achieving them was not very likely to endear her to SEES, Mitsuru especially.

But that was fine, wasn't it? She wanted to close the gap between them, between SEES and their new teammates. If she had to widen that gap a bit before she could close it, then that just meant she had to put more effort into closing it, right? They were all very reasonable people after all. All she had to do was apologize and explain how worried she and the other had been, let them know that they just wanted to make sure they were alright.

She'd even take the fall for it if need be. She'd let Mitsuru know that the idea was all hers, that she'd forced and coerced everyone else into going along with it, and then she'd apologize however much it took. She wasn't sure what she could have offered in order to make up for it but she had been prepared to do just about anything to show how sorry she was for doing what she did. Whatever Mitsuru threw her way, she would be ready for it.

Yang had expected Mitsuru to be angry. It would have been absolutely foolish of her not to. Yelling, and maybe even a slap or two, were just as expected. Quiet, smoldering anger? _That_ she hadn't expected. Mitsuru often grew stern when she was upset, but Yang hadn't expected the redhead to express her anger in a similar manner. Then again, part of the reason why she had done what she did was _because_ she wanted them all to get to know each other better. At least, in some strange way, she got her wish and learned more about Mitsuru.

Was what she had done been that bad? Was it so horrible that Mitsuru had just cause to react that badly? Or was it more to do with their plans for the day? Plans so important that their moods had gone from bad to can't-possibly-get-any-worse just by remembering the date.

And now, to top off her mistakes thus far, her overprotectiveness of Ruby, that instinctive desire to hurt anything or anyone that hurt her younger sister in any way, had caused her to say something she hadn't truly meant, causing even more trouble and most likely damaging her own relationship with the boxer as well.

There was no change in his expression, but everyone felt the tension lessen as Akihiko turned to the door. "We'll be waiting in the van. You have two minutes to make up your minds before I leave. Ren." The black-haired boy turned to his team leader just in time to catch a set of keys in his hands. "Lock the door when you leave or leave the keys with whoever stays behind." With those final words, the black-clad teen stepped outside the house, the door shutting with a soft click.

"Well that could have gone better," Yang said with a sigh.

"Yang." Blake stepped up to her partner, placing a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "I understand what you were trying to do but that went a little too far."

"I know, I know." Yang's tone was both exasperated and annoyed, both at herself and Blake's admonitions, gentle they may be. "It's just…"

"I'm sorry." The low, almost pitiful voice that spoke stopped Yang before she could begin to voice her complaints about the situation. "I didn't… I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

"No." Yang rushed over to Ruby, placing her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Ruby, it's not your fault. I'm the one who got us into this mess. He shouldn't be taking it out on you just because of what I did."

Ruby shook her head. "But if I just didn't argue and-"

"Ruby." Yang's firm tone and the slight tightening of her grip on Ruby's shoulders kept the girl from continuing her statement. "Stop blaming yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. Look, I'll stay with you if you want." Her declaration brought all attention to her, along with a few scowls. "I'm sure Mitsuru would rather not see me anyway. It'll be easier this way."

"Do you really think I'd let you do that?" The sharp response came not from Ruby but from the white-clad heiress. She stepped up to Yang and looked up at the tall blonde with a glare. "It's like you said, _you're_ the one who got us into this mess." Yang stepped back as Weiss jabbed a finger into her chest, just above her breasts. "I can see why Ruby is such a dolt. How can she not be when her older sister is foolish enough to think she could worm her way out of this predicament she put us in."

"Hey!" Everyone predicted Yang's reaction the moment Ruby's name was brought into the conversation. They would have to be blind, deaf, and stupid to not notice how protective the elder was of the younger. "Leave Ruby out of this!"

"Then stop using her as an excuse!" was the equally heated response, one that caused the taller girl to wince in response. "Besides, if she gets to drag me along when I didn't even want to come in the first place then I'll drag her along to wherever we're going even if I have to rip off her cloak. Or maybe I'll let her keep it and see how much trouble she gets into when Mitsuru sees her wearing it."

"If you think for one moment I'm going to let you then you've got another thing coming, Ice Queen."

"I'd like to see you try to stop me. And for the last time stop-"

"Hey."

Perhaps it was the calmness in the voice that contradicted their heated exchange, but whatever the reason both Weiss and Yang looked away from each other and towards the speaker. When they did, they found Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, and Blake standing at the already open door. Just beyond, they could hear the sound of an engine starting up.

"You've got twenty seconds," continued Ren, even as the other four stepped out.

Weiss gave Yang another glare then huffed and turned away, following the quartet who had just left and leaving the siblings behind with Ren. Ignoring the heiress and trying to get her words out of her head, Yang turned back to her sister, the question in her eyes. 'Are we going?'

* * *

Much like their flight to Vale, the car ride to their destination was made in absolute silence. And in addition to the stifling silence, the ride itself was uncomfortable for some as there were sixteen people seated inside a van made to fit twelve.

At the front were Akihiko, Ken, and Mitsuru, with Akihiko as the driver. Given the tension, nobody dared speak up and ask the obvious question. Seated at the very back row, were Chidori, Yukari, Aigis, and Fuuka, with Koromaru stretched out at their feet. The row in front of them was occupied by Junpei, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren, with Nora taking a seat on Ren's lap. Nobody, not even Mitsuru, so much as gave them a second glance when the orange-haired girl did so. And in the last row were Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang.

Nobody paid too much attention to it, especially since the interior of the van had been dark even when they stepped in, but the short glimpse they had of everyone else's clothing showed that they were wearing something similar to Akihiko's attire. But it wasn't the style of dress that caught their attention. It was the color. It might have been easily mistaken due to the darkness, but they were fairly certain that every member of SEES was wearing almost completely black clothing, the only exception being the white collar peeking out of the kimono.

Again, nobody questioned it. But just like with Akihiko earlier, the sight of their black clothing caused them to grow uneasy. Slowly, some of them were beginning to pick up the signs. The black clothing, SEES's somber mood, the event three weeks ago, and even Mitsuru's desire to keep the event private. Those among them trying to piece together the signs could only come to one conclusion. And none of them wanted to be right.

Unfortunately, as they reached their destination, their fears were revealed to be true.

Akihiko parked the van outside the building, in one of the designated parking slots a short distance away. One by one, they stepped out of the van half of them unsmiling, the other half uneasy for one reason or another. As the looked up at the building, some of the latter half gasped sharply in surprise while the others just looked on with resignation at the sign above the building's main doors. Vale Funeral Home.

Those who hadn't yet managed to figure it out turned to SEES, specifically their black clothing, and back at the building, something that felt like dread growing within them. Looking back again, they took the time to examine SEES's clothing once more.

Junpei and Ken were wearing clothing exactly like Akihiko's. The five young women were wearing similar clothing. The only differences were that they lacked the black jacket the three young men wore, and the bottom half of their clothing was completely black instead of black and gray stripes. Everything else, the kimono, the sash, the socks, and even the straw slippers, was all the same. Only Aigis wore her usual boots rather than the slippers but considering her lack of human-like feet it was certainly understandable.

Pyrrha noted the lack of make-up on the girls' faces and sighed inwardly in relief at her earlier decision to remove hers. She next noticed their hair. Chidori and Mitsuru's hair, being longer than the rest, had been tied into a neat bun. She resisted the urge to reach back and touch her own crimson locks, knowing there was little she could do now.

SEES, including Koromaru, entered the building without a word, leaving the rest of them standing outside, still staring at their venue with great anxiety.

Was this what Mitsuru meant when she said not knowing their destination was part of their punishment? If she did, then Yang was certainly feeling incredibly guilty now, if she wasn't already. Even they were feeling much guiltier now for having gone along with Yang's plan with little to no protest. Nobody failed to notice the way the blonde blanched when she saw the building's sign, nor the way she had glanced nervously at Mitsuru as though waiting for the older redhead to point it out.

But no such thing came before the older redhead left with her friends. Not a single word or even a glance was sent their way. In many ways this was worse. They had absolutely no idea now what Mitsuru, or anyone else, was thinking.

Was she angry at all of them? Was the anger equal or would it be directed more towards Yang? Had she accepted their presence there or was she only grudgingly accepting it since there was little she could do about it? Or had she been hoping they would choose to remain behind? If this was to be part of their punishment, does that mean she was willing to forgive them? Or was it only to make up for their actions with forgiveness coming much later after another act of penance?

So many questions were running through their heads but none of them were willing to brave the currents to obtain an answer.

After a few minutes of hesitation, one of them finally began walking towards the building. "Weiss?"

The heiress paused and glanced over her shoulder at her partner, sending the younger girl a firm look. "There's little point in standing around out here. We may as well get this over with." Her ice blue eyes met Ruby's silver ones before meeting Yang's lilac-colored eyes.

Yang could see the challenge in Weiss's eyes. Similar to what happened back at the house, there was an unspoken threat in her eyes of what she would do should Yang choose to turn back, especially now that they were aware of what it was SEES had come to do. By the time she mustered up the courage to approach the building, Weiss was already halfway to it.

Seeing this, the others followed suit, nervously making their way into the funeral home. Inside, Weiss was already searching through a list on display, looking for any clue as to which room was their destination. Just as the seven of them reached her, she turned on her feet and walked away. Without sparing the list a glance, the rest of them followed her down the hallway.

All too soon they arrived in one of the rooms. It was empty, as to be expected, save for sixteen chairs, half of them already occupied, a table near the back of the room, a white casket with half the lid open, and a small table next to it with a small offering of flowers. Laid across the closed half was white piece of cloth with a large red circle in the middle. There was only a brief moment of hesitation in Weiss's demeanor before she approached the casket, followed by the rest of the group.

They paused once more just in front of the casket, a few of them taking a deep breath. Doubtlessly, a few of them still felt that it was wrong for them to be there, that perhaps they should turn and leave. But turning away now would be a far greater offense than what they had already done. Perhaps that's why Mitsuru had kept their destination a secret, to prevent anyone from leaving once they had chosen to come.

And so, with their retreat cut off before they even realized they would need it, the eight teenagers approached the white casket and peered into it. Soft mutters of confusion flowed past their lips as soon as they did.

Rather than a body, there were a few articles of clothing, all neatly folded and stacked. Each stack of clothing had a photograph on top. The first photo lay on top of a familiar jacket. Seeing the circular red and white symbol on its left side, was a boy roughly they immediately recognized it as the uniform that SEES often wore. Sure enough, a familiar red armband was neatly folded next to the photo of a teenage boy with dark blue hair, blue eyes, and a neutral, almost sleepy, expression on his face. Atop a maroon jacket or coat was a photo of another teenage boy, one with messy brown hair under a beanie, steel gray eyes, and a shifty expression. Lying next to the photo was another SEES armband

On top of a thin, pale blue jacket were two pictures. One was of a man with short bluish-green hair and the other was of a woman with shoulder-length brown hair. Both had terse expressions on their faces, almost as though having their picture taken was a waste of their time. Next in line was another brown-haired woman. Her hair was longer, and darker in shade, but her face held a soft, gentle expression. Underneath her photograph was an orange scarf with red diamond patterns.

One thing some of them noticed was that the articles of clothing in the casket were the same ones worn by those on the photographs lying atop them. Without a doubt, those in the photographs were the owners of those various pieces of clothing.

Other things in the casket included a picture of a middle-aged man with grizzled black hair, a stern, almost harsh, expression, and an eyepatch. That same eyepatch was neatly placed on one corner of the photograph. Beside it was a picture of a young girl, perhaps nine or ten-years-old, with messy, chin-length silver hair and a bright smile on her face. Next in line was a photo of another middle-aged man with short brown hair and a tired but gentle smile on his face. Overlapping it slightly was a photo of a woman with long, straight black hair whose facial features resembled that of the brown-haired archer sitting behind the group, only more mature due to age. And finally, the last photo was of a large man with messy black hair and a sparse beard, with harsh but tired eyes on a slightly round face.

"These are…"

"Friends and family _._ " All of them nearly jumped in surprise when someone spoke up from their left. Standing there, gazing down into the casket with a tired, forlorn look on her face, was Mitsuru. "There are more of course, but the people you see here are those whom we mourn for the most. Some of them died before that day we lost everything but we decided to include them nonetheless."

"Who…" Yang paused and hesitantly glanced at Mitsuru, wondering briefly whether the older girl would even deign to acknowledge her question. "Who were they?"

To the surprise of a few, Mitsuru answered without any form of hostility directed at her or the group as a whole. "Starting from your right would be Junpei's father, Kenichiro Iori. Yukari's parents, Eiichiro and Mayumi Takeba. Akihiko's sister, Miki Sanada." Yang flinched slightly at those words. "Next is…" A pained expression appeared on Mitsuru's face during that brief pause, one that a few of them caught along with the movement of her throat as she swallowed before speaking again. "My father, Takeharu Kirijo."

Several of them discreetly looked between Mitsuru and the photograph of the stern-faced man wearing an eyepatch, most of them unable to decide whether or not to offer their condolences at that moment, and a few wondering why her mother's photograph – even Junpei's mother's photograph for that matter – was absent from the line-up. The choice was taken from them when Mitsuru continued to recite the names of those in the photographs.

"Ken's mother, Megumi Amada. Fuuka's parents, Natsuo and Haruna Yamagishi. And finally…" Again, the redhead paused, gazing down into the casket. But unlike the last time, her gaze was softer, conveying a sense of fondness for the two people in the photographs. "The final two members of SEES. Shinjiro Aragaki, and Minato Arisato."

Shinjiro Aragaki. Shinjiro. Shinji. Ren's eyes immediately sought out the appropriate photograph. Even though he had heard a few things about the teen from Akihiko, it was hard to reconcile the image he was looking at with mental image he had built up of the silver-haired teen's best friend. The boy in the photo certainly looked nothing like the kind-hearted, rough-around-the-edges home cook that Akihiko often spoke of. Or perhaps that was just because of the image he had conjured up in his head. Either way, it was finally good to be able to put a face to the name. Afterwards, his eyes focused on the last photograph, that of the group's field leader, and committed the image and name to memory.

"I can see why he was the field leader," said Pyrrha approvingly, earning a few nods from the others even as they turned and made their way to the seats behind SEES. "Despite what his appearance suggests, he certainly seems strong and reliable."

"Wait, really?" Junpei was the first to react to the redhead champion's words, followed by Yukari, who gave her a dubious look. "That what he looks like to you?"

Junpei's tone was clearly that of curiosity, and his words were not meant to insult or belittle their former leader. Still, Pyrrha could understand her team leader's intent. Clearly he had not thought the same in the past. "Yes. Though I suppose it's my own experiences with such people. I have met many during the Mistral Regional Tournament over the past few years who are much more capable than their appearances suggest."

"Huh." The look of intrigue on Junpei's face was definitely surprising to Pyrrha. Was what she said really that strange? "That's new. Just about everyone who met him didn't really think much of him at first."

"Wasn't that just you?" quipped Yukari, a faint grin on her face. "I'm pretty sure I remember you complaining about how he didn't even look like a leader when he was picked to lead the three of us when we started out."

The dark-haired teen scoffed playfully. "You really gonna tell me you thought he was dependable when you first saw him?"

"More like scared, actually," the brunette admitted sheepishly. "We were expecting him to arrive earlier that night but the train was delayed so he ended up coming to the dorm a little after midnight. You can probably guess why I got scared and nearly drew my evoker."

Junpei winced as he imagined himself in Yukari's place. Having someone walk in during the Dark Hour, especially someone he had never met, would certainly be cause for alarm. Beside the archer, Fuuka couldn't help but giggle as she imagined that same scenario while Ken nodded understandingly to Yukari's words. Looking on, Mitsuru just smiled faintly at the memory while Akihiko did the same, remembering the brief conversation where Mitsuru explained that particular event.

And sitting on the row of seats behind them, their teammates couldn't help but smile at the scene. It was a small thing, all things considered, but seeing Junpei and Yukari bantering like they usually did was a greater relief than most people would expect. There were still traces of sadness in their eyes, a burden that they could not assist in carrying, but it was enough for them that their new friends were acting more like how they used to.

"You gotta admit though," continued Junpei. "Guy like that doesn't really scream 'leader'. I mean, come on. Half the time he looks like he's about to fall asleep. The rest of the time he _is_ asleep."

' _Wait, what?'_

"Didn't Ekoda-sensei catch him sleeping once then make him stand in the back of the class?" asked Yukari. "I'm pretty sure he actually fell sleep again while he was standing up."

' _Wait, what?'_

Junpei chuckled. "I remember that. Ekoda was about ready to blow when he saw that. Didn't really help that Minato looked like he was falling asleep even when he was practically getting yelled at."

"I don't remember hearing about that," chimed in Fuuka, turning to Junpei was a look of interest. "When did that happen?"

The teen's face scrunched up in thought, his eyes looking upwards. "I think that was after…" Junpei's voice faded, and his expression dropped once again. "After Shinjiro-senpai died."

"Oh."

Immediately after that revelation, the trio of juniors' mood dropped again only to be caught by one of their seniors. "Hey, that's enough of that." The trio turned to Akihiko, who looked at them with a knowing grin. "We've already mourned Shinji once. No need to do it again even though his memorial is for him as well. Besides, knowing that guy he'd find some way to come back to life and kick us all back into shape. Literally."

There were some uneasy chuckles all around but Akihiko's words dispelled the gloom before it could return. "Yeah, I could see Shinjiro-senpai doing that," agreed Junpei. "Looked scary as hell but he turned out to be a pretty big softie."

' _Wait, what?'_

"Eh?" The dark-haired teen turned around to face the back row. "Something wrong Yang?"

It took the blonde girl a moment to realize that she had spoken out loud and that everyone heard her words of confusion. "Uh, well…" She hesitated a bit, a little embarrassed by her slip-up but pressed onwards at the sight of fifteen expectant looks. Some of those looks, she noted, seemed to be asking her to ask the question in their stead as well. "Are you… saying that the uh… scary looking guy is Shinjiro?"

"Yeah, that's Shinji," Akihiko replied with a nod. "Why?"

Yang ignored the questioned for the moment to bring up her second concern. "So does that mean that the sleepy looking guy is… Minato? Your field leader?" Akihiko and several others nodded, but now bore curious looks on their faces. "Really?" she couldn't help but ask, tilting her head sideways and giving them a disbelieving look.

To her left and right, everyone else in that row were giving SEES varying looks of disbelief or uncertainty. Then, someone giggled. Followed by a soft chuckle. Then two more joined in soon after. Another second later, two more added their laughter until nearly half the room occupants were laughing, struggling to keep their voices down due to the venue. Even Koromaru looked as though he were smiling with the rest of them.

Of the remaining ten, one remained somber and pensive, one merely watched with a soft smile, while looks of confusion replaced the disbelief and uncertainty on the faces of the other eight. "C-Come on, it's not that funny," whined Yang, looking embarrassed yet slightly annoyed by their laughter. "Besides, I'm not the only one who made that mistake."

"S-Sorry, sorry," Yukari apologized while gasping for breath. "It's… It's not you." The group took deep breaths to calm themselves but it was plain to see that some of them were struggling to keep their laughter contained. Once she was confident she could speak without her laughter bursting out, Yukari addressed her teammate once more. "It's just… It's just like Junpei said earlier. Minato-kun really doesn't look like a leader. We just didn't expect you to mix up Minato-kun and Shinjiro-senpai like that."

"So your leader was the… unmotivated looking one?" Weiss asked with just a hint of hesitation, hoping her words would not be taken as an insult, especially towards someone who was already dead. "Forgive me for saying so but I'm having trouble believing it."

Thankfully no one took her words poorly, understanding it for what it was. "Minato-kun may look lazy but you'd be surprised."

"Was he that strong?"

"Strong?" Junpei scoffed. "That's not how I'd put it. You name it, the guy could probably do it. Even if he couldn't, just give the dude a couple of weeks and he'd be good to go."

The skepticism on Weiss's face, as well as on a few others, was as plain as day. "You're exaggerating. Surely no one could be so skilled that they could be proficient at everything they do."

"Again, you'd be surprised," said Yukari. "Let's see, he joined SEES about the middle of April, then the Kendo club near the end of the month. So…" Yukari's voice lowered in volume, her chin in her hand as she muttered quietly to herself for a bit before looking back up at Weiss. "Less than three-and-a-half months. He was only in the Kendo Club for that long but he still managed to place third during the regional Kendo tournament, despite not knowing Kendo before joining the club. The only reason he didn't make it to the final round was because his opponent during the semi-final round was the defending champion."

"Hayase, right?" asked Akihiko, to which the three juniors nodded, having attended the event to cheer on their friend. "No surprise he lost that one. As good as Minato was, fighting against Shadows and formal Kendo are two different things. Not to mention Hayase's been the reigning champ in the region since middle-school. That tournament was his sixth straight win in as just as many years."

"Yeah, that guy was a freakin' monster. I heard a lot of things about him even before that tournament," Junpei added with a grin. "Dude probably could've handle more than a couple of Shadows by himself even without a Persona. I think Kaz said that he was impressed by Minato during their match and even invited him to hangout some time after the tournament. Not sure if they ever did though."

The boxer nodded to confirm the other teen's words. "They did. Saw them walk into the beef bowl place at the strip mall one time."

"You know, that reminds me. Minato-kun always did eat a lot," commented the brunette. "Makes me wonder how he stayed so thin when all he did was sleep through class most of the time. The Kendo Club didn't meet every day after all and it's not like we were training every night either."

"Well," Fuuka began, drawing all attention to her. "He was also part of the Music Club. Maybe playing the bass violin is more tiring than I thought."

The incredulous look on Junpei's face was nearly comical. "What the... How long's he known how to play that?"

"Only during the club actually. Keisuke-senpai asked him if he played an instrument and he said no. Then he said he'd just play whatever nobody else was playing." Fuuka giggled at the similarly incredulous looks that appeared on Yukari, Akihiko, and Ken's faces. "Everyone reacted the same way when he said that. But in the end it only took him two club meetings to get the basics down and another three before he could play simple songs without any mistakes. And as far as I know, he didn't have a way to practice outside of the club."

Mitsuru's soft laughed joined their conversation at that moment, shaking the others out of their shock. "I suppose something like that is to be expected of your year's top student. Even with two clubs and SEES he still managed to obtain top marks at every exam." Her lips then formed into a wry grin. "And that's considering how often he seems to have fallen asleep in class. Funny how the teachers seem to have only caught him sleeping twice that entire year."

"Huh, so you actually get reports on that too, senpai?" asked Junpei.

"She _was_ the Student Council President after all," noted the archer. "That, and senpai's family owned the school. She probably got all sorts of reports that other Student Council Presidents wouldn't have gotten. Now that we're on that subject," Yukari turned to face the red-haired team leader. "Minato-kun joined the Student Council too, right?"

"As a reserve member of sorts, yes," said the redhead, confirming the brunette's words. "Unlike the other members of the Student Council, he wasn't required to attend every session. He usually came by to assist us once or twice every two weeks or whenever we urgently needed an extra member. I believe he also assisted Odagiri-kun with some issues the Disciplinary Committee was facing at that time."

"So." Yukari turned to face Weiss once more, a teasing grin playing on her lips. "Still think he can't be that good?"

The white-haired heiress had no rebuttal for their defense of their field leader. Sports, music, studies, and the school's council work, clearly he was as capable as they said to have done so much in so little time. And that was not considering his duties as their field leader and his ability to utilize multiple Personas where everyone else could only use one. As lazy and unmotivated as he appeared to be – though it was clearly true in some cases – he was obviously a gifted individual. One that even Mitsuru seemed to hold in high regard. And that was all that Weiss needed to know.

"He sounds like an amazing person," said Blake, her eyes wandering back to the open casket. "If it wasn't coming from all of you I'd think he was some sort of character from a book. Too perfect to be true."

Nobody bothered to hide their amusement, or their laughter in Junpei and Yukari's case. "Yeah well, don't forget that the guy's a lazy glutton about half the time," said Blake's teammate with a roll of her eyes. "And besides that, his face is pretty much frozen. I can count with both hands the number of times he had a different expression on his face." Then the archer paused and looked up thoughtfully. "Probably even just one actually," she mused then shook her head as another thought came to mind. "Don't even get me started on his jokes."

"Did he play a joke on you too?" asked Ken.

"Not that it worked," responded the archer. "It was back before Fuuka joined. We were looking for the key to the school's gym in the office. I couldn't read the labels since it was d- faded." Hopefully nobody not in the know commented on her slip-up. Explaining why they were looking for a key in the dark wasn't really something she wanted to do. "I asked him what it said. So he looks at the key then goes," Yukari paused and adopted a decent imitation of Minato's usual expressions. When she next spoke, her tone was perfectly bland like Minato's. "Morgue."

Understandably, a few reacted with strange, disbelieving looks though some did give her a look that said, 'I can imagine him doing that.' "Not exactly hard _not_ to fall for it. I mean, we were in school after all. You'd have to be crazy to actually believe the school had a morgue. But still, I didn't really expect him to make that kind of joke."

"That's still better than what he did with me." Ken was clearly sulking as he thought back to his own experience with Minato's unique brand of jokes. "I asked him once how he drank his coffee and he told me he puts hot sauce in it." Already, a few of those around him winced as they predicted the way his tale ended. "He looked so serious when he said it that I didn't even consider that he might be joking, especially since I hadn't known him long at that time. So when I saw him drinking coffee one time before going out for the day I got curious and decided to try it."

There was really no need to finish the tale. Just by the looks on everyone's faces, Ken could tell that they knew how his story ended.

"I see. So _that's_ what happened," said Mitsuru, remember that day when she went to the dorm's first floor to find Ken teary-eyed while drinking a cup of coffee and then running to get a drink of water. Thinking back, she could vaguely remember seeing the bottle of hot sauce in front of him as well. More importantly… "Now that you've brought it up, I think he may have gotten to me as well."

"You too Mitsuru? What'd he do?" asked Akihiko, shocked at the possibility that Mitsuru might have fallen for one of their field leader's jokes. Barring Fuuka's Persona abilities and Aigis, Mitsuru was easily the most observant and perceptive of the group, especially when it came to social interactions.

Then again, she might not have noticed since Minato's face was pretty much the perfect poker face. She's also never experienced having someone playing a joke on her so she probably didn't know what signs to look out for.

…

With those particular qualities in mind, Akihiko could actually see Mitsuru being pranked if it was done by someone who gave nothing away through their words, facial expressions, and body language. Unfortunately for her, Minato was one such person.

The red-haired leader nodded, her cheeks gaining a faint dusting of pink as the memory came to mind. "He… No... I-It's nothing." Her blush grew a bit darker as she turned away, forcing down the memory of their first outing together. Looking back at the moment, she could only image how she much have looked and sounded – especially the latter – when she first dined at Hagakure, that quaint little ramen bar that Akihiko and Shinjiro seemed to favor. _'He has a lot to answer for next we meet. Make a lot of noise indeed.'_

Reliving the memory of loudly slurping up the noodles and sipping the broth just as loudly was far more embarrassing than having actually done it, never mind how it must have sounded to others when she let out extra loud noises of appreciation as she ate. It was doubly embarrassing now that there was a very distinct possibility that Minato had been playing a joke on her by telling her that.

Had she paid attention at that time rather than worry about her lack of understanding of the establishment's 'customs', she might have noticed that, contrary to his words, he had been completely silent as he ate. Still, while she did not have to like all of them, she would always treasure those little moments they shared. Even _that_ particular moment, as much as she wanted to wipe it from existence.

Seeing that Mitsuru was not going to be sharing her own experience with Minato's jokes, the group decided that a change of topic was in order. Yang turned to the brown-haired member of her team and hoped that her question wouldn't blow up in her face. "What were they like?" Predictably, her question drew everyone's attention to her along with the unspoken question of whom she was talking about. "Everyone else, I mean. If… nobody minds me asking anyway."

For a moment, nobody knew how to respond to Yang's request. Though it had been a little over eight months since they awakened from their stasis, the scars left by the knowledge that everyone they knew and loved outside of their little group was dead was still too fresh, too recently felt and acknowledged as reality. There were two among them who had felt that same pain in the past, long before any of the others. But between the two of them, only one was ready to drudge up the memories of their own past.

"Well," began Akihiko, turning around to face the group behind him. "I can't speak for the others but I knew Shinji for a long time since he and I grew up in the same orphanage along with my sister, Miki."

Inside her head, Yang was repeatedly thanking the boxer for getting things started along with just as many words of apology for her words prior to departing the house. Things might not have worked out as well as she had hoped, but perhaps, in this way, she could at least accomplish her second reason for wanting to accompany SEES, getting to know them. "What were they like? Was he always that scary looking?"

The boxer chuckled as he thought back to his younger years. "Believe it or not, he was the friendliest kid in the whole orphanage. Had one of the biggest smiles too." Even SEES looked surprised by that admission and now, Akihiko had everyone's interest and attention.

Well, almost everyone. As Akihiko began to share stories from his time at the orphanage, beginning with how he and his sister first met Shinji, a single individual slipped out of their seat and left the room. Completely enraptured by the boxer's tale, none but a single pair of eyes caught the door as it shut with an almost inaudible click.

* * *

It was a small comfort to see that the night sky was the same as ever. Though hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years have passed, she could still recognize the constellations as they hung high above her. And a little lower in perspective was the highlight of the night sky, Remnant's shattered moon. Tonight, however, the moon had rotated to the point where none of its fragments could be seen, making it seem as though it were still whole. Only her sharp eyes noted that the moon wasn't completely full. Not just yet. Tomorrow. Tomorrow the moon would be full once more.

It was strange that, from hers and SEES's perspective, this year was exactly the same as the year they had just finished. Just like that fateful night one year ago – or would that be many years ago? – Tomorrow night, October the fourth, was the night of the full moon. A detail of lesser import was that tomorrow just so happened to be a Sunday as well. It was exactly the same as it had been last time.

Here they were, fighting the successors to the Shadows alongside those who had the power to do so. Similarly, those people could be considered the successors to Persona-users for their powers, much like SEES's Personas, were born from their very souls. It was almost as though SEES had been given a chance to relive the year 2009, having awoken from their stasis on the first of February. It was almost as though they had simply slept after their battle on the 31st of January and awoken the next day.

And yet, it was completely different, wasn't it? It may seem like it, but this second chance of theirs was not just a simple do-over like in the stories.

This time they were directionless. Unlike the twelve Arcana Shadows and Nyx, they had no knowledge of what and where they needed to strike to end the Grimm threat. And though the death of the Arcana Shadows had been a mistake in that it merely hastened the coming of Nyx, it was still a tangible goal that they could aim for. Now, all they could do was fight the endless horde of the Creatures of the Grimm just as they fought the endless army of Shadows within Tartarus.

They didn't have a place like Tartarus to explore and investigate this time around either. Then again, they still did not know exactly what Tartarus had been. All they knew for certain was that it was where Nyx would descend. Even then, that was something Ryoji told them, not something they'd discovered on their own. They still didn't know why the top of Tartarus was the chosen location or even why Tartarus appeared long before the reappearance and deaths of the twelve Arcana Shadows.

They were also bereft of the Kirijo's vast resources and technical support. The Kirijo group had been their lifeline in many ways. Their resources and connections allowed them access to nearly everything they needed to fight the Shadows. If there was anything at all they required for their fights, they needed only to channel the request through Mitsuru or, prior to his betrayal, Chairman Ikutsuki, and Kirijo group would do what they could to fulfill the request provided it was for the purpose of fighting Shadows and investigating Tartarus.

But the biggest difference, possibly the most important one, was the loss of their most powerful member. A proper goal and direction would come or be found given enough time. And Elizabeth's parting gift would allow them to build up their own connections and resources for the future, especially with Mitsuru at the helm. But nothing could replace the gaping hole left behind by the departure of their one and only field leader.

There was no denying that Minato Arisato was the linchpin of their field operations. Mitsuru may be their leader, but Minato was undeniably irreplaceable when it comes to combat. It wasn't just his versatility due to his numerous Personas and their varied abilities. Many of his Personas were leagues above theirs in terms of power, even at their very best.

The difference in power was not obvious in the beginning. But as time passed, his power grew to levels far beyond their own and he gained Personas with abilities none of them had ever seen or were capable of. Trismegistus and Cerberus's fire attacks fell short of Surt's Ragnarok. Artemisia's ice could easily be halted and shattered by Skadi's Niflheim. Odin's Thunder Reign was overwhelming in power compared to Caesar and Kala-Nemi's own lightning-based attacks. Isis, arguably the strongest in terms of their Personas' magic-type attacks, couldn't hold a candle to Norn and her Panta Rhei. And Alice and Daisoujou's dark and light-based attacks respectively had a higher kill percentage compared to Cerberus and Kala-Nemi's. Even Athena's physical attacks paled when compared to those of Shiva's and several others among Minato's collection of Personas.

And that did not even take into account Minato's unique ability to summon two Personas at once and then combine their abilities to form a new one. From Cadenza, his very first Fusion Spell that both healed and increased their movement speed, to Infinity, which shielded them from harm for a brief moment, and to Armageddon, an attack so powerful that all but the strongest of Shadows would be destroyed in an instant. And even those Shadows would not emerge unscathed. Many were the instances where his unique set of abilities brought them a swifter, more certain victory than they would have had otherwise.

And now, he was gone.

While the loss of his power was a great blow to their group, they would simply have to grow stronger to make up for it. She was certain that, given time, they would be able to make up for the absence of his power.

But that wasn't what shook them the most.

His death meant the loss of a great friend to them all. While it was true that they didn't know much about his personal life, there was no denying the bond that he shared with every member of SEES. It had taken him less than a year to forge powerful, personal bonds with a multitude of people, not just those within SEES. Something like that would have taken others at least twice that amount of time for far fewer people. And to those who knew him well his silence spoke volumes, and his unchanging expression reflected his inner thoughts far better than the most expressive person's own face could.

His strange taste for jokes aside, he was honest, painfully so, when it came to serious matters. He was never afraid to speak him mind whenever the need arose, and even when his words and opinions conflicted with another's, he always knew how to avoid any form of conflict using calmly spoken and carefully planned words to deliver his point without arousing aggression from the other party.

He did not judge. He never judged. He would tell them that he felt differently but no more than that. He never tried to convince the other to change their beliefs, and he had never once said that someone was wrong for believing what they did. He had not even condemned Strega or Ikutsuki for believing in death as a form of salvation. He had said that he didn't think it was right, but he had never once said that they were wrong.

Perhaps it was that ability of his to see things from a different perspective, to understand why others believed what they did, that allowed him to befriend so many people, from just as many walks of life, so easily. Combined with his honest and non-judgmental words and actions, it was plain to see how he had done so. Without fear of being ostracized for their differing beliefs, others would naturally feel more comfortable opening up to him. None could ask for a better friend.

Unfortunately, he was not just a friend to her. He was so much more to her. After all, he was…

"Aigis? Are you alright?"

The sudden intrusion of a voice not her own pulled the blonde android out of her thoughts even as she spun around to face the speaker. Black hair ending in crimson tips and silver eyes. Ruby. It surprised her a bit to see the younger girl there. Given what she knew of the others, the most likely to have been observant enough to notice her leave would have been Blake or Ren.

"I am…" Aigis paused, trying to discern what exactly it was she was feeling at that moment. "Conflicted," she admitted with a frown after a lengthy pause.

"What about?" Ruby asked on reflex then hastily added, "If you don't mind me asking." She hoped she didn't come across as too forward or even rude.

But rather than respond, Aigis looked away from Ruby and returned her attention to the night sky, a strange look in her artificial eyes as she gazed at the nearly-full moon. After waiting a full minute, Ruby assumed that Aigis didn't want to talk about it. Or perhaps just not with her, considering they had only spent about a week getting to know one another before SEES's breakdown. But just as she got ready to rejoin the others, Aigis answered. Or rather, she asked a question.

"What does it mean to live?"

"Huh?" The question had been so far off from what Ruby had expected that she was unable to form a more intelligent response.

But it didn't seem to matter as Aigis continued speaking, her posture as still as only a robot could manage and her gaze focused on a single spot on the moon. "Not too long ago, I lost my purpose. I was undergoing repairs at that time, after receiving heavy damage following a battle against a powerful Shadow. A few days before the repairs were completed, new information we received told me that no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, my initial purpose was an impossible goal. I wondered what it meant for me."

"A machine that cannot fulfill its purpose is useless." Ruby couldn't help cringe at Aigis's choice of words. Ignorant of the other girl's reaction, the android continued to speak. "When I realized that, without a purpose, I would no longer be needed, I felt fear for the very first time."

"It was strange. There had always been the possibility that I would be destroyed during a battle, and yet I had never once experienced the fear of being destroyed. So why was it that I suddenly feared deactivation when I felt nothing when faced with possible destruction? Between that day and the day that I rejoined SEES, I thought of nothing else but my feelings of fear, struggling to understand why I felt that way. It was only when Mitsuru-san came to the labs to pick me up that I began to understand. I had grown attached to them. To SEES. To my friends."

It was barely there. Barely noticeable. The dim lighting that illuminated Aigis's mechanical form made it difficult but Ruby could make out the slight changes on Aigis's face. The blank, fittingly robotic expression on the android's face had softened just a tiny bit, becoming more… human, in a way. Her eyes, which had been as blank as her previous expression, now held a hint of emotion that the silver-eyed girl could not identify just yet.

But before she could figure out just what it was Aigis was trying to express, what it was she was feeling at that moment, the blonde continued to speak. But the words she spoke were words that Ruby did not expect to hear.

"On the way back to the dormitory, I slowly began to realize that it was not deactivation that I feared, that it was not simply the loss of my purpose that disturbed me. What I feared most, what truly shook me, was the thought of losing them. In addition, the knowledge that all of us would die by the end of the next month, that nothing I or anyone else did could avert such a disaster, was a burden that I was not ready to bear."

' _WHAT?!'_ Ruby almost had to bite down on her tongue to keep herself from screaming out loud. What did she mean by that? Had they known that the Grimm would attack their city even before it happened? But that didn't make any sense. If that was true, then what happened? Why was it that they still lost everything despite having at least a month – judging by Aigis's words anyway – to prepare or even strike pre-emptively?

Had they underestimated the Grimm? Overestimated themselves perhaps? Or was there some truth to Aigis's words that nothing they did would prevent the destruction of their homes and the loss of all their lives?

Thinking back, Ruby remembered them saying that it was only due to something Minato did that saved them all. After they had lost consciousness that day, they had awoken to find themselves the sole survivors of quite possibly the greatest tragedy Ruby had ever heard of. An entire nation gone in one night. Even if she knew little about Remnant's history past the time Great War, she was certain that nothing in all known history could even come close to it.

And just now, Aigis had just told her that they knew it was coming and that they were helpless against it. Why didn't they prepare? Better yet, why not run? Why stand and fight a hopeless battle? She knew SEES was firm in their beliefs. She could only imagine what their equivalent to full-fledged Huntsmen were like if a group that was essentially a militia was this resolute. But surely there was a proper time and place to stand firm just as there was a time to run.

"When I met everyone again, the last of my resolve faded." Aigis, completely unaware of her teammate's thoughts, continued to speak even as her gaze remained firmly locked onto the pale, glowing orb high above her. "I questioned their foolishness for choosing to fight a battle that could not be won when they had a better alternative. And I questioned the purpose of my continued existence now that my mission was completely beyond my or anyone else's abilities. I had thought that it was because I was not truly 'alive' that I failed to understand their determination."

"It was at that moment, with their help, that I made a decision." Ruby heard it. There was a distinct change in Aigis's tone when she spoke just then. There was a definite firmness in her tone that had certainly not been there over the past few weeks. "My new purpose, one that I chose for myself, was to live. For the first time since my creation I had chosen my own path, of my own free will. And in the following weeks, Minato-san taught me more about what it meant to live, what it meant to be human."

Then much to Ruby's dismay, the firmness is Aigis's tone, and even in her demeanor, began to fade as words continued to flow from her mechanical lips. "But not once did I consider the possibility that he would be first to die." She heard Aigis's voice crack towards the end of her statement, followed by her head bowing down to face the ground. "I had prepared for the possibility that… that I would give my own life so that they could escape… so that they could continue to live. Even if it was just a little bit longer. And yet…"

Then, as though finally surrendering to some unseen force, Aigis collapsed to her knees, arms wrapping tightly around her torso as though embracing herself. Ruby, eyes wide with concern, acted in an instant, quickly closing the short distance between them. But as she reached out to check if Aigis was alright, she heard a familiar sound accompanied by the android's shivering shoulders.

She knelt down slowly next to Aigis, one hand gingerly reaching out to a mechanical shoulder. When Aigis made no move to remove the hand, Ruby slowly raised her other hand and inched forward. Slowly, cautiously, she wrapped her arms around the crying android and carefully tightened her hold, trying her best to let Aigis know that she was there.

Neither one noticed the red-haired young woman watching them, nor did they notice as she turned away and stepped back inside the building.

* * *

"Are you feeling better now?" Though Aigis nodded, Ruby could tell just by looking that crying hadn't improved her condition by much, that the burden on her shoulders was still just as heavy as it had been earlier.

Ruby had held the mechanical maiden in her arms for nearly ten minutes, listening to one heart-wrenching sob after another, each one tearing at her own heart. And once she had calmed down a bit, she helped her get to her feet and guided her to a nearby stone bench.

She had wanted to whisper words of comfort in the other girl's ears just like Yang used to do for her but she had no idea what to say. It's alright? Things will get better? Everything will be alright? None of those phrases, or any of the other dozen she had thought to say, sounded right to her.

Perhaps it was because she still wasn't sure of the reason for Aigis's pain. Minato's death played a large part, that much was never in doubt, but Ruby felt that there was something else that was bothering Aigis. And without that little shred of information, she couldn't be sure that she was reassuring Aigis of something that would not be true.

But finding that out could wait. For now, she had to make sure her team leader was alright. Not that she had any idea as to how she would go about that. Ruby had briefly considered going back to get someone more suited for the task at hand but when she saw Aigis's face, she quickly realized that doing so would be akin to shutting a door that may not open a second time. At this moment, she was the only one who could make things better. Or worse. Hopefully the former.

"So…" Ruby began but trailed off when Aigis didn't react the slightest bit. "Do you… wanna go back inside?" The black-haired girl inwardly cringed at the question, wishing she was capable of kicking herself for her thoughtless question. She could just imagine what Weiss would have said had she been there. 'Obviously she wouldn't want to go back inside. She wouldn't have come out in the first place you dolt.'

Thankfully, Aigis only shook her head, her demeanor remaining unchanged. Though given her current mood, Ruby wondered whether a scathing or sarcastic remark would have been an improvement. She shook her head slightly at that thought. _'I'm getting too used to being around Weiss.'_

"Tell me, Ruby." The fifteen-year-old nearly jumped off the bench when Aigis spoke, surprised that the blonde had been the first to break the awkward silence between them. Thankfully, Aigis's head was still facing down where her hands rested on her lap, one on top of the other. "Have you… Have you ever lost someone dear to you?"

Ruby tensed at the question but quickly relaxed, inwardly thankful, again, that Aigis had not been looking at her. No doubt she would have caught even the slightest bit of tension in her posture had the blonde been facing her properly. As she prepared to answer, however, she couldn't help but slump forward, even more than Aigis, as she rested her forearms on her thighs. "Yeah," came her low, saddened response.

"If… If you do not mind me asking, how did you cope with it?" There was something in the mechanical maiden's tone that Ruby couldn't identify. It wasn't bad, that much she was certain of, but it didn't sound very positive either. "How did you come to terms with losing them?"

"I…" Ruby paused all of a sudden, unsure as to how to answer that question. "I…" she began again only to pause a second time, trying to find the proper words to use to explain her thoughts. "I didn't really cope with it, not for a long time." Ruby adjusted her body, trying to find a more comfortable position only to go back to how she started out. "My mom died when I was young, so I didn't really understand it at first."

Looking back, it had been less of coming to terms with her mother's death and more of coming to terms with her mother's departure and absence. She had just barely turned five-years-old when Summer Rose had died. Old enough to have memories of her, but certainly far too young to truly understand what it meant for someone to die.

She could remember wondering how her mother leaving them was different from whenever she left on a mission. She could also remember being told, or rather Yang _trying_ to explain, that dying meant never coming back. But she had been too young. She had taken it to mean that Summer wasn't coming back because she was mad at them for some reason, or that she didn't love them any longer. Yang tried to reassure her that Summer loved her, loved them, but that simply led to young Ruby questioning why she left if she still loved them.

She had also been too young to realize that the constant questions and misunderstandings had only served to add to Yang's already considerable burden at the time. Between taking care of hers and Ruby's needs, and sometimes their father's as well such as with regards to meals, Yang had little time to try and explain things in a manner that the young Ruby could understand. After all, she had been a child at that time. There was no way she could care for a household, or even just a single person, with the same ease and efficiency as their deceased mother.

Because of that, Yang had prioritized taking care of Ruby and their home over trying to get her to understand the difference between leaving and dying. As a result, Ruby spent a long time trying to understand and come to terms with the fact that Summer had left them for some unknown reason. By the time that Yang had been released from her duties as caretaker, Ruby had, more or less, come to terms with her mother's absence.

And so, when they had finally gotten around to explaining things better to Ruby – which had been much later – she didn't need as much time to cope with the realization that her mother was well and truly gone from their lives, unlike Yang's, who was supposedly still alive. It had hurt, certainly, but not as much as it might have had Ruby been able to understand Yang's attempts at an explanation several months before. Probably because she simply had to change one small detail in her way of thinking.

As Ruby spoke more of her childhood after her mother's death, Aigis listened intently but silently. Now and then she'd throw out a quick question, trying to prompt Aigis into speaking, but the android merely looked down at the ground, her expression unchanging.

By the end of her tale, Ruby was feeling both depressed and hopeful. Thoughts of her mother always brought her down, though she tried not to let it distract her whenever it happened. She wasn't really sure what exactly the blonde was hoping to hear when she asked the question earlier, but the young trainee could only hope that her words provided her with the answer she was looking for.

Then, Aigis took a deep breath, and sighed, shutting her eyes as she did so. And when she opened them, her expression was just as dejected as it had been earlier. In fact, unless Ruby was mistaken, she seemed to be even more depressed now. "I see," she sighed out, her tone matching her expression. "I suppose this is the limit of my understanding. Or perhaps it is because I haven't 'lived' long enough yet that I am unable to understand."

The silver-eyed girl wasn't really sure what to say in response. This wasn't a conversation or situation she had ever expected to experience. Even if she did expect it for some reason, the fact that Aigis wasn't a human, or even a faunus, threw out most conventional logic.

By the time people reached their teens, they had most likely experienced something that made them sad or depressed. So on some level, even teenagers would know how to deal with similar situations. The death of a loved one was, obviously, far more devastating than not being able to eat the last cookie in the jar or having your newly built weapon fall apart completely in its first fight, but those smaller instances at least gave them some experience dealing with such feelings.

Aigis may look like a teenager, but she was certainly far from one in terms of emotional experience. By her own accounts, she had only been active for a little over a year. More importantly, she had only truly began to feel, express, and understand emotions around the start of the year. All in all, Aigis really only had about nine months of experience when it came to dealing with her own emotions.

It was, in a way, the complete opposite of Ruby's own situation.

At the time of her mother's death, she had been too young to understand the concept of death. But she had, somehow, managed to come to terms with her mother's disappearance despite that lack of understanding. Aigis understood death and what it meant for someone to die. But she was completely unprepared to deal with the emotional aspect associated with it. Especially when the person who died was someone she knew, someone she cared about.

' _I wonder if this was how Yang felt back then,'_ she couldn't help but muse with a sad smile, watching as Aigis continued to stare dejectedly at the ground. Unable to do anything else, Ruby moved closer to the blonde android, and wrapped her arms around her torso once more. She felt Aigis tense up at the unexpected contact before relaxing once more.

"… Thank you."

Ruby hummed in response and tightened her embrace just a little more, trying to convey her intent and feelings through her arms. She may have lacked the words and experience needed to give Aigis the answer she needed, but at the very least she could stay by her side until she found them.

* * *

SEES and their friends stayed up the entire night. For the most part, they had broken off into their respective teams, with SEES sharing various stories about their past and those they were mourning.

Yukari did most of the talking for team KYBT, talking about her parents and how she came to join SEES. Needless to say her father's role in the birth of the Dark Hour was omitted, as was her initial reason for agreeing to join SEES. Now and then, Mitsuru would answer some questions about her own childhood but Yang was still a little apprehensive of directly addressing Mitsuru to ask for more details.

She was much less reluctant when it came to Yukari though, so the brunette ended up getting bombarded with questions by the blonde. Yang made sure to be careful around the more personal issues and questions at least. She certainly didn't want to overstep her boundaries again so soon after the first one. Especially not in front of Mitsuru.

Inversely, team ASYR had very little interaction among its members. After Ruby and Aigis returned – surprisingly nobody had questioned their disappearance though they did greet them upon their return – Ruby struck up a conversation with Fuuka while trying to get Aigis to join in. She would respond now and then with a hum, a nod, or different variations of 'yes', 'no', 'maybe', and 'I don't know'. It was better than complete silence but such half-hearted answers were not enough to soothe Fuuka's worries, which resulted in her worrying more about Aigis than conversing with Ruby.

It certainly didn't help matters any that Weiss had joined team KYBT, opting to try and speak more with Mitsuru. Her attempt hadn't fared very well, since the redhead opted to leave the majority of the conversation to Yukari, Blake, and Yang, but the white-haired heiress was not one to be deterred so easily and has simply settled for what little she could get out of the former heiress.

With Team ANKR, all four members were engaged in casual conversation, small smiles present on all their faces and sometimes growing into full smiles or grins.

Ken didn't have much to share, having lived quite an ordinary life up until his mother's death, and his hatred for Shinjiro, prior to his death, wasn't something he wanted to share, so he had very little to talk about. That wasn't to say he was entirely silent, however, as he began throwing in comments about Akihiko's boxing career when the older teen got to that point of his life.

"Akihiko-senpai was mostly undefeated but most of his losses were from when he started out." Akihiko turned away with a touch of embarrassment as Ken heaped up more praise and built up his image. While it was all true, it felt strange to have someone else describing it, making it sound so much more fantastic than it was from his perspective. It didn't help that Nora was encouraging Ken to tell her more.

Still, it was good to see Ken behaving normally after the past three weeks.

Seeing the relieved smile on Akihiko's face, Ren gave him a small smile of his own. "Feeling better?" he asked the boxer. Akihiko had been one of the more composed ones over the past three weeks, but Ren had seen that he was grieving just as much as the others. And although his sister had perished nearly ten years ago, and Shinjiro had died exactly one year ago now, that didn't make the death of another person close to him any easier. Something that Ren knew very well.

"A bit, yeah," the boxer responded with a slightly wider smile and a nod. "Though, it wasn't just the people who died that bothered me. In the end, we're still their seniors, so Mitsuru and I still feel that we have a responsibility to watch over them." His gaze traveled around the room, pausing briefly on each of the younger members of SEES. "They may have grown over the past year-and-a-half, but we're all still young. None of us can take on everything alone."

"And yet you and Mitsuru seem to have taken a lot of that burden on your shoulders," said Ren, pointing out the contradiction in his statement.

"Mitsuru and I have been through a lot, more than the others at any rate," he defended, shrugging to show that he didn't care much if he came off as hypocritical. "Besides, we're used to bearing more than we're supposed to. Not the best habit to have, but I think we can get away with it this time."

Ren certainly couldn't argue with that logic. The past three weeks had clearly been a tough time for the entire group. If Akihiko and Mitsuru hadn't planned this memorial event then who knows how long they would have kept mourning and grieving over lost loved ones. After all, funeral and memorial services were not something intended for the dead.

The two soon rejoined the conversation between Ken and Nora, Akihiko stepping in when Ken started mentioning some of the more exaggerated and outrageous rumors about him and his boxing career.

Not far from them, Junpei was telling the rest of Team JACN more about his life prior to joining SEES, not that there was much to tell. His life had been fairly mundane up until his induction into SEES. It had surprised the others that Chidori knew little about Junpei's personal life but she simply said, "We never really found time to talk about it," and they left it alone, choosing instead of focus on Junpei.

His family was a sore topic for several reasons, but one that he had come to terms with shortly before their battle against Nyx, so he only had a little difficulty opening up that part of his life to his team when they had asked. He had never known his mother so there was little he could say on that topic. His father was another matter altogether.

He had raised him as a single father, doing his best despite how hard it was to raise a child while having to work to earn a living. It had been alright at the beginning. It was difficult, no one could contest that, but he had managed. But around the time Junpei was in the fourth grade - when he was ten years old, he explained when asked his age at the time - Kenichiro Iori lost his job.

Their meager savings kept them afloat for a while longer along with what little Kenichiro earned doing odd jobs wherever he could. He eventually got a job working at an assembly line in a factory. It was hard work with little pay compared to his former occupation, but it was better than having to search for any paying jobs on a daily basis.

But then, Junpei continued to explain, Kenichiro lost most of their remaining savings to an investment scam. That, combined with the poor work conditions, harsh supervisors, and the stressful work, along with the low pay rate eventually got to his father, leading to his slow descent into alcoholism.

"He actually started getting better near the end of last year," he said, waving away the pitying looks he was receiving, thankfully not from his girlfriend. Inwardly he was glad he decided not to talk about how violent his father sometimes became while under the influence of alcohol. That certainly would have earned him looks _and_ words of pity that he no longer needed.

"Talking with Minato helped a lot too." He leaned into his seat and tilted it back just a bit, careful not to tip it back too far lest he find himself on the floor. "It's 'cuz of him that I actually decided to go talk to my dad again after leaving home to live in the dorm with everyone else."

"Do you miss him?" When he turned to face Chidori, she repeated her question. "Do you miss your father?"

Junpei huffed and turned back to the ceiling. "That's a stupid question." He sighed heavily, shutting his eyes. "'Course I do. He and I didn't get along for a long time. But like I said, he started getting better 'round the end of last year. We were actually talking again instead of just yelling all the time. Last time I saw him was just after New Year's. Told him I won't be able to visit for a while since I had something important I had to do for a while. After that... well..."

He didn't really need to say anything more. They were well aware of what happened less than a month after that point.

As Junpei shook those thoughts out of his head - he'd been moping around for three weeks already after all - he realized that something felt... off with his team. _His_ team. That was something he really needed to start getting used to. It didn't take him long to locate the reason for the odd feeling.

"Yo Jaune, you alright there?" Jaune's head snapped up from where it had been bowed down, low enough to fit in the space between his knees, when Junpei called to him, looking as though he had dozed off. But there had been a something in his eyes when he looked up, an emotion that Junpei couldn't place. "You've been pretty quiet tonight. Something up?"

Jaune, for all his shortcomings as a fighter, was a fairly outgoing person. A little goofy, and definitely more than a little awkward at times, but he wouldn't have described the tall blonde as broody. Seeing him so deep in thought about something, while not a cause for concern, was definitely new.

Seeing Junpei still waiting for an answer, the blonde quickly shook his head. "Oh, n-nothing's wrong. I was j-just... thinking." He could see that none of his teammates believed him. His excuse was hardly convincing, even to him. None of them pushed, at least, but he could still see the curiosity in their eyes even as they started up another conversation, something about Junpei's school if he heard Pyrrha's question right.

Rather than listen, he sighed and lowered his head once more, his forearms on his thighs and his fingers intertwined. Now and then his eyes would turn to the side where the casket was only to turn away the moment he saw it. But moments later, his eyes would wander once more to it then repeat its previous actions. His fingers clenched as though attempting to form a fist, but being intertwined with the others made it impossible at the time. Still, his muscles tightened as much as they could.

Then all of a sudden, "H-hey, Junpei?" He vaguely heard their conversing voices pause as their ears caught his words. "What's it... what's it like?" he asked, keeping his gaze firmly on the floor. "Fighting the Grimm I mean. And not just once or twice like we did back during initiation."

"Asides from dangerous you mean?" Junpei asked with a light tone accompanied by a short chuckle. Certainly not the kind of answer Jaune had been hoping for. "Well, it's pretty much what you'd expect from fighting monsters and stuff. Gotta say, video games, anime, and movies make it all seem easy. But it's a whole 'nother world when you're the one standing in front of something that could kill you in one hit."

 _'What's anime?'_ Jaune found himself thinking before he could stop himself. But just as quickly as the thought entered, it disappeared and was replaced by more sobering thoughts. "Not all fun and games, huh?"

"Dude, fighting Shadows... Grimm... uh, you know what I mean." There was a brief pause, Junpei gathering his thoughts again perhaps. "Anyway, anyone who thinks it's 'fun and games' is just asking for it." The levity in his team leader's voice was gone now, replaced by a dour tone. "Fun isn't standing there hoping you don't die and games aren't supposed to end with you dead if you lose."

"Yeah, maybe there was a time when I didn't take it seriously, when I thought that just having a Persona meant I was safe, powerful. Then on our first real mission I nearly got me, Minato and Yukari killed 'cuz I was being stupid." Jaune heard Junpei sigh, heavy and full of burdens and regrets. "Can't even say that I took it more seriously after that. A little bit more, yeah, but not enough. But we just kept winning, kept beating down whatever Shadow came our way without anyone getting hurt too badly. Couple of cuts, a bruise or two now and then, but nothing major. And then... Well... Shinjiro-senpai died. Right in front of us."

Jaune waited. For what, he wasn't sure. But Junpei just sighed again but this time he sounded more exasperated than tired. "Damn, I better stop there. Akihiko-senpai's right, he wouldn't want us beating ourselves up like this over him otherwise he'll beat _us_ up." He heard a brief chuckle, and though it sounded a little bitter there was definitely a trace of amusement mixed into it. "Why'd you ask anyway?"

Good question. Why _did_ he ask? It wasn't as if he didn't already know the answer. He'd known since the initiation after all. Fighting the Grimm was a dangerous career path, extremely so. And it was even more dangerous for someone who didn't know how to fight. And in this case, that someone was him.

Even a month of Combat Class and extra lessons with Pyrrha hadn't helped him very much. If anything, it just served to highlight his lack of combat potential. No matter how often he reminded himself of Pyrrha's advice, even just focusing on one of them at a time, he could never get his body to remember it the way Pyrrha said it would. He always had to consciously think about her advice otherwise he would find himself slipping back into bad habits. And by bad habits, he meant his complete and utter lack of skill that nobody knew about.

But the more he thought about it, the more he ended up confusing himself. There were just so many things he had to remember that he couldn't keep his thoughts straight. His stance, his footing, his footing while attacking or defending, the proper way to use his shield, and so much more. Not to mention nobody would give him time to think about all that while in the middle of a fight, let alone think of a plan.

The blonde boy took a deep breath and sighed. Maybe he should just-

"Try not to think about it too much." Jaune's head shot up when Junpei spoke. Did he just... "I mean, you're still in school, right? It's why you're at Beacon. So they can teach you how to fight the Grimm. Well, us I guess." The dark-haired boy shook his head wildly, trying to get back on track. "A~anyway, I guess what I'm saying is, it's alright to think it's scary and all that. Heck, I've been fighting for months and I know there's a part of me that still gets scared. I try not to let it get to me when I'm fighting, but... it's there. It's always there."

There was an uncomfortable silence as Jaune tried to process his leader's words, but Junpei quickly filled in that silence. "L-look, I'm... I'm not too good at this leader thing," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I-I've never been a leader for anything before so this is all new to me. But hey, I've got your back, alright?" Junpei gave him a smile that looked halfway between reassuring and uncertain, but Jaune could feel the sincerity in his words. "Heck, it's not just me. You've got Pyrrha and Chidori-chan too after all."

Pyrrha also gave Jaune a reassuring smile, one that looked far more confident than Junpei's but just as sincere. And while Chidori didn't smile, she gave him a nod to show that, yes, she would be there if he needed her help.

"Y-yeah... Thanks."

Weak though his voice might have been, but he meant it. It didn't do much to quell the fear of death that had sprouted up in his chest the day he saw hundreds of Grimm watching them with glowing red eyes, watching them like a predator observing its prey. In fact, a part of him bristled at his words, at the insinuation that he needed to be protected. But he couldn't deny that, deep inside, he was happy to hear those words. Happy to know that he wouldn't have to face things alone.

* * *

 **October 4, XX13**

The light-hearted mood of the previous night and early morning was soon forgotten as sixteen students and one dog made their way to the final destination of their planned trip.

Mitsuru and Akihiko led the way, walking ahead of the group to guide them to where they needed to be. In Akihiko's arms was a small, dark gray urn that bore the ashes of the casket's earlier contents along with the white cloth that had been lain on top of it. It was only when Akihiko had folded it up and placed it with the other objects that they learned what it was. The flag of Japan.

While the memorial had mainly been for those closest to them, there were still countless others who had died that day. A vast majority were strangers, a few were acquaintances, fewer still were friends, but all of them were their fellow countrymen.

No more than five minutes later, the pair stopped in front of a grave located near one corner of the Vale Public Cemetery. And it was certainly one that eight of them would never forget. The gravestone was not only larger, but also far more elaborate than the ones they had seen along the way. In fact, it was more akin to a memorial stone due to its size.

The base was large block of granite, at least two feet in height, three feet from front to back, and four feet from one side to the other. The upper surface was wider than the base by at least an inch in all directions. On top of it, situated about a fourth of the way from the back, was a granite slab that was roughly two inches thick, three feet in height, and just shy of four feet in width. Unlike the base, it flared outwards slightly the closer it was to the base. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that both of them were slightly arced, with the visitor standing inside the arc.

On the upper piece of granite, they could make out a multitude of strange characters carved into the stone. What made it even stranger was that, unless they were mistaken, the characters seemed to be lined up vertically rather than horizontally. There were twenty-two vertical lines of those strange characters. And for whatever reason, nine of them were colored red somehow.

At the front were two round, steel vessels, almost like cups, set into each of the two front corners. They were only a few inches tall and the opening was about the same. Towards the center were two depressions in the granite block that were filled with sand while at the center was a shallow rectangular basin with rounded off corners. The front face of the larger block of granite had a large rectangular depression carved into it with a circle in the center sticking out. It took them only a second to recognize it as the Japanese flag they had seen earlier.

Two square, granite pillars stood slightly in front of the entire gravestone, just a few inches in front of the corners. Each one was at least as tall as the whole gravestone and was three inches wide. Several strange-looking characters were carved into the pillars on the side facing them. The characters on the left were different from the one on the right. And finally, another large slab of granite lay beneath the entire thing, with three one-inch steps at the front about two feet wide.

Akihiko passed the urn to Mitsuru before turning to Junpei with a meaningful gaze. No words were exchanged but the younger teen stepped forward nonetheless. Akihiko stepped up onto the granite platform and moved to one corner of the gravestone while Junpei went to the one on the other side. The silver-haired teen knelt down and placed one hand on the stone while the other reached down. The other teen copied him and, after searching with his fingers, found a deep indentation at the base of the stone.

Slipping his fingers in, he met his senior's eyes and nodded. With a grunt, the two lifted the front of the stone up about an inch before it stopped. The older teen motioned with his head and the younger followed, moving the slab of granite away from the grave. They set the slab down gently on the grass, allowing everyone to see that the inside of the grave was completely hollow.

Mitsuru approached with the urn in her arms. She knelt in front of the gravestone and carefully placed the urn inside it. The redhead remained on her knees for a brief moment before rising and stepping back to join the others. She knew that what they were doing was quite unorthodox in some ways by Japanese standards, but considering the circumstances none of them would speak out against it. And it wasn't as if anyone could scold them for it.

Everyone watched as the two males resealed the chamber, carefully setting the granite slab back into place. It took a moment to line it up, but soon the chamber was sealed once more, and Junpei and Akihiko stepped back. In turn, Fuuka and Yukari stepped forward, each one carrying a small bouquet of flowers they had bought along the way, picked out by Yukari herself.

Each bouquet was composed of gladiolas and white carnations. According to the brunette, the former represented remembrance, and the latter stood for pure love, which, she said, was fitting since those they were mourning were a combination of friends and family as well as those who only died fairly recently and a few who had long since passed on.

Nobody else really knew much about what different flowers stood for so they simply went with it. The two girls placed the bouquet into the two receptacles near the corners then stepped back.

Ken approached the gravestone next. Held in one hand was a candle while the other held a small candleholder. He set it up on the granite flooring slightly to the side then lit the wick with a match. After making certain that the candle wouldn't topple over or that the flame wouldn't go out, he stepped back.

Aigis went next, carrying with her a deep wooden bucket filled with water. Floating on the surface of the water was a wooden ladle. She set it down in front of the gravestone but off to the side, opposite the candle. She scooped up some water and gently poured it into the shallow basin in front of her. She did this twice more, filling it up close to the brim, before returning the ladle and the stepping away from the gravestone.

And finally, Chidori approached the gravestone. In her hands, she held the small box that Akihiko had passed her when they exited the van after arriving at the cemetery. The top flaps were already open but they couldn't see the contents from where they stood. She set it down next to the candle but far enough that even the open flaps wouldn't touch the candleholder. With her task accomplished, she rejoined the others.

Mitsuru turned to address the other seven members of SEES, their preparations finally done. "Who would like to go first?"

"I'll go," Yukari answered almost as soon as Mitsuru finished asking her question and she stepped up to the gravestone without delay. But though she had acted swiftly, her movements were slow and precise.

Yukari picked up the ladle, scooping up some of the water in the bucket. Reaching up, she gently poured the water on top of the gravestone then returned the ladle to the bucket. Then she knelt down on the ground. Turning to the side, she reached into the box and pulled out a dark red stick. She brought one end to the candle's flame, holding it there for a few seconds before pulling it back. The red stick held between the archer's fingers did not catch fire, though the tip was smoking.

The brown-haired girl brought the stick over to the gravestone and pushed the other end into the one of the sand receptacles. She repeated her actions, and placed a second stick into the other receptacle. She then brought her palms together and held them in front of her, bowing her head slightly, and shutting her eyes.

" _Hey mom."_ Yukari spoke softly, using her native tongue for the first time since arriving in Vale a month ago. _"I'm sorry it took so long. We've been really busy these past months so we never really found time for all this, you know? I have so much I want to tell you, but I'm not the only one here right now. I… I love you mom. I'm sorry I never got to tell you that one last time. I'll come back as soon as I can so we can talk, I promise."_

" _And dad, I'm still going to keep my promise to you. They may not be called Shadows anymore, but I'll still do whatever I can to bring an end to this. Don't worry, I'm not alone. I don't plan on dying anytime soon and I still have SEES by my side after all. So please, don't worry about me. And once this is over, I'll come let you know right away. I love you dad. Goodbye for now. I'll be back. I promise."_

Yukari opened her eyes slowly only to be greeted by the blurry sight of the gravestone in front of her. She reached up with one hand to touch her face and felt something wet on her fingertips. She didn't let the sight of her tears bother her and blinked repeatedly until her vision was clear. This was one time when she would allow herself to cry in front of others.

Slowly, she rose to her feet, saying one final farewell to her parents before turning around and returning to the others. She noted that they had increased the distance between them and the gravestone, enough that they wouldn't have heard her, or understood her at the very least, even if she had spoken at a normal volume.

Throughout all this, SEES's teammates could only watch on in an uncomfortable silence.

Their night of bonding over SEES's stories of their past had caused them to forget that their presence there was not due to an invitation but due to their own actions. And while one person bore more of the blame than the rest, that did not change the fact that all of them carried their own share.

The sharp look that Mitsuru had sent them when they hesitated to enter the cemetery earlier had been enough to let them know that she had yet to completely forgive them and that their continued presence was to be part of their punishment. A highly unconventional one but certainly an effective one. They certainly wouldn't be repeating their shameful actions anytime soon. Perhaps ever.

On another note, some were beginning to wonder whether exhausting and starving them was part of that punishment. It was already well past eight in the morning and none of them had gotten even a wink of sleep – the conversations they held was more than sufficient to keep them awake through the night – nor had they eaten anything since their early dinner the night before. But considering they had left Beacon shortly after six PM, it meant that they had not gone more than twelve hours without eating or even drinking.

The pangs of hunger began to gnaw at them a little after dawn but by then, Mitsuru had told them that they would be departing the funeral home shortly so nobody mentioned their hunger. After all, SEES had gone just as long without food and rest so surely they must be feeling the same, right?

To their dismay, no one among SEES mentioned anything about it at all. After departing the funeral home, they had only stopped to pick up some flowers before heading straight for the cemetery. They hadn't thought to say anything during the entire trip and by the time they realized where they were, it was too late to bring it up.

Nora had it worst since she had returned to the dorm right after her Demolitions class only to join them on their trip to Vale soon after arriving. She had grabbed something to snack on from a vending machine along the way back to the dorm but given her metabolism a small snack was a far cry from the amount she usually ate at mealtimes. She was actually beginning to worry that the next time her stomach rumbled people would begin wondering where the Ursa was. Or if she'd eaten a live Ursa without them noticing.

Ruby's condition was just as bad but rather than hunger, she was just about ready to succumb to her exhaustion. Her hunger certainly didn't help. If anything, it made it worse. Yang had an arm around her shoulder, to support her just in case she fell asleep – she had drifted off a few times earlier despite being on her feet – but was also trying to keep her awake to avoid getting into trouble with Mitsuru or anyone else for being disrespectful.

And so they did the only thing they could. They endured. They watched as the other members of SEES approached the gravestone, repeating Yukari's actions of dumping water on the gravestone and sticking two of those red sticks into the sand. Then they would whisper a prayer – at least that's what it looked like to them – for a minute or so before rising and rejoining them.

By the third person, Fuuka, their noses began to pick up a strange smell. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact, inhaling deeply, a few of them began to feel a bit more relaxed, calmer. It smelled vaguely of fragrant wood mixed with something like a spice of some sort. It took a while before Ren pinpointed the source. The red sticks that SEES were sticking into the sand.

Despite the distance, he could see that the ones that had been placed earlier had burned away. Though it was strange to see that the burnt remains somehow managed to remain in place, making it seem as though the stick were still whole only with gray, ash-like tips rather than whatever the red material was.

Mitsuru followed after Fuuka returned, then Akihiko, Ken, and then Chidori. When the red-haired girl returned, everyone turned to Aigis, expecting her to approach. Instead, she looked conflicted, gazing at the gravestone with uncertainty.

Weiss was close to having to restrain herself physically. She was hungry and tired, and now Aigis was choosing that very moment to be indecisive. She didn't even know why they were waiting on Aigis. She was just a robot after all. It wasn't as if she had anything to say to the deceased.

As convincing as it was, there was no doubt in the heiress's mind that the 'emotions' Aigis had been displaying the past few weeks was nothing more than a program meant to emulate someone in mourning. Her current 'indecision' was probably a bid to buy time for her to create a program for the current situation based on what she had already seen.

If not for the fact that they were in enough trouble as it was, Weiss would have tried to urge them to just move on with or without Aigis. But when she heard and felt her stomach rumble once again, the heiress began to debate the pros and cons of doing so, damn the consequences and her image.

In the end, the decision was taken out of her hands when Aigis approached the gravestone with slow, hesitant steps. Her movements were shaky the entire time, nearly causing her to spill the ladle of water on the incense. And when she made to light her own stick of incense, she nearly knocked over the candle.

But she paid little mind to any of that as she knelt there before the gravestone, her hands on her lap rather than in front of her in prayer. From the moment the group reached the gravestone, to the moment she approached and knelt before it, her eyes were locked onto one thing. A name. Half of which she now bore in honor and memory of the young man who had changed her for the better.

"Minato-san." Unlike the others, her words were spoken out loud in English, rather than whispered in Japanese. But since everyone had moved further back when Yukari had approached the gravestone, her words were still unintelligible to those behind her. "Are you… Are you well where you are?"

Of course, no response was given to her query, but she nodded as though she had received one. "I see. That is good. As you can see, we are doing well. At least, given our current circumstances." She paused once more, but this time lowered her head. "I must… apologize, Minato-san. Although you took the time to teach me what it meant to live, what it meant to be human, lately I have been wondering whether my decision had been a grave mistake."

"Though my understanding has grown, there is still much I have yet to learn, so much I have left to experience. But now I…" Her fingers curled into fists, the fabric of her hakama gripped tightly in her hands even as her eyes shut tightly and her face contorted in pain. "I am… ashamed. Everyone else is suffering as well, and yet I alone hid from my pain rather than facing it. Though I have only done it at night, I still hid even though the others must have suffered even in their sleep. At one point I had even considered running from my pain, to make it so that I would never have to feel such a horrid feeling ever again."

"Does it… Am I a horrible person, Minato-san? Though I scorned those who sought freedom from pain and suffering through death, I now find myself wishing for the same. Not death, no, but merely by making it so that I would never have to feel pain, or any other emotion, ever again."

"I had thought, at that time, that I understood, though I disagreed, why the doomsday cult that worshipped Nyx would desire death. And yet now I… Now I find that my previous understanding was merely superficial. The pain of losing my purpose is so insignificant compared to the pain of losing you, or the fear of losing someone else. And though I am do not bear this pain alone I…"

"I… I do not know if… if I could bear this pain a second time, or a third." Her shoulders began to shake even as her voice grew weak and unsteady. "Our friends may be here with me, but the thought of losing someone again, losing them, cripples me with fear far greater any Shadow. What do I do? How is it, that people can bear such pain? I wish… I wish you were still here with us… with me…"

A drop of water fell onto her glove, the white material taking barely a second to greedily absorb it. Another fell onto her hakama, facing a similar fate as the first. More followed soon after, her tears slowly streaming down her face towards her chin even as soft sobs escaped her lips, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

The other members of SEES could only watch in concern and sadness once Aigis's sobs and cries grew loud enough to be heard, some of them looking away to hide the tears that threatened to fall at the sight of their friend's distress and their inability to help. Of the others, many of them looked just as sad at the sight before them. One, however, was affected more than the rest.

"Blake? Are you alright?"

The black-haired girl didn't turn to face her partner, but nodded without a word, hoping that she wouldn't push the issue. In truth, she was far from alright. She tried to keep the tears from falling. She wouldn't be able to properly explain why she felt so strongly for Aigis's pain without possibly revealing her faunus heritage. And while she could just lie her way out she didn't want to take any risks, not at this time.

Out of the eight Aura-users, only she truly knew what was causing Aigis's pain. Not because she had been in a similar situation, but because she had heard every word of Aigis's lamentations. But more than that, her sharp hearing picked up the undertones that most people would not have picked up at that distance, even if they heard the words.

Listening in, even unintentionally, to the others had been fine. All of them had spoken in their native tongue, a language that Blake had no knowledge of, so she only felt a small hint of remorse for having overheard them. But with Aigis… If she had had any doubts that Aigis was anything more than just a machine, that moment, just then, erased them all.

She had faced many of Atlas's androids in the past, including some of the latest models, and she had interacted with many AIs across the Kingdom of Vale. One thing they had in common, despite the advances in technology, was their flat, mechanical tone of voice or the artificial emotions programmed into their tone, depending on the model.

Certainly, the newer, more expensive models sounded real enough. Whether they were laughing in joy, crying in sadness, shouting in anger, or even pretending to die, the emotions they displayed looked and sounded very real. So much so that many people would have a hard time believing that the speaker was a machine if they only went by the voice. Some have even claimed that they could 'feel' the emotions that they were being shown.

But her faunus hearing allowed her to hear what most people could not. No matter how new or how advanced, the artificial emotions displayed by the AIs would always sound false to her ears. It was not something one could easily describe to those who could not experience it themselves. All she knew was that she, along with any other faunus with a superior sense of hearing, could always differentiate an AI's voice from a human's or faunus's, even through a Scroll or a recording.

And it was because of this that she could tell that Aigis was far more advanced, far more… human, than anything Atlas or anyone else on Remnant have created.

Even back when she first met them the day before the Initiation, Aigis had slipped past her radar and registered as a human in every way that counted. Her movements, her voice, her speech patterns – despite being somewhat formal in delivery – her emotions, everything about her had told Blake that the blonde was a human. Had they not revealed the truth, the feline faunus would have gone on believing that Aigis was nothing more than just another human being.

And even now, listening to Aigis's words and cries, Blake could not stop thinking of the blonde as a human. The slight movements of her body as she sobbed looked every bit as natural as anyone else's. The sounds of her cries sounded no different from that of another human's. And the raw emotion in her voice struck at Blake's heart in ways that no artificial being could have done.

But though her faunus instincts told her that the girl before her was human, her mind knew otherwise. For all her human traits, Aigis was still just a machine. Well-built and highly advanced even when compared to Atlas's best - a little strange since Japan's overall level of technology was far behind Remnant's - but still a machine nonetheless.

It was a first for Blake that her faunus instincts were being misled rather than logic and intellect. More often than not she, as well as many other faunus, trusted her instincts whenever they tried to tell her something. She didn't have enough fingers to count the number of times her instincts protected her from harm, or even death. So to find someone, something, that could deceive her instincts so perfectly was reason enough for her to be wary.

To add to her worries, Aigis was capable of communicating with dogs. Blake couldn't say for certain if that ability carried over to all other animals, but just being able to commune with canines, Koromaru in particular - she unconsciously shifted away from said dog sitting on his haunches just a few feet away - was bad enough.

Koromaru clearly knew she was a faunus, his 'words' after the initiation had been proof enough. Thankfully Aigis thought that she simply misunderstood Koromaru's message, but if she grew too suspicious then Blake knew there was little she could do to prevent the observant android from discovering the truth.

No, staying away from Aigis whenever possible was the best solution for her problems. She might have been a nice girl... machine... or whatever the right term was, but it was far too risky for Blake to stay by her side for prolonged periods of time. She had gotten this far already. Deceived instincts or not, she still knew the truth. She would not allow herself to grow complacent or careless because of it.

Even if her heart wept at the tears shed by the crying android.

After a few more minutes, Aigis's sobbing began to fade, replaced by her voice once more. "I… I am alright now, Minato-san." She heard Aigis sniffle and hiccup, trying to regain her composure after all her crying. "Speaking like this… reminds me of those times in the past. It is not the same, but I do feel better now. Only by a small amount, but better nonetheless."

"I do not know if I will have the strength to bear this pain should something happen again. But you chose to fight in the end, even when you knew that there was no point. It will be painful, I know, and I do not think I will ever stop mourning your death. But even so, I… I promise I will try to keep living. You gave your life so that everyone could live. I will not sully that sacrifice by throwing away my own."

Blake heard no more after that, but Aigis remained kneeling in front of the gravestone. Nobody could say for certain what she was doing, but all of them, save one, were willing to give her as much time as she needed. After a few, minutes of silence, Aigis rose with fluidity and grace that was absent in her earlier movements. Those who knew her well could see that she wasn't at her best just yet but nonetheless, they smiled at the improvement in her demeanor.

"I... apologize for taking so long everyone," she said as she approached, unaware that one person had heard everything she had said. "I… I had not realized that there was much I wanted to say... nor that I would…" Aigis paused abruptly and looked away.

Fuuka smiled gently and stepped closer, then wrapped her arms around the taller blonde. "It's alright Aigis, we understand," she said with a soft smile. "We miss him too."

Aigis hesitated for a brief moment before wrapping her arms around the diminutive girl and releasing the tension in her body. "Thank you, Fuuka-san."

The two separated after a brief embrace and Mitsuru took that moment to address the group. "We'll need to clean up before we leave."

As she made her way towards the gravestone, Yukari stepped in front of her and shook her head. "Senpai, you did more than enough just setting this up. At least let us take care of the rest."

The redhead gazed into Yukari's determined eyes, then turned to the others. Junpei and stepped in front of Akihiko, most likely for the same reason as Yukari. Fuuka, Aigis, Ken, and Chidori, all had similar looks in their eyes. Her silver-haired friend turned to her and just shrugged in defeat, to which she could only agree with a smile. "If you're all certain then I suppose I can't refuse. Thank you. All of you."

Aigis, Chidori, and Ken collected the items they had brought earlier, that being the bucket, the incense, and the candle and candleholder respectively. Aigis took a few seconds to place the remaining water into the vessels holding the flowers, leaving the wooden bucket empty. Ken made certain to check if the candle had dripped wax onto the granite. Junpei, Yukari, and Fuuka went around the gravestone, checking for any trash that may be in the area, placing any they found into the bag that Junpei took from Akihiko.

As the others waited for them to finish, Weiss approached Mitsuru to ask a question that had been on her mind since their arrived at the gravestone. "Pardon me Mitsuru, but what do these strange characters mean?"

The redhead followed Weiss's line of sight and saw the two granite pillars in front of the gravestone. " _Chou wa suru futatsu ha, kanzen naru hitotsu ni masaru,"_ she recited fondly, an almost nostalgic look on her face. Before Weiss, or anyone else could even ask, she spoke again. "Two in harmony, surpasses one in perfection. Those words are the Kirijo family's motto. I may be the sole remaining member of the Kirijo family, but I felt it was right to have these words here."

"Huh. That's interesting," said Yang, looking at the two pillars and the characters etched upon them. "Did you engrave the words yourself or did somebody else do it?" It seemed unlikely that there was someone in Vale with knowledge of Japanese, but she thought she'd ask all the same.

"The craftsman we hired to make the gravestone referred us to someone else for the engravings," responded the former heiress, confirming Yang's theory. "I simply wrote down the characters and he copied them."

"I see."

"I take it then that those are the names of the deceased?" asked the Schnee heiress, turning her gaze onto the gravestone itself. At Mitsuru's nod, she asked another question. "If you don't mind me asking, why are some of them in red? And also, I noticed that there are more names on it than those you mentioned before."

If Mitsuru _did_ mind, she didn't say or show it. Instead, she turned to the names engraved on the slab of granite even as the others returned from their task of cleaning the area around the grave. "The very first name on the right reads _Nippon_ , or Japan as you know it, the name of our country." She could see the question in their eyes as to how or why the name was different, but ignored them for the moment and returned her gaze to the gravestone. "The rest, as you've deduced, are the names of the people that I mentioned last night."

"As to the inconsistency of the number with regards to those you saw last night, I left out two names earlier for… personal reasons." She glanced at Junpei and Chidori briefly as she said the last two words. One looked ambivalent about it while the other gave her a grateful nod.

Takaya Sakaki and Jin Shirato. The other two members of Strega, with Chidori as their third. She hadn't included them earlier not out of malice, but simply because their complex history with Chidori, as well as with SEES and the Kirijo group, was not something she wanted to explain at that time. It was, on some level, selfish. But given everything that had already happened, that was one tale she did not want to have to share and explain just yet. Or at least, not under the current circumstances.

Their photos, the only ones they had of them, had been taken out of the casket and placed in Chidori's care for the night, returned only when the time came to cremate the items. Again, it was highly unorthodox but nothing about their situation could be considered normal by any means.

Junpei had looked shocked when he had seen the photos but a quick glance at Chidori calmed what anger he felt towards those two. It was a time to mourn, after all, and not one to bring up old grudges. And regardless of what he felt for them, the fact that Chidori held on to the photos meant that she felt something for their deaths despite their differences at the end.

A few people caught Mitsuru's glance towards the couple but, for one reason or another, said nothing. They had just served the punishment for intruding upon something personal – at least, they hoped they had served the punishment in full already – there was no need to tempt fate, or Mitsuru's wrath, by doing so a second time in just as many days.

"As for the nine names in red," Mitsuru paused, taking in the expectant expressions of their eight new friends. "Those names are ours." She quickly held up a hand to stem the expected reactions from the group. No doubt the idea of having one's own name on a grave while still alive was inconceivable to them. "In Japan, when a married man or woman dies, the name of the living spouse is sometimes engraved next to theirs but is colored with red ink. Upon their death, the ink is removed."

"There are several reasons why people do this," she began to explain. "One common reason is financial in nature, in that it is cheaper to engrave two names at once rather than adding one at a later time. Another…" she paused, her gaze returning to the gravestone. Or rather, to one name in particular. A few others, namely Junpei, Yukari, Fuuka, and Ken, did the same, though each of them looked to different names.

Seeing this, Akihiko picked up the explanation. "Another is that it simply means the person still alive is simply waiting for the day when they join their spouse in death." Absently, Mitsuru nodded. "What we did isn't exactly normal, but they are our family. And personally, I felt that it was only fitting that we, the sole remaining Japanese, be buried in the same place." Beside him, Mitsuru nodded in agreement. And one by one, the others nodded or voiced their agreement with his views.

Most people would have been enraged had they found out that someone had taken the liberty to do something like that without their permission. Some might have even assaulted whoever had the gall to do such a thing. But the other members of SEES were hardly most people.

Theirs was a bond forged in the chaos of the Dark Hour and tempered by adversity and the blood, sweat, and tears that had been shed over the past year. The loss of everything they held dear nearly shattered those bonds, but their determination and resolve to fight against even the impossible only strengthened those bonds beyond their previous limits.

They had started out as strangers, people who had only come together due to a similar power. But now, none of them could imagine a world where even a single member of their group, their family in all but blood, was missing. The idea that they would all rest in the same place was not only one they could agree with, but something they themselves might have come up with given time.

The uncomfortable moment – at least for those who still struggle the idea of having the name of a living person written on a tombstone – was broken by a loud growl that echoed through their ears. Turning to the source, they found a sheepish looking Nora, alongside Ren whose hand covered his face even as he shook his head. "Ehehe… Sorry?"

Akihiko and Ken looked at one another before chuckling. Their laughter soon spread, as everyone chuckled, giggled, or outright laughed at the ridiculous interruption. "Only you, Nora," Akihiko said while shaking his head. "Only you."

"It's hardly unexpected though," said Mitsuru, relaxing at the sight in front of her. "We haven't had anything to eat since yesterday." Then, seeing the drowsy and swaying Ruby, she added, "Not to mention we've been up all night."

Nora immediately perked up at those words. "Does that mean we get to eat now?" Ren just slapped his face again, while some turned to Mitsuru with hopeful looks, though not without a tinge of apprehension for some of them.

But their apprehension faded when Mitsuru just smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's what it means. We'll head back so we can get dressed and pick up our things, then we'll head out again to eat so you'll have to bear with your hunger for a while longer. Though I suppose there's nothing wrong with picking up a snack along the way for those who can't wait any longer. Afterwards, we'll return to Beacon. It's a Sunday so we can spend the remainder of the day recovering from last night and preparing for class tomorrow if need be."

Everyone agreed with the plan. Even Ruby nodded sleepily, almost fully supported by her elder sister.

With their possessions in hand, the area around the grave clean, and eight hearts relieved of a significant burden, seventeen figures departed, ready to begin a new day.

As they departed, Aigis paused and glanced over her shoulder. A quiet 'farewell' was carried into the wind even as she smiled and turned away.

The future was as uncertain as it ever was and she did not know if she could ever be as strong as her friends, strong enough to remain standing after losing people dear to them more than once. But even so, even in the face of that uncertainty, she knew one thing that she could be certain of.

As long as she had her friends, she would never have to fear the future.

* * *

 **And that brings an end to this mini-arc. (And no, I'm not talking about Jaune Jr.)**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the ride thus far. There is still one issue from this arc left to resolve but that can wait for a little while.**

 **Right now, I want to address the issue I mentioned in the opening author notes. As I've already mentioned, I had a lot of trouble with some parts of this chapter. Specifically Aigis's feelings.**

 **In** _ **The Answer**_ **, we can see how Aigis dealt with Minato's passing and how she found the resolve to live. Don't get me wrong, I loved the story. But I just want to point out that she had less than month between Minato's death and the start of** _ **The Answer**_ **, which then thrust her into another conflict which pretty much forced everyone to come to terms with their feelings.**

 **I'm saying this for two reasons. First is the person who reviewed (anonymously I might add, which allowed me to remove it since more than three quarters of it was composed of cursing and swearing) saying that SEES shouldn't have taken so long to deal with their feelings and that they shouldn't have been that badly affected.**

 **If you look at it (if my mysterious reviewer is still reading this that is), my story had them grieving for three weeks before this chapter resolved most, if not all, their issues. And honestly, they won't be completely over it just yet. Most, if not all, people can't completely get over the death of a loved one just because the funeral and burial is over after all.**

 **Canon had about the same timeline. Graduation was March 5, 2010, and** _ **The Answer**_ **took place on March 31, 2010, plus however many days they repeated, giving them at least 26 days between Minato's death and the point where they resolved their feelings.**

 **In short their feelings were resolved at least five days faster compared to canon. Then again, we can't exactly compare canon and my story since the situation was different. Canon gave them time to grieve as soon as he died. Here, they barely had a day before they began their seven-month long training and studying period, only for all the feelings they repressed during that time to come crashing down in one instant.**

 **Not to mention, in canon they only had to mourn Minato. Here, they lost everything else as well. That's a bigger burden to deal with than in canon.**

 **The second reason I brought up** _ **The Answer**_ **is that Aigis resolved her feelings in the midst of adversity. Here, she had no such thing that necessitated a swift resolution of her feelings. No Abyss of Time to show the past, no Metis to point her in the right direction, no clash of ideals that sharpened her resolve. And so I had trouble writing how she felt about everything.**

 **Hopefully I wrote it well enough. If any part of it feels off or wrong, feel free to let me know, without swearing and cursing of course, and I'll do my best to fix or correct it. As I said, I'm not feeling too confident about it so I don't mind any criticism if my writing at those points doesn't seem up to par in any way. Not that I ever really mind criticism as long as it's properly and politely worded.**

 **On a brighter note, the coming chapters shouldn't take as long. I actually started working on the next chapter during the times when I was stuck with this one so I should have it out in a week or so provided nothing more important comes up.**

 **As always, let me know what you think (I think I said this already but whatever), what you liked or disliked, loved or hated, about anything at all about the chapter.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter everyone. Take care and I hoped you all the end of this part of the story.**


	10. Ch 8 - Rivalries and Reunions

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in any way, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **I know I said this would be out a week after the last but I got my days off switched this week since we got a few new guys who needed to be trained for the job. And then when I got to my day off, I lost it since some of the new guys decided they didn't like the job and just up and quit. But who cares. NEW CHAPTER! XD**

 **Yeah, this week was a bit of a downer thanks to stuff from my job but hey, it's not the first time I've seen it happen, both during my current and previous jobs, so I, and a couple of others, pretty much saw it coming when we saw how they acted at work. Just didn't expect it to happen before the one week training period was over.**

 **Still, like I said, it's nothing new. Though if they'd at least stayed on for one more day I would have been able to get this out last week like I promised. Well, not much we can do about it now. What's done is done and all that.**

 **And now that we've more or less moved on, so has SEES for that matter, we can move into a new arc starting with the Arc Arc. Was that supposed to be a joke? Well, take it as you will. But of course, given the large cast of characters we're dealing with here, there'll also be some focus on other characters, their issues, and their relationship with their teammates and friends.**

 **And let's not forget our subterranean friends. Little Big Bear's just hit the first month working with his new clients so we get to see if he has anything to deliver sometime soon. Or maybe not. You'll just have to see for yourself.**

 **We'll also start moving into the Persona-experimentation stage, or at least the start of it, as hinted by Ozpin's request to Mitsuru two chapters ago to bring in the rest of his teaching staff to learn SEES's secrets. For anyone still wondering whether or not SEES will gain Aura and/or Semblance, or the other way around… actually, you should already know by now how that will turn out. If not, you can either wait for it or head back to Chapter 4 where you can find hints to the answer.**

 **As a quick reminder, the class schedule, which has been updated to include the 2nd-4th-year classes, can be viewed through a link at the bottom of my profile. And as I've said before, anyone writing a RWBY story is free to use it and even revise the class list as needed provided you let me know and give proper credit.**

 **Now then, let the show begin.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – Rivalries and Reunions**

 **October 9, XX13**

The sound of combat rang across the entire room, as was common within the Combat classroom. But unlike most fights, this time the audience was just as loud, if not louder, than the fight itself.

The fight itself had been going on for at least fifteen minutes and, according to the timer on the monitors above the fighters, was nearing the twenty minute mark. And within that twenty minutes, neither fighter had landed a single hit on the other.

Another round of shouting rippled from the crowd. Some cheered while some roared out their disappointment as the two fighters fought another bout with neither landing a single blow on the other.

It was the fight that everybody had been looking forward to for over two weeks now. Two weeks of speculation and even some bets between friends here and there. And once that got started, the formation of a small betting pool was only to be expected. One that even drew in some of the upper years.

And speaking of which, nearly half the Combat classroom's occupants were second-year students, with the other half being the first years whose class it of the second years must have seen the fight when it began since the others slowly came trickling in not long after the fight began. And in no time at all nearly all forty second-year students had come to watch the fight between the two top students in the first years' Combat Class.

The first fighter was none other than Pyrrha Nikos. Most, if not all, of the students in the room have at least heard of her in some manner. The Invincible Girl. Four-time champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament. The Mistralian Champion. And, to one boy in particular, the girl on the Pumpkin Pete's cereal box.

Pyrrha had lived up to her fame since the very first match she had participated in during their Combat class. Her skills were above and beyond what many of them were capable of, regardless of what weapon they used, how well-trained they were, or even how long they've been training. Every single match ended without receiving a single blow. And every single fight was over in less than five minutes regardless of opponent, with only one exception prior to her current fight.

Even matches against her friends did not last long. Weiss, Ruby, Ren, and Blake were swift. Weiss was versatile, Ruby was far faster than any previous opponent, and the latter two were very cunning, more than the rest, but they all lacked the raw power to overcome her defenses. Yang and Nora, on the other hand, had power in spades, far more than she had. Yet neither were quick enough to test whether they strength could overpower her defenses.

For the former group, waiting for them to strike first and then launching a counteroffensive after dodging or parrying their attacks with a handful of powerful attacks of her own was enough to break their guard and depleted their Aura quickly. For the latter, multiple, swift hit-and-run attacks worked best to whittle down their Aura while avoiding their devastating attacks.

As for Jaune, well… needless to say it was just another repeat of their various training matches outside of class. There were just more spectators this time, much to Jaune's embarrassment and dismay.

She had held back against SEES whenever she was paired up with one of their members, knowing full well she would dominate the fight in seconds if she went all out, if not kill them outright if either one made a mistake. Each one held their own well enough, and three of them lasted longer than most.

Akihiko and Mitsuru were expected to be among those three. Not only were they experienced, they were also far shrewder, far more cunning, than their juniors. What they lacked in physical ability, they made up with intellect. And though the end result was the same, the respect she had for them rose. In the face of a more powerful opponent, they developed more cunning tactics to turn the tables. And while none of them were enough to bring victory, she had nearly fallen into their traps more than once. Only her sharp reflexes and quick thinking prevented them from landing a single blow.

It was the third person, the one who lasted the longest out of the entire class just a few days ago, who had surprised her.

Fuuka was known to be the least combat-capable among their group, even among their entire year. She had only won a handful of fights, mostly by slowly draining her opponent's Aura over a long period of time while utilizing her shields to great effect. Even Ken had won more fights than her. But when it came to pure defensive ability, Pyrrha could have easily said at that time that Fuuka was one of the best in class.

Their fight simply proved her right.

Their fight had gone on for nearly fifteen minutes, with Fuuka focusing strictly on defense and barely even trying to shoot the redhead with the firearms built into her shields. But even so, Fuuka should not have lasted so long. Especially not after Pyrrha slowly stepped up her game.

It was almost as though Fuuka was reading her mind. It was only the fact that she, as well as the rest of SEES, admitted that Juno's ability to connect their minds did not extend to actual mind reading abilities that Pyrrha accepted the extended fight as pure skill on Fuuka's part. She admitted that she could sense emotions to a very limited degree, but she could not discern another person's thoughts through their connection. Not unless they wanted her to hear it.

And yet their fight played out as though she _had_ been reading Pyrrha's mind. For nearly fifteen minutes, Pyrrha tried and failed to break through the diminutive girl's guard. But every slash, every stab and thrust, every shot – which she had only used as a feint and not aimed to hurt the other girl – every single attack was blocked without fail.

Even with the Mistralian's superior speed and power, Fuuka was able to defend herself, anticipating the attacks despite their speed and bleeding off the power by deflecting rather than blocking the attack. It had gotten to the point where she was considering revealing her Semblance to everyone and just force Fuuka's arms apart, leaving her wide open. As it was, subtle manipulation was not enough since she always caught the attacks close to the center of the shields.

Never before had she met an opponent like Fuuka. It was the first time that Pyrrha could say that she was frustrated but not wary or threatened by her opponent. When the basic attacks failed, she tried making use of feints and misdirection. But none of them worked. Fuuka didn't so much as hesitate in ignoring the feints, instead moving to block the real attack as though she had known what the redhead was doing from the start.

And when that failed, she began pulling out more and more tricks she had learned over the years. Attacks from above, maneuvers that brought her behind her opponent, a pincer attack with her shield – plus a little manipulation with her Semblance – and even a little bit of grappling after she threw her javelin and shield to distract Fuuka from her plan.

The results?

Attacking from above nearly led to Fuuka landing the first blow of the entire match, the sudden barrage of bullets catching her off guard since Fuuka had not attempted to attack her at all prior to that point.

Forcing Fuuka to hide behind her shield, essentially blocking her field of view to allow Pyrrha to encircle her, ended with her nearly coming face to shield with Ancile when Fuuka backhanded her just as she finished circling the girl. She had only remembered afterwards that Fuuka did not need her eyes to know where her opponent was, even if her 'sight' was limited due to not actually summoning Juno.

The pincer attack – attempted under the assumption that Fuuka could not sense inanimate objects – failed spectacularly when Fuuka ducked at the right moment. Akoúo sailed over the Aura-less girl's head, just barely missing her teal hair, and forced Pyrrha to knock her own shield out of the air using both Miló and her Semblance. Then she had to abandon her attack when Fuuka attempted to shoot her again while she was recovering from blocking Akoúo.

Grappling? Fuuka had jumped out of range of the Mistralian's hands almost as soon as she attempted to grab Ancile to keep her in place, using her hidden firearm to keep Pyrrha at a distance.

In the end, it had taken nearly bringing forth her full ability to land a decisive blow. She had grown frustrated at not being able to land a single hit against the girl who was a solid foot shorter than she was that she had unconsciously began using more and more of her full strength. In the end, Pyrrha smashed her Akoúo against Fuuka's Ancile, putting nearly all her strength behind the blow. The strength behind the blow caught Fuuka unprepared, even though her block was perfectly executed, sending her flying back a fair distance and landing on her back.

That had been enough for Goodwitch to call the match, ending in what appeared to be a hard-earned victory for the still undefeated Champion. But Pyrrha knew the truth, one that she admitted only to herself. Had Fuuka had Aura, and had Fuuka's physical abilities been on par with her own, then the fight would have been much more difficult. It might have even ended in her defeat if Fuuka was also more combat-capable.

It had not been skill that had decided the match, but raw physical stats. The sheer difference in raw power between the two had been the deciding factor of the match. And as perfect as Fuuka's defenses were – not even Pyrrha could claim to be able to deflect every attack at the perfect angle to redirect nearly all the force behind it – every defense had its weakness. Hers just so happened to be her physical limits. It had been from the start. If Pyrrha had realized that sooner then perhaps she would have won in under five minutes, just like every other fight, simply by overpowering the girl rather than fighting as she usually did.

When asked for how she so skilled on the defensive, Fuuka's explanation – at least the one she had been willing to give – was that she had trained specifically to defend herself against enemies stronger than her to make up for her complete lack of offensive ability. She also needed to learn quickly because the ones who had trained the group prior to arriving in Beacon were as exceedingly powerful as they were brutal.

It did not answer every question in Pyrrha's mind, but it did help her understand how Fuuka developed such a defensive fighting style. If she was up against such a powerful foe, then there was only one reason behind it.

The sheer will to survive.

But that fight was nothing compared to the fight she was in now. Unlike Fuuka, who could only last so long due to focusing on defense, her current opponent was well-versed in both offense and defense. So much so that they had just passed the twenty-minute mark without a clear advantage on either side.

Her opponent was none other than Aigis Arisato, the only other first-year student with an undefeated win streak.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise and yet it did. Aigis was an android built specifically for combat against the Grimm. She, herself, had admitted that she had been pre-programmed with various combat-related data from the start in place of things like social interaction and various subjects unrelated to combat.

The only reason that she even needed to study for class was because her programming was not as advanced as a true AI in that the latter could assimilate knowledge as soon as it was gained.

The blonde had gained quite a reputation in the past few weeks. Not just among their class, but even in the entire school. Not only was she one of the eight Aura-less students, but all of her matches had been equal to Pyrrha's in nearly every way. All ended before the five-minute mark – most of them in fact ended in less than three minutes – and all ended without receiving a single scratch.

Never mind the fact that a single hit would have ended in Aigis's loss. The simple fact that she had yet to be hit even once was evidence of her skill.

The Untouchable Girl. That was what they called her.

Nobody could properly claim who it was who first called her that, just that it had apparently first been used by various people when they compared her matches to Pyrrha's. Obviously they couldn't call them both 'Invincible' and so the next best thing was used. And that was what she was, even from Pyrrha's perspective.

There was a reason why she was called 'Invincible' after all. She was not infallible, no human was. There were times when even she was caught off guard, forcing her to take the full brunt of an attack with Akoúo rather than avoiding it or deflecting it.

It was something she was taught by her personal tutor, who had been hired by her parents hired to give her additional lessons when her potential was first recognized by Sanctum's staff. Avoiding an attack shows that you had seen it coming, that you had predicted such a move. Deflecting it shows skill, especially when it is deflected in a way that allows a counterattack while preventing the opponent from shifting to defense or counterattacking in turn. Blocking outright showed a lack of skill and ability if it was done with no significant to gain in mind. And taking a hit in order to deliver one was, in his own words, the lowest, most disgraceful tactic there was, one that was only used by the weak and unskilled.

There were certainly times, even now, when she had been forced to utilize that third option. She could just imagine his frown whenever she blocked an attack because she had not expected it. She was still young and fairly inexperienced, but his teachings had long taken root in her mind. Outright blocking an attack was not an option, only a final resort for when it was necessary. And if she was better, then it should never be necessary. Not without a plan to take advantage of it.

And then came Aigis.

Even after learning that the blonde was not human, the fact was that Aigis behaved so much like a human that it began to grow increasingly more difficult to think of her as anything else as the days passed. But whenever she fought during Combat class, that tiny portion of her mind that continued to see Aigis as a machine resurfaced.

Her defensive style was, much like Fuuka's, textbook perfect. In fact, it was even better. Every dodge was swiftly followed by an attack where the opponent was open. Every attack that could not be dodged was knocked aside with contemptuous ease, followed by another attack. Attacks were deflected at the perfect angle and in the right direction, minimizing her opponent's ability to redirect the failed attack into another one or into a defensive nature to stop the coming counterattack. And, unlike Pyrrha, she had yet to outright block a single attack, regardless of whether or not she had something to gain by doing so. A perfect defense in Pyrrha's eyes.

But unlike Fuuka, her offense was just as perfect. Attacks were made swiftly and fiercely, carefully calculated to ensure she would always be able to switch back to defense should it become necessary. Her mechanical limbs aided in allowing her to control the strength of her blows, making it next to impossible to overexert herself and overextend her attacks, and minimizing her opponents chance for a counteroffensive even further. And even when attacking, her guard was maintained. Any and all attempts to attack were quickly dealt with and her offensive resumed with barely a pause.

Her body, while not indestructible, was capable of channeling more power and withstanding more force than the rest of SEES. It wasn't much when compared to Huntsmen and Huntresses, or even some of the trainees, but it was more than enough for her to stand on equal ground. Her footing was always strong and steady, ready to shift between offense and defense at a moment's notice. Her eyes took in every detail, far more than any human possibly could, reading her foe's body language, the slightest tensing of muscles, and predicting their attacks. And her mind, though mechanical, could easily calculate any and all possibilities based on what her eyes could see and, if she had it, what her instincts told her.

All this brought forth a feeling in Pyrrha that she had not felt in since her early years in Sanctum and her first two entries in the Mistral Regionals. Excitement.

For two years now she had stood so far ahead of her class, and even ahead of some of those above her, that the thrill of combat, of fighting a worthy opponent, was turning into a distant memory. Even the two most recent tournaments had failed to elicit such a feeling from her. There was always that tiny shred of hope that she would meet an opponent who could challenge her, who could force her to bring out the full brunt of her abilities. Then the excitement would build when she faced off against someone stronger or faster than her.

But the moment her Semblance came into play, the fight would lose that which made it interesting.

Polarity. Control over magnetic forces, over any object that could normally be attracted by magnets. And given that practically every weapon was made of such materials, her Semblance was essentially the best anti-Huntsman Semblance there was. Or even anti-human/anti-faunus if one were to go beyond that.

To date, her use was subtle, slightly redirecting attacks to better avoid them or using it to guide her weapons to their destination. Almost nobody knew of her Semblance and what it could do. Not even her own team had brought it up for some reason.

And yet here she was, struggling to land a single hit on her opponent while making sure to avoid being hit first.

The match against Aigis was just as exhilarating as she had expected it to be. Neither one let up on the attack, nor did they allow their defenses to slip even the tiniest bit. Their bouts would go on for nearly a full minute before one or both pulled back to reassess the situation only to dash right in after no more than a few seconds, a new plan of attack already divined after their previous bout.

But two bouts turned to five. Then ten. Then twenty. Until neither one bothered to count how many times they had engaged in combat only to end in another stalemate.

Physically they were roughly equal. Aigis's mechanical frame was strong, and her movements were swift and precise. Pyrrha was the same, but her strength and speed was born of training, and was slightly above Aigis in terms of limitations.

But Aigis more than made up for that small disadvantage. While Pyrrha was well-versed fighting against humans and faunus, compared to Aigis who was much more experienced against the Grimm, the blonde still slipped through that net due to being an android. The way she fought was similar enough to humans and faunus, but the level of precision was so vast in difference that it was a different experience altogether.

Blades and bullets were dodged by literally a hair's width. Attacks came in from angles where Pyrrha would be forced to abandon her attack in order to dodge or block, or at least be unable to counterattack. Giving away even the slightest opening, even one that was only present for a split-second, was the equivalent of welcoming an attack.

And that didn't even factor in the fact that Aigis seems to have worked out her Semblance almost as soon as she had used it.

It had been a literal whirlwind of attacks from Aigis, her knives coming in from seemingly every direction. She thought Aigis was simply trying to wear her down, tire her out enough – she was human after all – so that she would slip up just that little bit. But the whole thing had been one big setup. The directions the attack came from, the angles, all of it was done to force her into a specific position.

The blonde android's plan was flawless in both planning and execution. Back, forward, left, right, and even above, Aigis showed that she had a way to prevent Pyrrha from escaping, never once allowing the redhead to move in a way that did not suit her needs. Her only clue that something was horribly wrong was when she stepped to the left only to find that only half of her left foot hand actually landed on solid ground.

She stumbled a bit and nearly fell outside the boundaries of the circular platform they fought on, which would have resulted in her loss. She raised Miló to stop an attack coming from above and to the right, but the force was enough to push her to the left so that her left foot slid off the platform completely.

Thinking quickly, she dropped down onto her right knee while bringing her left hand to support her. Unfortunately this left her in a precarious situation. With her left leg hanging over the edge of the platform and her left arm, along with Akoúo, being used to keep her from falling off the edge, she was almost completely vulnerable.

Her right hand raised Miló once more to block a knife, only for Aigis to shift the movement at the last second in order to knock the xiphos aside, though Pyrrha maintained her grip. With the right hand unable to recover in time and the left needed to keep her from losing by ring out, she had no other option.

For the first time that fight, Pyrrha used her Semblance, redirecting the knife's handguard slightly upwards and to the left before it could break her nose, eyes wide at how close she had come to getting hit even as she tilted her head to the right as far as she could.

It had been subtle, just a slight enough redirection that gave her a little more room as she managed to lean back and to the right to avoid the attack, using her momentum to roll away from the edge of the platform. But as soon as she did, Aigis leapt away a great distance, far greater than any other time they had separated.

Pyrrha didn't pursue, taking the time to rise to her feet and regain her stance while re-evaluating her impression of her opponent. She watched as Aigis glanced down at the weapon that had failed to land the first hit of the match then back up at Pyrrha. The blonde nodded at something while muttering a few words before charging forward once more.

Since then, any attempt to redirect her trench knives had ended in failure. No, that wasn't quite right. Her attempts succeeded. She managed to connect with the weapons and adjust their course. It was simply that Aigis was more than capable of overpowering her hold on the weapons, forcing them to travel to their intended target through sheer brute force. It caused a very brief moment when the knife slowed down before continuing on its path at full speed, but that was it. It was hardly enough for Pyrrha to take advantage of in any way.

It brought home the fact that while Pyrrha may be strong and skilled, she was far from the only one in their class who was capable. And as the fight drew on, the differences between them grew more and more apparent.

Sharp blue eyes caught even the slightest openings – which grew in frequency as Pyrrha slowly began to tire – and the blonde was quick to capitalize on them, her mechanical mind processing information faster than any living being alive could and coming up with the best possible plans to do so. And all the while she was still maintaining her defense, making it difficult for Pyrrha to even spot an opening. Or at least, one that she could take advantage of without leaving herself wide open.

As things stood, the idea of letting Aigis get in one hit to be absorbed by her Aura so that she could make the one hit she needed to win was becoming more and more tempting.

But both her tutor's lessons and her own personal pride wouldn't allow it.

She was Pyrrha Nikos. She was the Invincible Girl.

It was not a title she was overly fond of as it became her public name more than her own, but it was a title she earned on her own merits. To willingly receive an attack in order to deliver her own was anathema to her. She may as well just concede the match and her title if she had to resort to an exchange of that sort in order to win. Besides, if winning the fight was all she wanted to do she could have done so in the first minute.

Aigis was an android. It was one of the reasons why she could match Pyrrha blow for blow. But it was also the reason why she would never be able to win against Pyrrha if it came down to a serious fight. Her entire body was made of metal. Metal that, through a few discreet tests, was receptive to her Semblance.

Had the Mistralian Champion wanted to, she could have ended the match at any time. All she would need to do was target the blonde's body, rather than her weapons. But this time it was not just her pride that would not allow her to take such a course of action.

The fact was, Pyrrha was enjoying the fight. As strange as it may sound to those who wanted her to win, wanting her to prove once again why she was the Invincible Girl, she was having far too much fun for her to end the fight then and there.

A grin threatened to split her face as she and the android separated, their most recent bout once more ending in a stalemate. She steadied her breathing – when had she even began to breath that hard? – and quickly wiped away the sweat making its way down her brow lest it slide into her eye and blind her at an inopportune moment.

Proving once again her mechanical roots, Aigis was neither gasping for breath nor was she sweating. Her face was calm and focused, but set into a slight frown. It didn't feel like the blonde was frustrated or annoyed at her lack of progress, more like she was simply that focused on the fight itself.

She wondered whether Aigis was enjoying the fight as much as she was or if she was even capable of feeling such. It was hard to tell if there were any emotions being stirred up beneath that stony frown.

Idly, she wondered what the spectators thought of her now. There she was, sweating heavily and breathing just as hard, while Aigis stood firm, not even looking the slightest bit tired. Did they perhaps think that Pyrrha would lose? That there was someone who would take away her title of Invincible?

And what about her sponsors? Her fans the world over? Surely a loss here would have far-reaching consequences even beyond the walls of Beacon. Would they look down on her for losing to some no-name challenger? To someone they had not even heard of? To someone without an active Aura?

But as soon as that thought appeared, it was quickly suppressed. Now was not the time for idle thoughts. Not against an opponent of Aigis's caliber. Moreover, she found that she couldn't care less what they thought. Here and now, she was enjoying herself far more than she had any other time within the past two years. Let them say what they want. In the end, she was happy.

No sooner did that thought cross her mind did Aigis charge forward once more, the skirt of Gekkoukan High school's uniform fluttering and beating lightly along her thighs as she closed the gap.

Again, the thought came to mind that she should just use her Semblance at full power, though not necessarily against Aigis herself. At full power she had no doubt she could overpower Aigis and redirect the blonde's attacks the way she was used to doing. But the way the attack would suddenly veer off course, quite unlike the subtle and almost unnoticeable movements from before, would be visible to the spectators and would give away hints at her Semblance, if not her Semblance itself. But if she was going to go all out then pride would demand that she target Aigis's body as well and not just her weapons.

And that was something she did not want to do. Not just yet.

If she was going to unleash everything she had, then Aigis would have to do the same. But at the moment that was something Aigis could not and would not do. While powerful, their Personas and how they would interact with those with Aura and Aura itself was still completely unknown.

Despite requests and even pleas by some, or just Yang for the most part, Mitsuru refused to let their teammates be the test subjects for their Personas. Even during training, Personas were only used against another Persona-user. Against an Aura-user, she would only allow the use of Rakukaja or, as they would learn Aigis and Junpei were capable of, Marakukaja – which turned out to be the same only it targeted multiple people all at once – for group battles.

And none of SEES would disobey that order. Not because Mitsuru commanded it, but because they agreed that it was too much of an unknown to carelessly attempt such experimentations.

Thus Aigis would not unleash her Persona, not here and now at least. And no matter what Pyrrha did, nothing would give Aigis cause to draw the evoker holstered at her side.

But that was fine.

Forget the crowd and their cheering. Forget her unbroken winning streak. Forget her sponsors and her fans. Forget the wager that her friends, classmates, and even upperclassmen made on who would win. None of that mattered to her at all. Right here, right now, it was just the two of them attempting to outmaneuver and outsmart one another in order to land even a single blow on the other. And that was all that mattered to her. No Semblance, no Persona, just pure skill.

The Invincible versus the Untouchable.

Yes. Win or lose, nothing could make her happier at that moment.

* * *

"Is she alright?"

"Dunno, she's been like this since Goodwitch's class."

They were talking about her. Or were they talking _to_ her? It was just too hard to tell right now. Perhaps she should answer. Ah, who cares anyway? She certainly couldn't care less right now.

"You don't know? Aren't you supposed to be the team leader?"

"It's not like I ask for every little detail of her life. Besides, I don't even know why Ozpin made me leader. I mean, Pyrrha would have been way better than me."

"Not if she's like this she's not."

All she wanted to do right now was bask in the moment and take in the feeling of the most fulfilling fight she has ever had in the past two years. Perhaps even the past four years. Certainly, even her first tournament hadn't given her this much of a challenge.

She replayed the entire fight in her head from start to finish. Every attack, every parry, every counterattack, every feint, every plot, and every deception they played against one another flashed in her mind's eye. It was the most beautiful dance of steel she had ever seen and experienced.

"Well, I don't see you doing anything Yang. 'Sides, not like it's hurting anyone. Or her."

"That's true I guess. Still, if I didn't know any better I'd say she was crushing on some guy. And trust me, she isn't. But honestly, seeing Pyrrha daydreaming like that is a little weird."

True enough, there sat Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl, currently blankly staring straight ahead with a dazed, almost, dare they say it, goofy-looking, smile on her face. Her left elbow was propped up on the table, the side of her head cradled in her open palm, while her other hand played idly with the pasta on her plate, which she had been playing with since she sat down without consuming a single bite.

It was a wonder that she had managed to make her way from the Combat classroom to the dining hall without incident. Though she had seemed distracted at the end of the match against Aigis, nobody paid it much heed considering the way the fight had ended. They had simply assumed she was trying to pick out her mistakes during the fight – not that they had spotted any from the spectators' seats – and where she could have done better.

In fact, the only reason they were noticing it now was because they were getting ready to leave the dining hall. In fact, most of them had already risen from their seats and bade the others farewell.

Fuuka had her Weapons Designing class in fifteen minutes while Ruby needed to get ready for the Advanced Designing class, which would take place two hours later. Weiss accompanied Ruby back to the room with the goal of working on her homework so that she could enjoy her weekend.

Mitsuru went to the library, accompanied by Blake, while Yukari returned to KYBT's dorm room for the same reason as Weiss. In addition, she was trying to get her blonde teammate to do the same while Yang wanted to hang out with the others more.

Akihiko, Ken, and Ren were dragging a reluctant Nora to do the same, the first two knowing by now that Nora, while intelligent enough, was simply too lazy or unmotivated to do the work earlier than she felt it necessary. Translation: at the very last minute.

And that left team JACN, or three members of the team, to deal with their mentally preoccupied fourth teammate. She hadn't even said a single word since leaving the classroom, merely a non-committal hum that failed to give an answer of any sort.

The uncharacteristic grin on her face was both unnerving and a relief. Unnerving in that she had never once sported such an expression and a relief in that she was mostly likely not injured or overly worried about something. Still, that didn't mean _they_ didn't worry. What could have happened to make her like this?

"What should we do?" asked Jaune, waving a hand in front of his partner's face to no avail. Whatever the reason for her current state, it certainly served as quite the distraction if neither sights nor sounds could catch her attention.

Junpei looked just as lost as Jaune, and Chidori didn't really seem too worried. Or even interested at all for that matter. Scanning his surroundings, Junpei looked for… something that he could use. He wanted to just try tapping Pyrrha's shoulder or something but he didn't want a repeat of what happened last Sunday when he tried waking her up for dinner. _'Yeah, a broken nose ain't worth it.'_

His eyes locked onto something right in front of him and, after a brief moment of contemplation, nodded to himself. "Hey Jaune, move back a bit."

The blonde turned to his leader, wondering what he was going to do. His eyes widened when he spotted the glass of water in Junpei's left hand. "W-wait. Y-you're not gonna…?"

Junpei just grinned and turned to Pyrrha, watching in amusement as Jaune scurried back, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of his leader's attack or his partner's retaliation. Then, setting his sights on the daydreaming redhead, he struck.

Pyrrha blinked when she felt something wet strike her face, her right hand unconsciously lashing out to the side out of reflex. She blinked a second time, and even recoiled slightly, when it happened again. This time her eyes quickly locked onto her attacker.

In front of her, Junpei had just pulled out his fingers from a glass filled with water. He curled his wet fingers hallway to his palm and placed his thumb over them, the half-formed fist pointed towards her, ready to flick more water onto her face.

"So, you awake yet?" he asked with a playful grin. Beside him, Chidori just shook her head in exasperation, but the small grin on her face gave away her true feelings. "Or do I need to splash you some more?"

"What… I… Ah!" Pyrrha shut her eyes as Junpei flicked his fingers, sending droplets of water flying at her face for a third time with a chuckle. "I-I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm awake!" she said hurriedly, her left arm rising from the table to shield her face from further attack.

"Aw, really?" asked Junpei, his grin never once leaving his face. He raised the glass in his hand, showing it to Pyrrha. "I mean, the glass is still pretty full. I'm sure I could keep splashing ya 'til you're wide awake."

"No!" Pyrrha winced when she realized she had shouted out loud, huddling down as though to hide when other students turned her way. "I…" She coughed into her hand, trying to hide her embarrassment. Though judging by her leader's grin, it wasn't very effective. "I'm fine," she continued with her usual composure, though the heat she felt coming from her face most likely did not match her tone. "I don't believe any more will be necessary. Though I don't believe the water was necessary in the first place."

The cap-wearing teen shrugged and set down the glass, making a mental note not to drink from it anymore. "Yeah, well, it was either that or risk a broken nose. Again."

Although there was no malice in his words, merely a statement of the fact, Pyrrha looked away with an even deeper blush. "I'm sorry."

While the incident had been nothing more than an accident – a result of her tutor's training methods – it didn't mean that she was comfortable knowing she had injured her friend and leader. The fact that she had not struck him with all her might was the only consolation she had. And that was only due to how tired she was since she had only slept for four hours, if even that, after returning to Beacon, rather than a conscious effort to hold back. A full powered blow would have broken her Aura-less leader's face. Or possibly worse.

"Don't make me order you to stop apologizing," he responded good-naturedly. "It's not like you did it on purpose. And besides, nothing happened this time. See?" He leaned forward as though to give her a better view of his face. "I don't see a broken nose anywhere. Do you?"

"No." Surprisingly, it was Chidori who answered. And when the two looked at her, they found her trying to hold in her amusement. "Just a messy face."

The Japanese and the Mistralian turned to face one another in confusion. While wet, Pyrrha's face didn't look _that_ messy. Or even slightly messy. They looked to Chidori for confirmation but found that her attention wasn't on Pyrrha at all. Following her line of sight, Pyrrha froze and gasped at what she saw, her hand rising to her mouth, while Junpei burst out laughing.

Jaune just sighed, knowing that he must have made quite the sight the way he was. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he said with resignation.

All over his face and hair was a large amount of pasta, sauce, cheese, and diced chicken. The same pasta, sauce, cheese, and diced chicken that had come flying his way barely a minute earlier. The exact same pasta, sauce, cheese, and diced chicken that Pyrrha had been playing around with before she sent it flying.

"I'm sorry!"

Pyrrha quickly looked around for something to help clean up the mess even as Junpei and Chidori continued to laugh, the latter drawn in by the former's unrestrained laughter. Jaune just sighed even as some of the food slipped off his face and onto his lap. _'This just isn't my day.'_

* * *

About an hour later, Jaune stepped out of the bathroom, food-free and in a fresh change of clothes. It wasn't so much the food as much as the smell that had taken him so long to get rid of. He probably still smelled a little like whatever wine was used in the pasta sauce, but hopefully it wasn't enough to mark him as an alcoholic or anything of the sort.

Pyrrha quickly rose from where she sat on her bed and ran up to him, apologies streaming forth once again. Jaune was quick to placate her, letting her know that no harm was done.

Chidori and Junpei were sitting at one of the tables, going over a quick review of the latter's notes from the previous days to make sure he understood them all as well as comparing them to the books he used for reference to make sure he hadn't mistranslated anything.

It was no secret that their leader still had some difficulty reading the English language. He could communicate easily enough through words, even if his vocabulary wasn't that broad. It was just that he had focused on the speaking and listening aspect when SEES had studied it months ago, leaving his reading and writing skills to fall behind.

As a result, Chidori often had to help Junpei understand the books they needed to read, translating the parts he could not understand. The same went for any essays their teachers assigned them to write for their respective classes. Improvement was slow going, since their focus was on the subject rather than the language, but it was there.

Once Jaune had gotten Pyrrha to stop feeling bad about throwing food on his face, he decided to broach the topic they had been discussing early. "So Pyrrha, what were you thinking about earlier?"

As though the question had flipped a switch, Pyrrha immediately went from concerned and apologetic, to bright and ecstatic. "Ah, I was just thinking about my fight with Aigis."

Her words and her tone didn't make a lot of sense to him. Correction. It didn't make sense at all. And he made his confusion known. "Huh?" Pyrrha giggled at his confused expression, only slightly surprised that he didn't really understand it. "You uh… you almost sound happy. I mean, are you really alright with how the fight ended?"

Pyrrha just laughed, happiness bubbling forth from every pore as the fight began to play once more in her mind's eye. "Of course I'm happy," she said, bringing her laughter under control. "It's been years since I've fought that hard against someone other than a teacher or my tutor. For the first time in so long I've found someone who can push me to fight harder than I normally do."

Off to the side, Junpei chuckled when he heard the Mistralian's words, loud enough to get their attention. "Sounds like you've got a rival then."

Rival. That word made Pyrrha smile.

Yes, a rival. Certainly, no other word could better describe how she now saw the android. A rival. One who would push her to her limits in order to achieve victory, who would force her to fight at her very best or face defeat. And if Pyrrha were to slack off then she would be defeated in turn. But even so, that defeat would undoubtedly serve as motivation to work harder in order to avoid the same conclusion next time they fought.

It was a novel idea. To Pyrrha at least. Many saw her as a rival, as someone to surpass by any means necessary. And yet, none of them were worthy enough to be called _her_ rival. Many has possessed the potential to one day stand on equal grounds with her. But by the time they reached that point, she, herself, would have improved and moved on to a higher level.

But Aigis…

Aigis was certainly different from the rest of them. Never mind the fact that she wasn't human or even faunus. Her skills and abilities were easily on par with Pyrrha's. Perhaps even better. Or perhaps she had simply grown too reliant on the use of her Semblance as a means of defending against her opponents' attacks to the point that her own skills have stagnated to a degree.

It also hadn't escaped Pyrrha's notice that she was focusing more on defense during that entire fight. Whether it was Aigis's extremely keen sense of observation, her inhuman ability to calculate and predict her opponent's next move, her equally inhuman reactions times, her vast knowledge of combat tactics and combat in general, or her ability to resist, to a limited degree, having her weapon be manipulated by Pyrrha's Semblance, it all boiled down to the same thing. In a straight fight with just their skills, Aigis was superior.

And rather than be discouraged, Pyrrha found herself fighting harder and harder, pushing her body more than she ever had in any of her recent fights. And with her normal use of Semblance rendered all but useless, she was forced to rely strictly on the most basic of combat skills using only Miló, Akoúo, her body, and her wits.

While she hadn't been injured, Aigis's powerful blows, coupled with the sheer number she could deliver with her speed, took a heavy toll on her muscles the longer the fight went on, a disadvantage that Aigis did not have. She was just barely able to stand at the end, and it had taken all her willpower to remain standing after Goodwitch called the end of the fight.

Returning her equipment to the lockers had certainly made it easier on her, but it was only years of training and conditioning that allowed her to move normally after such an extended fight. That, and the thought of losing some of her dignity by falling over in public was not a very appealing thought at all

"Is uh… is that a good thing?" Jaune asked, turning to the team's leader.

"You should ask Akihiko-senpai more about that. I'm sure he's had a rival or two before. But yeah," said Junpei, shutting the book and notebook on the desk and stretching his arms high above his head. He turned to sit sideways on the chair as he spoke to his teammate. "It's good that you've got someone who can keep up with you," he said to Pyrrha, drawing her away from her thoughts before she could delve too deep again.

"Maybe I'll invite Aigis when we train so you have someone to train with. I mean, you're pretty much the strongest on this team so you're practically the one teaching us whenever we train. I feel kinda bad that we can't do much for you when it comes to training. Especially since I'm the leader and all."

"You shouldn't feel bad about that," replied Pyrrha. "I'm sure Headmaster Ozpin has his reasons for making you the leader of our team." The fact that she didn't mention any possible reason spoke volumes but Junpei appreciated the pep talk all the same. It didn't hurt that her expression was always so sincere when she said such things.

"Well, maybe I'll find out someday." Junpei rose from the chair and stretched once more, twisting his body this way and that. "Anyway, I'm gonna go for a quick walk. Anyone wanna come along?"

His red-haired girlfriend shook her head, laying a book down on the desk along with her own notebook. "I need to finish my essay for my Field Medicine class and maybe start on the next set of readings. That way I won't have to worry about it too much this weekend."

The other redhead also shook her head in response, sitting back down on her bed and leaning against the headboard with a pillow supporting her lower back. "I'm still a little sore from my fight with Aigis so I'll remain here for now. Perhaps I'll go over my homework for Tactics. I believe the Headmaster will be one of the instructors present tomorrow night."

Jaune looked uncertain for a moment before he nodded wordlessly, grabbing the sweater hanging on the chair next to him.

"Kinda forgot he'd be there tomorrow. Meh, I'll go over mine tomorrow before the class." Junpei held the door open, letting Jaune go on ahead, then turned to the two redheads in the room. "Alright, we'll be back in a while. See ya."

The two waved farewell as Junpei walked through the doorway and shut the door behind him. He placed his hands in his jacket pockets as the two of them made their way down to the first floor and out the door. Stepping outside, he shivered a bit as a cool breeze blew past them. "Man, it's getting pretty chilly already. How cold does it get around here? Does it snow during the winter?"

Jaune looked up in thought. "Pretty cold I think. I mean, I'm from a little further south so I'm not really too sure. But I think it snows here."

"Good thing we've got some stuff from back home then. Still, better let everyone know just in case." He also made sure to make a mental note to check if he had enough warm clothes, especially since he wasn't sure if it was going to be colder here than in Japan.

The two of them walked aimlessly through campus, talking about whatever came to mind. The climate, their classes, and plans for the weekend among other things. Eventually they ran out of things to talk about and just wandered around in silence, neither one really bothered by it.

But as they walked through the courtyard, just past the statue depicting a Huntsman and a Huntress standing atop a rock, beneath which a Beowolf could be seen, presumably cowering in fear of the two, Jaune paused to stare at the statue.

Seeing his teammate missing, Junpei walked back to the blonde. "Something up?"

No response came. Jaune simply continued to stare up at the statue. "Doesn't it… doesn't it bother you?" Jaune asked from out of nowhere, much to Junpei's confusion. "Knowing that Pyrrha's stronger than you I mean."

"Not really." Junpei's reply came so swiftly and without hesitation that Jaune had to turn to make sure that the dark-haired boy was serious. "I mean, we all knew we weren't gonna be the strongest guys around when we decided to come here. You guys have been training for years and you've got Aura and Semblance. Asides from Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai, the rest of us have been training for about a year and all we have is Persona."

"But they're-"

"Pretty strong, yeah," interrupted Junpei. Then he shrugged. "But if you think about it, that's pretty much it. Our Personas are all we've got going for us."

"But you've won some of your fight during Goodwitch's class," argued Jaune, unable to believe that Junpei was putting himself and his friends down, speaking as though they weren't all that powerful. "And that's without your Persona."

"Yeah but how long will that last? We pretty much won 'cuz they can't go all out against us and we're used to fighting people stronger than us. Besides, if you hadn't noticed we've been losing more of our fights lately," countered Junpei. "Fuuka, Yukari, and Chidori lose a lot since the three of them are support and long-range types. Ken's young so he isn't as strong and fast as the rest of us. I've only been fighting for a year and a couple of months and I'm not exactly fast enough to hit most of the other guys. Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai can only keep winning since they're used to fighting other people more than the rest of us but they've been losing more often too. Aigis is the only one who's different. Pretty sure I don't need to tell you why."

"But in the end, none of us are as strong or as fast as any of you." Junpei sighed as he looked up at the sky where the shattered moon gazed down upon them. "You guys have been training for years and only our senpai have been training for just as long. But you guys went to school to learn how to fight. For us, and even both senpai, fighting is pretty much just a part-time job. An important job, yeah, but not something we were training to do our whole lives."

"The fact that we're used to fighting isn't even gonna last long. Akihiko-senpai thinks that by the time we get to our second year you'll all have enough experience that the little tricks we use to win won't be enough. And even if we can use our Personas against people with Aura without hurting them too much, it'll probably be just another year or so before everyone gets used to it too and start finding ways to beat us. Even Mitsuru-senpai and Aigis agreed. And Aigis is a freakin' fighting computer. So if she says it's happening then I'm betting it is."

"Heck, if we'd come straight here after everything went down then we wouldn't have won even a single fight. It's only 'cuz Elizabeth-san trained us that we're even as good as we are now."

That admission was new. Unless Jaune hadn't paid attention at some point, none of them had ever mentioned just how much difference their training made.

"But still, doesn't it bother you?" Jaune asked for a second time, still unable to understand Junpei's easy acceptance of their strange pecking order. "I mean, isn't the leader supposed to be the strongest?"

"Eh, maybe Ozpin doesn't think that way." Junpei's casual response and uncaring shrug only served to confuse Jaune even more. Perhaps his inner conflict showed since the dark-haired teen spoke again. "So why the questions? I mean, doesn't really take a genius to know that something's bothering you."

"That's… well…" Did he really want to answer that question? Junpei was carefree and playful more often than not, which usually resulted in an argument with Yukari for one reason or another, but Jaune had learned over the past few weeks that Junpei was anything but stupid. The past week had more than disproven any notion that Junpei was unintelligent.

Junpei, and the rest of SEES for that matter, had made up for the two weeks of poor academic performance prior to the memorial service by studying doubly hard whenever the opportunity arose. And today, the fifth day since then, all Junpei had needed to do was review the past week's lessons. And even that hadn't taken very long.

If he explained the reason behind his questions, would Junpei suspect that there was anything more? Would he begin to realize that there was more to Jaune's poor combat ability than his excuse of being the lowest ranking student in the school he never actually attended, let alone graduated from? Or would this be an occasion where Junpei's carefree nature would allow an answer made up of partial truths to slip by without notice?

" _If you wait too long before acting, then you might find that the proper time to act has passed."_

Ever since that day one month ago, Jaune had been unable to forget Chidori's words. Was this what she meant? Was now the proper time to act? Even so, what was he meant to do? Was he supposed to ask for advice? To let Junpei know how he felt about the whole situation? Or was this where he confessed the entire truth and let fate, and Junpei, decide what happened to him?

"Hey." Junpei voice snapped Jaune out of his thoughts, causing him to look up from the ground to the slightly older teen. "If you're not ready to talk then that's fine too. Just… well, I'm here whenever you're ready. Or if you need anything else. Pyrrha's there too and so's Chidori." After thinking for a bit, Junpei spoke again. "Two in harmony, surpasses on in perfection."

He had only heard those words once, but Jaune recognized it all the same. "Was that the one Mitsuru had written near the grave? Something to do with her family I think."

"Yeah." Junpei nodded. "The Kirijo's family motto. Pretty much means what you think. Doesn't matter how good you are at something. Having someone there helping you will always be better."

"But what about being a Hunstman? A… A hero?" Jaune cursed his impulsiveness even before he finished speaking. He hadn't intended to ask that question, especially out loud like that. "I-I mean uh… you… you've got all these great Huntsmen on the news, saving people and towns all on their own and stopping criminals like the White Fang."

Junpei didn't even need to think about his response. His mind quickly bringing up that fateful night on the monorail the moment Jaune brought up the word 'hero'. "And how long 'til something bigger and badder comes along?" he asked, his tone dejected and somber. The smaller, weaker Shadows had been one thing. The Priestess was another thing entirely. "Like they say, there's always someone out there better than you. They may be fine now, but what happens when they finally meet that someone? Or worse, some _thing_?"

Had Junpei been facing Jaune, he might have caught the brief expression of shock that crossed his face. But by the time Junpei pulled himself out of the memory, reminding himself that he was no longer that same thrill-seeking boy, the blonde had already schooled his features once more. "Sorry. Didn't mean to be a downer all of a sudden," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "Look I uh… I'm… gonna keep walking a bit longer. Clear my head. Let the girls know if you get back before me."

Junpei turned and made to leave but seemed to remember something as he looked over his shoulder at address Jaune once more. "Hey. Try uh… try not to think about it too much, alright? What I said I mean. You're still in school after all. Well, _we're_ still in school. It ain't like we'll be out there doing the hard stuff anytime soon so we've got time to figure out all the answers we're looking for."

"Besides," he continued, a faint, carefree grin gracing his lips. "We're still just kids. Gotta enjoy what we've got while we got it. Next thing we know we're looking in a mirror wondering when the hell we got so old." Junpei wasn't entirely sure why he said what he did. Or even whether or not he was speaking more to Jaune or himself. All he knew was that those words had been on his lips before he could even think about it.

Without another word, he walked away, letting his feet and his whims decide his route, leaving Jaune standing before the statue by himself.

For his part, Jaune was just as lost as he had been when he first questioned Junpei. None of the answers Junpei had given him were the ones he was looking for. Or even expected for that matter. With a heavy sigh, he turned his back to the statue and sunk to the ground, leaning his back against the round base of the statue.

* * *

 **October 10, XX13**

Breakfast was a fairly quiet affair for the four teams, at least when compared to how they normally were. This was mainly due to the absence of Aigis, Junpei, and Weiss, whose Leadership class started at six in the morning – something that almost made Junpei regret taking the class – and went on for four straight hours before the classes ended just in time for a late breakfast or brunch.

But even so, their absence only encouraged those they normally conversed with to reach out to the others in the group so as not to end up silent the whole meal. And it was certainly better than the past weeks where only half of them were in any mood to even speak.

"Hey guys, anybody got any plans today?" asked Yang, looking around the table where she and her friends sat. "A new movie came out this week and Ruby and I were planning to check it out later. Anyone wanna come along?"

Yukari was the first to response, shaking her head. "Sorry. I was going to head over to the cemetery today after my Marksmanship class."

The archer's answer confused Yang and she didn't hesitate to let it be known. "The cemetery? How come?"

"It's pretty much a custom for us," the brunette began to explain. "Then again we've already broken a lot of those customs but we do want to preserve what we can. Some people visit as much as every weekend to clean the grave and make an offering. Others go less often. Sometimes it depends on the local custom, other times it depends on the family as well. Japan wasn't that big a country but the customs were pretty diverse for a lot of different things."

"Really?" Ruby paused her assault on a small bowl of strawberries, her interest piqued by the frequency of visits. "What about you guys?" She glanced at the other Japanese teens. "Do you visit that often?"

"Not really," responded Akihiko, finishing off the last of his tea. "Like with any tradition or custom, things change as time passes. Some people still go weekly. Others, even those from the same area or family, might decide for themselves not to go as often."

"It's also for different reasons," added Yukari, looking up from what she was reading on her Scroll. "Some people might not see why they have to visit so often, or they might see visiting and talking to someone who's already dead as not being able to properly move on. So it can be a personal thing at times."

"I see." Yang still had something she wanted to ask but she did her best to keep her mouth shut firmly. They may have moved on from the events of the previous weekend, but being the focus of Mitsuru's icy but smoldering gaze once was bad enough. She wasn't in any hurry for a repeat performance anytime soon. Or ever if she could help it. "What about the rest of you guys?" she asked, hoping to distract herself from her current thoughts.

"I have a meeting with the Headmaster this morning," said Mitsuru. "I'll have to see what happens before I can make any plans for the afternoon."

Akihiko, Blake, Chidori, and Ken also turned down the invitation.

"I'm actually headed to Vale in a while but I won't be able to join you. I'll be checking out some places I looked up for training equipment and such for the house."

"Sorry Yang. Chidori and I were going look over our Field Medicine essays and then get a head start on the next class's readings."

"Actually, I was wondering if I could come along," Ken said to Yukari. "I didn't exactly get to say everything I wanted to the other day."

"Sure, I don't mind."

With half the table's occupants declining, Yang turned to the remaining half for their own answers.

"I wanna go," declared Nora. "Renny's been making me do my homework everyday so I wanna go have some fun."

Beside her, Ren just sighed but gave no indication of stopping his childhood friend. In short, he was going because Nora was going.

Fuuka looked up in thought for a moment before giving her own answer. "It's been a while since I've watched a movie so I'll join you if you don't mind."

Ruby cheered and started giving Fuuka a basic synopsis of the movie, which turned out to be a sequel to one that had come out nearly a year ago. And that, in turn, led to Ruby giving an even more detailed synopsis of the first movie.

"It sounds like a wonderful idea," said Pyrrha, much to Yang's joy. "What do you think Jaune?"

The smile on her face didn't last long the moment she saw her partner. He looked uncomfortable, almost skittish even. His eyes kept glancing towards the dining hall's main doors whenever something in that direction moved enough to catch his attention.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha reached out worriedly, placing a hand on her partner's shoulder only to pull back when he suddenly jumped.

"Huh? What?" He looked around rapidly, searching for whatever had disturbed him. It didn't take long before his eyes settled on Pyrrha and the worried look on her face. "O-Oh, s-sorry. Were you uh… were you saying something?"

"Jaune," Pyrrha began, slowly and gently. "Are you alright? You've been acting strangely since last night."

"W-who me? Pssh, I'm fine. Do I look not fine to you?" His voice took on a higher than normal pitch as he attempted, and was undoubtedly failing, to convince her otherwise. "I was just thinking about a lot of stuff last night, that's all."

His red-haired partner, along with everyone else, did not look the slightest bit convinced by his words. If anything, Pyrrha looked even more worried. But before she could say anything else, Jaune quickly rose from his seat, his mostly uneaten breakfast left forgotten.

"A-anyway, I uh… I'm gonna go do my homework." He spoke quickly, and stepped over the bench just as quickly, nearly tripping and falling onto his face. "I-I'm fine, I'm fine," he added before Pyrrha could rise from her seat to check on him. "I'll uh… I'll see you later. Don't wait up."

And before Pyrrha, or anyone else, could utter another word, Jaune fled from the scene, nearly crashing into two other students along the way. All the while, they all watched him depart with concern in their eyes. None more so than Pyrrha.

Well, all but one that is.

"'Don't wait up'? He does know it's still morning, right?"

Three people could only palm their faces in response to their teammate's words. "Time and place Nora."

* * *

As was the norm every Saturday morning, right after the Leadership class, Ozpin met with his main teaching staff to discuss the past week.

There was usually very little to go over since the more urgent matters were brought to him as soon as it came up. Urgent matters usually involved accidents and injuries that occur within a classroom setting – since they would need to determine whether the teacher or the student was more at fault if it wasn't simply an accident – and severe infractions of the rules.

Less important and more mundane issues that did not need to be discussed in person or urgently were submitted to him via biweekly written reports. Most of those issues were usually those that did not need his direct attention. Repairs and such were taken direct to the maintenance department, item requisition went to the armory, and requests for additional medical supplies went to the infirmary, to name a few. From there, both parties would include the request or issue in their report for him to review.

Important but not urgent issues were discussed during the monthly Sunday meetings held by the entire Beacon staff. These meetings were usually used to discuss long-term plans, ideas, and issues for the school. One such issue they would be discussing soon enough was the upcoming Vytal Festival, which Vale would play host to this year, and the logistics they would need to handle on their end. School-sanctioned trips, training exercises outside the school, school events, and the like were the main bulk of such meetings.

The progress of such were then discussed during the weekly meetings to ensure that long-term plans were proceeding on schedule. But the main reason for the weekly meetings were for the teachers to discuss the weekly performance of the students. Specifically, how to handle any issues the students may be having with regards to classes, or how to handle the students themselves.

It was a good way for the teachers to exchange notes on promising and problem students. In this manner, all the main teachers – and sometimes the teachers for the electives as well – could work together to better understand and handle their students.

Once those issues were discussed, however, the meeting usually ended as there was rarely anything that needed to be discussed by all the teachers at once. That and Ruadh still had his Demolitions class at two in the afternoon.

Today, however, Ozpin knew that there would be two, perhaps three, major topics of interest. None were urgent enough but they were certainly interesting enough that at least one person was undoubtedly awaiting the proper opportunity to bring it up. All of which revolved around the members of a certain group of students.

"Well," Khloe began once they finished discussing the issues surrounding this year's problem students. "Now that we've gotten the boring stuff out of the way, did one of the Aura-less kids seriously fight the Invincible Girl to a draw?"

And there it was. Ozpin sighed internally, knowing that the normal flow of the meeting had been utterly disrupted now that one of the topics of interest had been brought up. "Yes," he responded with barely a hint of the resignation he felt, one hand reaching for the handle of his mug. Beside him, Glynda had no such reservations and openly showed her displeasure at the interruption of the meeting's normal flow. "Glynda, if you would."

Before he even finished his request, the statuesque blonde had already forwarded the video to the five other teachers in the room, their Scrolls already in their hands even as several melodies played to indicate the receipt of the video. And with eager eyes, all five watched the video that they had been waiting to see since word reached their ears the day before.

While many students had taken videos, the quality had been quite poor due to having to be viewed through both the reinforced glass and the hard-light wall. As such, all five of them had decided to wait for the meeting, knowing that Glynda would undoubtedly have a copy of the video taken by the combat room's surveillance cameras just waiting to be sent to them. That was, of course, after some of them had watched multiple videos only to stop watching before the fight had even begun due to the poor quality.

Like with all of her previous fights, Aigis charged forward the moment Glynda gave the signal. The fact that she was up against the Invincible Girl did not deter her even the slightest bit. Yet her confidence was not merely for show. Armed with her twin trench knives, Aigis was a literal whirlwind of steel. Not that five of the teachers in the room had any way of knowing just how true that was.

Within the first minute of the recording, both were locked in a deadly dance of steel. Whirlwind met bulwark as the one known as the Invincible Girl put up a fierce defense, utilizing her shield to great effect and striking back just as fiercely at every opportunity. And when they failed to break through the other's defenses, one or both would break away, re-evaluate their options, and then charge in once again within the next few seconds.

The fight was on a level none of them had expected from two first-year students, even if one of them was the Invincible Girl. And despite the fact that Pyrrha's victory hinged on getting a single hit on Aigis, the blonde showed no fear, no hesitation, whenever she charged in. It was as though she knew with absolute certainty that the Mistralian Champion would not land that decisive blow.

Two minutes turned to five. Five turned into ten. Ten turned to twenty. And soon, the video was nearing the thirty-minute mark, which would bring with it the end of fight. And during that half-hour, each of the five teachers looked tense despite knowing how the fight ended due to the circulating rumors. Once the thirty minutes had passed, the buzzer rang and the Glynda in the video signaled the end of the match, declaring it a draw. They watched a while longer, watching as the two fighters acknowledged the other before walking off-screen.

The lavender-haired Khloe was the first to break the silence with a long whistle. "Now that was impressive. If I didn't know any better I'd have thought those two were at least second years, maybe even on the lower end of the third-year group."

"And even more surprising is Ms. Arisato's skill in combat." Bart took a long sip from his mug, his speech just as swift and near unintelligible as ever. "It is plain to see why the students refer to her as 'untouchable'."

Peter let out one of his full-bellied laughs. "Indeed. It would seem this group of first years may be some of the best yet. Why, I've no doubt most of them will make fine Huntsmen and Huntresses."

Neither Ruadh nor Rosalyn offered any comments but they nodded in agreement with their colleagues' words. But Ozpin could see the gears turning in their heads. Ruadh was the second oldest in the room, older even than Ozpin but younger than the rotund Peter, and was quite possibly the most experienced Huntsman among them, in terms of field and combat experience.

As for Rosalyn, there was a reason why Ozpin had made her the instructor for both the first and second-year Geography classes and the Stealth and Recon class after all.

"I have to wonder though," began Khloe. "You said they all came from the same city, that they've all undergone more or less the same training. So why is it that Ms. Arisato is far above her friends in seemingly every regard? If she fought any of them the fight would be over in seconds."

None of the other four so much as blinked in surprise at her observation, showing Ozpin and Glynda that all of them had the same question on their minds among others. Thankfully, Ozpin was prepared for this.

"Rather than tell you, perhaps it would be better to show you."

The door opened at that moment, allowing entry to four people that the teachers hadn't expected to see at that time.

Two were fellow Beacon staff. Chief Doctor Reuben Mores and Doctor Flora Blackthorne, the top two in their infirmary's hierarchy. Though infirmary was quite… inaccurate. An infirmary was part of an already existing building, usually to provide medical aid to the building's occupants. The infirmary in the building that housed the combat classroom was one such example.

Their main infirmary, however, was a building in its own. A building four stories tall with two basement levels, with supplies, equipment, and staff easily comparable to Vale's largest hospital. And yet Ozpin refused to refer to it as a hospital. He claimed that the founders of the school referred to it as an infirmary and so infirmary it shall remain. At least, while he was Headmaster anyway. One could only assume that previous Headmasters thought the same way.

The other two who entered were even more surprising and unexpected. One was the very same student they had been discussing just now. The other was another of the Aura-less students. Mitsuru Kirijo.

The red-haired student was fairly well-known to them already. It was not only because she lacked Aura or the fact that she was two years older than the rest of the first years. No, her fame, or rather infamy, grew as a result of her warning, though some called it a threat, to Cardin Winchester.

Word of the incident, as well as a few hastily taken videos, had reached the staff long before the end of that day, though most of the rumors were greatly exaggerated by then. But no matter the reason for their confrontation, or the words she spoke when she delivered her warning/threat, there was one point that remained consistent with every re-telling. And looking at her now, the rumors and videos failed to do her justice in every regard.

Her posture, her gait, her calm, confident expression, everything about her was as regal and as dignified as they came despite the lack of tension and stiffness. It was as though everything came so naturally to her to the point that she was not forcing herself to move in such a manner. It was either that, or years of training. Training, however, implied that she did not always used to present herself in such a fashion, which would leave small, telltale signs. Signs that were completely absent as far as discerning eyes could tell.

Some rumors claimed that she must have been nobility back where she was born. Others say she was descended from one of the four kingdoms' royal families back when they still existed and ruled over the lands centuries ago. Regardless of whether those rumors had hit the mark regarding her supposed nobility or royalty, there was no denying that the young woman approaching them had the bearing of one.

"Good morning everyone," greeted the Headmaster. "I trust the day has treated you well thus far."

"Good morning Headmaster," Mitsuru greeted in turn, followed by Aigis. "It has, thank you." She looked around the room, locking eyes briefly with the five seated teachers and the two doctors standing next to Aigis. "Is this everyone? Or are we expecting others before we begin?"

The young woman's words confused more than half the room's occupants. Clearly she knew why they were gathered there together with two doctors. And if they had any doubts about it, Ozpin revealed his knowledge of the upcoming event with his response. "For the moment, yes. Rest assured, I will speak with you before informing anyone else."

"Thank you, Headmaster." Mitsuru gave a short, shallow bow with her head before turning to the girl beside her. "Are you ready Aigis?"

"Whenever you are, Mitsuru-san."

"Uh… what's going on?" asked the child-like Rosalyn, looking between Mitsuru and Aigis, and then to the Headmaster.

"I informed Ms. Kirijo of the concerns that were brought up in one of our previous meetings regarding their group." Rosalyn, as well as the other teachers, remembered that meeting. It had been the same one where they first witnessed the skills of the Aura-less students. It was clear now that the two students had been called up to, hopefully, shed light on a subject that the Headmaster was keeping in the dark. "She agreed to allow you all to know what it was that I had kept confidential, under the condition that she would be present and that she be the one to explain. Ms. Kirijo, would you care to do the honors?"

Both Mitsuru and Aigis stepped around the seated teachers, who were joined by the two doctors, to stand between them and the Headmaster's desk, just a little off to the side. Before she began her side of things, Mitsuru took a brief moment to take note of those in the room.

Ruadh Giollah was the teacher assigned to the first years' Social Studies class as well as Unarmed Combat and Demolitions. As a wolf faunus, a few of their classmates held him in disdain due to his heritage. Some of them have even gone as far as openly speaking ill of him during class. Yet he always maintained a professional attitude, treating every student fairly and handling even problem cases in such a way that nobody could accuse his actions as being one born of discrimination or retaliation.

Rosalyn Peach, the teacher assigned to the Geography class as well as the Stealth and Reconnaissance class. Her diminutive stature led to her being mistaken as a student, the younger sibling of one, or perhaps even the child of one of Beacon's staff members, during their very first class with her. It didn't help that her hair was pink, a color often attributed to children rather than adults. And even after proving that she was, indeed, their teacher, there were still some who doubted her credibility. Those doubts were quickly put to rest as she conducted her lessons with the professionalism equal to the other teachers and showcased her vast and detailed knowledge of the Kingdom of Vale's Geography down to the smallest, most insignificant aspects that none of them had considered important in any way.

Bartholomew Oobleck, History teacher and, from what she had heard, the one in charge of the second and third years' Survival classes. His… lively method of teaching was often difficult to keep up with. And if one were to stop paying attention for even a split-second, they would find themselves completely lost as they struggled to catch up mentally with the fast-paced lesson. Yet his knowledge of history, the causes behind events, and even the long-reaching effects of events over two generations prior were very much real. Clearly a man who valued knowledge and strongly believed in the saying that 'those who fail to learn from the past are bound to repeat it'.

Peter Port, the oldest among Beacon's staff and, if one were to properly pay attention, the most suited to teach the Grimm Studies class along with the second years' Tracking class. Though his manner of teaching was long-winded and utilized too many stories from his personal experiences rather than their textbooks, Mitsuru couldn't deny that if even half his stories were true then he bore knowledge about the Grimm that none of their textbooks, or even the reference material found over the internet – though 'internet' in Remnant referred to the 'Intercontinental Information Network' – so much as speculated on.

The remaining three were people she had never met personally but had heard or learned about through others.

Khloe Fair was the teacher charged with the third and fourth years' Outdoor Combat class. As the name implied, it was different from Professor Goodwitch's class in that the students fought in various terrain and scenarios outdoors. If Professor Goodwitch honed their basic combat skills during their first two years, Professor Fair was there to test how well they could adapt to different situations after passing the basic Combat class.

Chief Doctor Reuben Mores was the man who held the highest position in Beacon Academy's Infirmary. He was also the oldest member of the entire school's staff, having been employed at Beacon for nearly half the school's existence. His appearance reflected his age and occupation, thinning gray hair, slight wrinkles across his face, glasses with thick lenses, a simple white dress shirt, black slacks, and a doctor's coat.

And finally, Doctor Flora Blackthorne, the second highest in the Infirmary's hierarchy as well as the current teacher for the Field Medicine class, which Aigis, Chidori, and Blake were taking. They had little to say about her beyond her medical knowledge and professionalism, but for the moment that was enough.

After gathering her thoughts on the people in front of her, Mitsuru began to speak. "The Headmaster informed me the previous weekend of your concerns regarding mine and my friends' lack of Aura, among other such concerns."

"That's right," responded Ruadh, sharp amber eyes locking onto Mitsuru's wine-red ones. "And not just while you're here in school. We know of what happened to your homeland, so you should be well aware of the dangers of fighting against the Grimm. I'm sure you can see where our concern is coming from."

"I do." Mitsuru nodded to show her understanding but her gaze remained firm. "And yet, it is because we know the dangers that we cannot simply stand by and watch as the tragedies of the past are repeated. If the Headmaster has shared our past, then I am sure you are aware that we are not as incapable as we seem."

"True," spoke Rosalyn. Unlike how she usually spoke, however, her voice was stern, and her tone cold, both of which were at odds with her child-like appearance. "But, and I hope you don't take offense, you are still weaker than your classmates. Perhaps in terms of skill and experience you are better, but for how long? Surely you don't expect your classmates to not adapt and grow given time. Moreover, even fully-trained Huntsmen have fallen to the Grimm for a variety of reasons, one of which is overconfidence and overestimating their own abilities. What makes you so certain you won't be one of them before you even graduate?"

If Mitsuru or Aigis were surprised by how cold the normally warm and friendly teacher was, neither showed it openly. Instead, Mitsuru turned her attention to Rosalyn and addressed her as she normally would. "I suppose you could say that it is _because_ we do not have Aura that we are more cautious, less reckless, with our lives."

"And yet would you not say that fighting the Grimm without Aura is a sign of such recklessness?"

"Since we lack Aura then yes, it would be considered reckless," agreed Mitsuru, catching Rosalyn and the others off-guard. "However, while we may lack Aura, we do have something to make up for it."

"Ah, you speak of your Semblance, I assume?" asked Peter, leaning forward in anticipation. Khloe, Bart, and even Reuben leaned forward as well. The stout professor could only grin behind his moustache when the red-haired young woman nodded to confirm his suspicions. "And what sort of Semblances could you and your friends have that make you confident in your chances despite your lack of Aura."

"Before that," interrupted Reuben, speaking for the first time since entering the room. "I would like to ask, how is it possible that you possess Semblance but not Aura?"

"From my understanding, which is admittedly limited since I have only learned of Aura fairly recently, I do not believe a Semblance is exclusive to those who have awakened their Aura."

"Oh?" All seven seated before her certainly looked intrigued by her words. "And why would you say that, Ms. Kirijo?" asked the doctor. "From what our esteemed Headmaster explained to me just last week, you come from a place where Aura is unheard of. So, forgive me if I sound rude but, what makes you think you would know better?"

"That we," she gestured towards Aigis and herself, "Possess Semblance despite our lack of Aura should be proof enough that it is possible. But to answer your question, reference materials I have read state that Aura is the physical manifestation of one's soul, correct?" Everyone nodded, more than familiar with the topic. "And Semblance is an extension of Aura." Again, they nodded, but some were looking curious as to where she was going. "Then would it not be accurate, in some way, to say that Semblance is an extension of one's soul?"

Khloe and Rosalyn both opened their mouths to speak, then paused, looking thoughtful like the others at the new perspective on the subject.

"Interesting, very interesting," said Bart's, chin cradled in one hand as he spoke in his usual manner. "It's true that if Semblance was merely an extension of Aura, which is but a physical manifestation of something that is already present, then it is theoretically possible to manifest Semblance without the need to first physically manifest one's Aura, one's soul. And the fact that we have not one or two, but eight people who have done so is the best possible evidence we have of that fact. And while merely having a Semblance is not enough to combat the Grimm, such a discovery will surely bring about a change in the way we see and study Aura and Semblance. Fascinating, truly fascinating."

The other staff members barely paid attention to Bart's loudly spoken thoughts but by the end of their own introspection, they could only agree with Bart's, and Mitsuru's, words. While the premise was purely theoretical, the fact that Mitsuru claims to have a Semblance of her own, along with her friends, regardless of the absence of an active Aura, a fact that Ozpin had backed up weeks ago, clearly supported the theory.

But before they could completely accept it, there was still one issue they needed to clear up. Rosalyn made to speak but the chime coming from her Scroll put a stop to that. In fact, it wasn't only her Scroll that had received a message.

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Ozpin chose that moment to speak up. "What Glynda just sent you all is the recording of their Semblance from the initiation. And rest assured Ms. Kirijo, only Glynda and myself have seen the recording, both during the initiation itself and afterwards." While Mitsuru hadn't really doubted the Headmaster, she still appreciated the reassurance all the same. "I suggest you watch the recording as it will clear up any doubts, though I'm certain you will have more questions by the end."

"'Their Semblance', Headmaster? As in, just one?" Trust Rosalyn to be able to pick out that little detail from his words. "It almost sounds as though their Semblance is not an individual one but rather a collective one."

"You will understand once you watch the video," was all he said on the matter.

Seeing that they would not get any answers without doing so, everyone pulled out their Scrolls to watch the video they had been sent. Even Mitsuru and Aigis had received the video. While it wasn't necessary, both of them decided to watch it as well, though for different reasons. Mitsuru wanted to determine what the others would see, and Aigis wanted to examine the fight and collect additional combat data.

The video began from where Akihiko and Ken had been attacked by the Beowolves and continued on to where they exited the forest to meet Blake and Yang. The camera skipped multiple times, showing that the camera either did not follow them for some reason, or it could not.

From there, the recording showed the entire fight from start to finish. The camera, whatever it was – none of them could recall seeing it anywhere – was not close enough to capture what was said most of the time, but the sounds of battle carried over the distance as well as a few words that had been shouted out loud.

Now and then Mitsuru would glance as the staff members, judging their reactions on certain parts of the video and trying to predict their thoughts based on those reactions. Despite her cold words earlier, Rosalyn was the most visibly worried the entire time. Even knowing that they had come out fine, even if not completely unscathed, was not enough to ease her worries it would seem.

Other points where she had watched their reactions were when SEES had charged the Grimm by themselves, Fuuka's Oracle and its effects, and, of course, the initial summoning of their Personas. While Fuuka's Oracle garnered quite a few wide eyes and raised eyebrows, the summoning process elicited confused vocal responses at first followed by cursing or, in the case of Rosalyn, screaming.

Then, as Athena, the first Persona to be summoned in that battle, manifested, their expressions turned to one of shock and confusion. Confusion gave way to awe as Athena, followed by Caesar, demonstrated their power. And when the rest of their SEES's Personas joined the battle, their awe became even more apparent, as did their looks of interest and curiosity.

By the time the battle concluded, Mitsuru was more certain than ever that she could prove that her confidence in SEES and their abilities was well-founded.

* * *

Hei "Junior" Xiong had a deep scowl on his face as he paced across the new newly renovated floor of his night club. Behind the bar, following his movements with a bored expression, was Miltia, wearing her usual red dress.

She couldn't really say that she understood her employer's agitation, even though she knew that the man they were waiting for got on his nerves. Then again, there was whatever happened the last time the two of them met. Junior hadn't really explained what happened that day, what had caused him to freeze in place like that, but whatever it was, it was bad. Bad enough that he had threatened to tie up Melanie and stuff her into a crate in the storeroom if she kept insisting on being present for the meeting.

She understood her twin's concern, but given who they were dealing with and what Junior had told her about people like them, she didn't want to add Melanie to a possible 'to-kill' list if those two really were just playing them. Not if they could avoid it.

Her eyes shifted to the side to where Junior had set down three stacks of binders, some of which were thicker than dictionaries. That was all the information he would be handing over if the deal went through. Acquiring it had been far more costly than expected, even before all the additional information that had been requested. Junior wouldn't even need to raise the price if he had any intentions of scaring off the clients.

Not that he did, of course.

It's how he came to be known as the city's most reliable information broker. He always delivered as long as he was paid, regardless of his personal feelings for the clients. And the moment he accepts a job, he would always deliver. On the off chance that the request was for something he didn't know for certain he could acquire, he never made any promises as to obtaining it before he knew if acquiring it was feasible or not.

This, in turn, led to several discontinued contracts as he insisted on not taking the job due to the immense difficulty or, in rare cases, the type of information he was asked to acquire. Underground business was rarely risk-free, but as a man who had practically been born in that world Junior knew his way around. And the most important lesson he learned was when to back down.

Some information was dangerous to obtain. Some information was just plain dangerous. If the case turned out to be either one, nobody could pay or threaten him enough to go after it.

Regardless of what they said, money _couldn't_ buy everything. No amount of money could bring back the dead after all.

"He~ey there little big bear."

Miltia could see Junior's scowl deepen at the nickname as their client finally arrived. Nearly a full hour _after_ the arranged meeting time. An hour where Junior did nothing but wait. And pace. And frown. And complain under his breath. Sometimes out loud too.

"Didn't I tell you _not_ to call me that?" Junior growled, his fist, already clenched tight prior to Thantos's arrival, clenched even tighter, causing the muscles in his arm to shiver at the tension.

"You did," came the nonchalant reply. "I just chose not to listen. Not like there's a law saying I have to listen to you after all."

Miltia could see her employed muttering something under his breath. It took her a moment to realize that he was counting. And by the looks of things, he wasn't just counting to ten. After a while, with Thantos watching the ongoing scene with a grin, Junior took a deep breath and was visibly calmer.

"Fine, whatever," he practically spat out before gesturing to the bar. "There's the info you wanted. The first one on the left's the first set your boss asked for. The one in the middle's the dossiers for the people she wanted for whatever job she's got in mind. And I don't think I need to tell you what's in the third pile."

Rather than another sarcastic or witty retort, the red-haired man simply walked over to the bar and took a seat in front of the documents, much to Junior's combined relief and confusion.

Thantos flipped open the top binder from the first pile and turned to read three random pages. After a while, he shut the binder and set it aside. Again, he read three random pages from the next binder.

Thantos repeated this several more times, going through each binder from each stack. Once he was done, he put everything back the way they were. "Well done," he said cheerily, spinning on the barstool to face Junior. "I mean, we expected the first two to get done fairly quickly but the rest?" The red-haired man gestured to the third stack behind him. "We didn't think we'd be getting this for a couple more weeks, and definitely not this much."

Junior clicked his tongue, not really caring much for the man's compliment. "Just don't forget, you aren't walking out of here with that until it's all paid for." He had sent the amount last night right after notifying Shade that the information was ready. He wondered, however briefly, if they would be able to afford that much.

This was the first time he had ever charged so much all at once. Not only because of the information itself, but also because of the difficulty in obtaining them as well as the time constraints he had been given.

"Oh, that won't be a problem."

Before Junior could ask what he meant, his Scroll alerted him to the arrival of a message. When Thantos waved him off with that same cocky grin he always had, the club owner pulled his Scroll out from his breast pocket and checked the message. As he read the message, his eyes slowly grew wider and his jaw grew slack, making Miltia curious about the contents of the message.

Seeing Junior's current state, Thantos reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick, black object. Unfolding it, the object was revealed to be a reusable black shopping bag. Turning around, he set the bag down on the bar and began placing the documents inside.

Miltia hesitated for only a moment before addressing him. "You heard the boss," she said, as calmly as she could. If Junior was wary of the man then it would stand to reason that she should be at least doubly worried. "You aren't leaving until you've paid up."

Contrary to what she was expecting, the man just chuckled and placed the last of the documents in the bag. He lifted the bag by the loops and tested it twice, making sure that the bag would hold. "You see that face of his?" he asked Miltia, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "That's the face of a guy who just got a big paycheck that he wasn't expecting. Anyway, I've got other stuff to take care of now that I've got these so I'm off."

Thantos turned and walked away from the bar, walking past the still catatonic club owner. "Let little big bear know that we'll contact him the usual way if we need anything else," he called back over his shoulder with a grin. "And tell him to relax. Maybe use some of that cash to get a woman or five. See ya."

Miltia watched the cheerful man leave and then waited just a bit longer, just to be sure that he was gone, before sending a message to Melanie through her Scroll to let her know it was safe to come out from the back. Once her twin arrived, they approached their employer, who was _still_ frozen in shock at whatever he had read.

If Thantos had been telling the truth, then the message he received was in regards to the payment. They were too short to be able to properly look at the Scroll. But the thing about Scrolls was that since it was transparent for the most part, it was possible to read the messages from behind. They would just have to reverse what they saw. Still, why would he suddenly freeze like th…

"Oh…"

"That's… more than he asked for."

"…A lot more."

Melanie could only nod dumbly in response to Miltia's wide-eyed response.

It was the sight of three life-like statues of Junior, Miltia, and Melanie that greeted the rest of the club's employees as they started coming in to prepare the club for that night's opening.

* * *

"Allow me to summarize your explanations thus far." Mitsuru nodded in the direction of the Chief Doctor in response to his request. "So in your country, Japan as you've called it, neither Aura nor Dust were discovered. But in its place, the power you call uhm… Persona, was discovered."

"That is correct."

"And a Persona is awakened from the depths of one's soul via a combination of man's instinctual desire to survive and his body's natural response to stress. Though rather than heightened senses, seemingly increased physical ability, or clarity of thought – which are what most people have claimed to experience during periods of great stress – a Persona is the result when such a situation surpasses the normal threshold of what one might consider as stressful, namely imminent and certain death."

"Each Persona is unique yet bear can bear similar abilities. They are also resistant to whatever element it is that they wield but are, in turn, more vulnerable to a different element. Other abilities include an increased rate of healing, an increase in physical abilities, a temporary barrier reminiscent of a Huntsman's Aura, the creation of poisonous fogs and the like, and even telepathy to a certain degree. Have I missed anything important?"

"Yeah." The response came not from Mitsuru but from Ruadh, who had a deeply contemplative look on his face that matched the rest of his colleagues. "You forgot that they have skills that can instantly kill any living being."

"By chance if I recall," Bart added. He took a long drink from his mug, draining it of its contents. After having ignored it in lieu of listening to Mitsuru's explanation, he was long overdue. "Yet that is quite an important point to bring up. If not for the fact that the concept of a Persona itself is fantastical and nigh unbelievable, then I would have gone as far as saying that such an ability was completely impossible."

"Don't forget the way they summon it." Khloe suppressed a shiver at the idea of pointing a gun at one's own head and firing. "I mean, it may not be a real gun but just thinking about putting a gun up to my own head is enough to make my skin crawl." This time, she was unable to repress a shiver as her own words brought the image to mind. "Ugh… As interesting as it was, I really wish I could erase that from my head."

The other doctor chose that moment to speak. "There's something that I find strange though. You said that there have been no instances of someone awakening a power similar to Semblance, that everyone who awakened their power awakened a Persona, correct?" Mitsuru nodded in response to Doctor Blackthorne's question. " _That_ is what I find so strange. Just as people in your homeland awakened a Persona even without meaning to, there have been people who have had their Aura and – in a few cases of people with an already awakened Aura – Semblance awakened by similarly traumatic and stressful times."

"Ah, I see," exclaimed Bart. And before anyone could stop him, he had already begun to speak once again. "I believe what Doctor Blackthorne wishes to point out is that similar events have transpired in both Japan and the rest of the world. And yet no case we are aware of has resulted in an awakening of Persona while no case you are aware of resulted in the activation of Aura or Semblance. At least, a Semblance as _we_ know it."

"Fascinating, truly fascinating. What could be the cause? Not the awakening process, certainly. Could it be something to do with blood? Ancestry? No, no, both are said to come from the soul and not the physical body. Perhaps it's-"

"Bart," interrupted Ruadh before he could start spitting out a dozen more theories in the span of a single breath. "Maybe we can leave that for later. We don't exactly have much time left for this meeting."

To be precise, Ruadh couldn't stay much longer even if the others could. It was well past one in the afternoon and he had a Demolitions class in less than two hours. And as interesting as the subject was it would be unprofessional of him to be late to his own class.

The Demolitions class also took a long time to prepare for since he had to double, triple, and quadruple check everything he used for the class. It was one thing if whatever explosive he demonstrated didn't explode. It was another if it blew up in his _and_ the students' faces due to his carelessness.

"Ah, my apologies everyone."

"That's quite alright," said Ozpin, smiling gently at the enthusiastic History teacher. "Are there any other questions before we move on?"

"There's more?" asked Rosalyn. The pink-haired teacher was looking a little pale, probably due to the knowledge that eight students, plus anyone else with a Persona, had to go through such terrible ordeals to obtain their power. Worse was the knowledge that those with Persona were only a tiny percentage of those who have attempted to gain the power due to the risks involved.

Seeing her current state, Ozpin smiled reassuringly. "Two more things, yes, but rest assured that neither will be quite as… disturbing as what you've just learned. The first, is that I would like to ask you all, as the only ones aware of SEES's secret asides from their teams, if you would be willing to aid us in some experiments."

"What… kind of experiments?" Khloe asked with a raised brow and a skeptical look. "We're not exactly scientists here Ozpin."

"Ms. Kirijo and her friends have stated their concerns regarding how their abilities would affect someone who has an active Aura," explained the Headmaster. "For the moment, what we need are simply people who are willing to help us test these things. Will our Aura protect us? Will it hinder even the more beneficial abilities? How powerful are their abilities in relation to the strength of our Aura?"

"To be precise, we will be testing their Personas against our Auras to find these answers. Everything will be monitored and Doctors Mores and Blackthorne's roles will be to help monitor everyone's vital signs as well as to provide first-aid should something go awry."

"It's why we have refrained from using our Personas against our classmates during training," added Mitsuru. "We simply do not know whether their Aura will be sufficient protection or even if we will be able to help heal them should we injure them."

"None of you need to give us an answer at this moment," said Ozpin, much to their collective relief. "Take a few days to consider it and let us know whenever you've come to a decision. If you have any questions about what to expect, feel free to approach myself or Ms. Kirijo for more details. As for the second, it is mostly Ms. Arisato's secret to share rather than their group as a whole so I believe it would be best to allow her to explain."

Everyone then turned to the blonde, whom, in the excitement of learning about Personas, they had very nearly forgotten about. Even though she was standing beside Mitsuru the entire time, she had been so silent that it was as if she wasn't there. Mitsuru stepped around her so that Aigis was closer to everyone and then gave her a nod.

The first thing Aigis did was far from what they expected. Her hands reached up to the top of her black blazer, which they learned was the uniform of their previous school, and began to unbutton her clothes. There were a few protests, as expected, but only from the teaching staff. The two doctors were more intrigued than anything else, wondering what kind of secret the blonde had that required her to undress to reveal.

But when the blazer slipped off her shoulders, their protests died and everyone's eyes widened in confusion, and even awe. After the blazer was removed and taken by Mitsuru to hold onto, a pair of white gloves followed, then the skirt, and, finally, her boots. Once everything was shed, she stood before them in all her mechanical glory.

The most obviously mechanical parts were her shoulders, and her thighs where they connected with her torso. Other parts that stood out were her feet, the wide steel band on her wrist, and her fingertips. The white synthetic material that acted as skin for her limbs and torso could have been explained away as a skin-tight bodysuit.

"Those… aren't just prosthetics, are they?" Khloe asked hesitantly, as though hoping she was wrong. Her hopes were dashed when Aigis shook her head wordlessly.

"Astounding," Peter breathed out, gazing at Aigis's entire form from top to bottom. "Semblance without Aura, and now an android capable of using Semblance. Why, I don't believe even Atlas had managed such a feat."

"If they had, then they would have been showing it off by now," said Rosalyn. There was a bitterness in her tone that surprised everyone. Everyone save for the Headmaster, that is. "They'd probably even be trying to put every Huntsman and Huntress out of a job if they were able to begin mass production of such models."

"That's certainly true," Ruadh commented with a scoff, making note of his colleague's unusual behavior and filing it away in his head. "But rather than whether Atlas can do it or not, I'd rather know how you were made." His eyes locked onto Aigis's blue orbs, neither one breaking the other's gaze. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but from your story, your country's technological level is far below the rest of the world's. And yet, they managed to create you. If not for the fact that you're made of wires and steel, I'd almost say that they managed to create a human."

"I suppose that, in some way, that is what the Kirijo scientists did." Ruadh blinked. That wasn't the response that he was expecting. Glancing at the others out of the corners of his eyes, he saw that he wasn't alone. "A Persona is born from one's soul. A soul is something found only within a living being. As such, it was necessary to create a vessel that is as close as possible to the only living being that has awakened a Persona. A human."

"Interesting." The elderly Reuben stroked his chin, and one could already see questions and various theories forming behind his observant purple eyes. "But how was it that they created you? A human-shaped vessel is not very difficult. After all, Atlas boasts an entire army of androids. Creating a soul, the very source of our abilities, whether Semblance or Persona, is another matter entirely."

Aigis had already anticipated such a question and answered readily. "I cannot say for certain as even I am unaware of many details regarding my creation. But I believe that the answer may lie with my Papillon Heart. That is, the center of my Personality Module as well as my body's energy source."

"And what, precisely, _is_ this Papillon Heart?"

"I do not know," answered Aigis, much to their disappointment and confusion. "While I have seen it once, and was instructed to never expose it outside a clean and sterile environment, I know very little about it." Well, there _was_ that one time when she broke that rule but nobody else needed to know about that. "I can only theorize that since it is part of my Personality Module that it must play a part in my ability to summon a Persona."

"Unlike the others, it was unnecessary for me to undergo the awakening process as I have been able to use a Persona almost from the moment I was activated. What makes me believe that the Papillon Heart plays a role in this, is that it is the one unique component I and the other Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons have that may very well be lacking in other androids."

"Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons?" asked Flora, wondering if the term had been mentioned earlier and simply forgotten.

"Ah, my apologies. That is what I and those like myself were formally called," explained Aigis. "I am from the seventh generation of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, or ASWs for short. I am, however, the last of the ASWs as no more were created following an incident eleven years ago, which also resulted in the destruction of the others."

"This… Papillon Heart of yours, would it be possible to see it? Perhaps even examine it?" The question came from Reuben, and at the question, Aigis turned to Mitsuru for answers.

The red-haired leader of SEES considered the request for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of allowing it before making a decision. "Aigis," she began, facing the blonde beside her. "You said you were instructed not to expose it outside a sterile environment, correct?"

"That is correct, Mitsuru-san."

Mitsuru shut her eyes and continued to think, all the while the Beacon staff members were awaiting her response with bated breath.

Whatever the Papillon Heart was, it was something that could very well change the world. Androids with artificial souls? With Semblance? While Rosalyn clearly held a great dislike to Atlas, or perhaps their androids, there was no denying that having an android army capable of utilizing Semblance, or Persona if that's what it came to, would significantly reduce the difficulty of combating the Grimm threat.

And there had to be more to it that just that. If her Papillon Heart essentially gave her the human equivalent to a soul, what more could it do? What other wonders could be created with such an object? She also mentioned that it was also her power source. If so, could it possibly be a rare form of Dust? Perhaps even one that was modified, or created artificially.

Regardless of what it truly was, there was no questioning the fact that it would bring great changes to the world.

"I've decided." Everyone leaned forward in their seats, wondering what Mitsuru would say. "But unfortunately, I must decline."

Though the possibility had been there, few of them had expected her to turn down the request. She was, after all, asking for their aid in testing their Personas against Aura and the like. Why would she suddenly choose to hide something like this?

"None of us are knowledgeable enough with regards to the Papillon Heart, or even Aigis's systems," explained Mitsuru, having seen the questioning looks in their eyes. "If the Papillon Heart is sensitive enough that it cannot be exposed to an unclean environment, then I would rather not take my chances without the Kirijo scientists."

"Those scientists are no longer alive, true," she added, anticipating that line of reasoning. "But it is precisely because we no longer have their services that I am wary of experimenting on Aigis. In time, perhaps," she offered, hoping they would accept that for now.

It was clear to her why they would want to study the Papillon Heart, and perhaps even Aigis herself. Unfortunately, it was far too risky to take apart Aigis without the proper knowledge. And, more importantly even if incredibly selfish, she did not want to subject her comrade and friend to such a thing.

"Fuuka is doing her best to learn more about Aigis's body and her internal systems. Once she has reached a satisfactory level in her understanding, then perhaps I will reconsider. Until then, neither I nor the rest of my friends will consent to such a risky endeavor."

Some of them clearly disagreed with her reasoning, or perhaps her priorities, but all of them accepted it nonetheless, for whatever reason. As always, Mitsuru made a mental note of those who were more amiable to her terms and those who were not, already coming up with possible reasons why they agreed or disagreed.

As Ozpin brought an end to the meeting, Mitsuru allowed her gaze to discreetly land on the one staff member who had intrigued her the most. She would have to see what she could find out about the teacher. If her instincts were right, then they would be a good source of advice regarding Aigis's situation.

* * *

"Oh man, that was even better that the first one. And I can't believe they're planning on making a third."

Yang walked out of the movie theater alongside Pyrrha, with Ruby, Fuuka, Ren, and Nora following soon after.

Contrary to their initial plans, they had decided to watch two movies. Seeing as the newly released movie was a sequel to another, the movie theater had decided to play the first one at a reduced price to try and bring in more fans to the series.

They had taken advantage of it to get Fuuka and Pyrrha started before watching the second movie. It had been an action movie that took place in a highly futuristic setting as it involved time travel, both to the past – which was their present time – and the future, as a major focus in the story. It had come as a surprise that there was going to be a third since the second was supposedly going to conclude the tale from the first.

"Maybe the producers decided they could get more out of the series if they added another one," suggested Pyrrha, more than familiar with such lines of thinking due to her own career experience. "Given how the first one was received and now the second part, it wouldn't surprise me in the least."

"Well, whatever the reason I can't wait for it," said the blonde, looking just as excited as she did when they entered the movie theater earlier. "Hopefully they don't take too long. I always hate waiting for the next part of a movie series to come out."

Behind them, Ruby was regaling Fuuka with a re-enactment of several of her favorite scene, complete with vocalized sound effect. Nora was, from what Yang could hear, bugging Ren about not being allowed to get so much snacks and candy.

As Yang was about to suggest going somewhere for a quick bite to eat, she spotted something, or rather someone, across the street. "Hey, is that Akihiko?"

The name drew Ren and Fuuka's attention to where Yang was looking. Indeed, walking out of a shop named 'Musclemania' was the silver-haired boxer, dressed in a plain red shirt and white pants. Hanging from one hand was a plastic shopping bag bearing the store's name while the other was carrying a black shopping bag of the reusable kind that looked to be holding something heavy.

Deciding to see what he had bought, the sextet crossed the street with the blonde calling out to him and waving to catch his attention. "Hey, Akihiko!" Her call caught the teen's attention, stopping him just before he reached a van that they recognized as the one they had used the previous Sunday.

Turning to face them, a small smile graced Akihiko's lips as he raised one hand slightly to wave back, the plastic bag still hanging from it. "What're you guys doing here? Weren't you going to watch a movie?"

"We just got out actually," replied Ren, glancing down at the bags. "What'd you buy?"

"Just some protein powder and some dumbbells," replied the older teen, lifting the plastic bag and then the black bag respectively. "These are gonna be for our house since Beacon has its own gym and all but I'll probably take these with me back to the dorm and just bring them to the house when we actually start living there."

Their house.

Yang still had a bit of a hard time wrapping her head around that concept. SEES had only been in Vale for a little over a month and they already had a house of their own, even if it wasn't bought with money they had to earn themselves. If they even had to buy it in the first place. They hadn't really thought to ask whether the house had been given to them by their benefactor or if it had been something they purchased on their own.

It didn't really bother her, neither the house nor the money, but it did make her feel a little inadequate in comparison for some reason. She couldn't really explain it. It actually made no sense since comparing her situation to theirs wasn't really fair or even feasible. Their situations were just so different that any comparison was bound to be horribly skewed in one way or another.

"You know that Mitsuru-senpai will have something to say about that, right?" Fuuka asked with what seemed to be a teasing grin on her face.

Akihiko laughed in response. "I'm expecting it," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Still, old habits die hard. Doesn't help that my workout habits aren't something I want to change in the first place."

"Hey, you wanna come along?" asked Yang. "I was thinking of getting a bite to eat before heading back to Beacon. We could all head back together afterwards."

"Sorry, can't," he replied with a shake of his head. "I've got another place to check out. Wanna compare prices and quality of the larger exercise equipment before I commit to any of it. Then I still have to pick up Yukari and Ken from the cemetery later on. Thanks anyway."

The group spoke for a while longer, with Nora even asking Akihiko about whether or not taking protein powder would buff her up quickly if she took enough within a short time. Eventually, Akihiko had to leave and so the group parted ways as Akihiko loaded his purchases into the van, and drove off.

That left the sextet to get into a small debate, mostly Nora and Yang, as to where they should eat before returning to the school. At least until Ren reminded Nora that she would have to take the very next airship back to the school in order to avoid being late for her Demolitions class.

Nora seemed torn between going out to eat with her friends and going to play with explosives. The latter won out when Ren, once again, reminded her that they were going to be making a small explosive in class that day rather than just learning about the components and safety when handling them. And so, the two childhood friends bade the others farewell and made their way to the docks while the remaining four made their way to wherever Yang decided to eat.

Fifteen minutes later, they were seated at a picnic table in one of the nearby parks after buying food from Yang's favorite fast food place. Yang was speaking with Ruby about something to do with Ember Celica as they took out their food from the paper bags. Fuuka was recounting more details from her training upon Pyrrha's request, unsatisfied by the somewhat vague response she had gotten a few days ago.

"So you were trained almost exclusively on defense?" asked the redhead, pulling a take-out box out of the bag and placing it on the table, next to a bottle of juice.

Fuuka nodded as set down her own meal down in front of her, folding the paper bag and setting it aside. Next to her, Ruby had one just like it while Yang, sitting beside Pyrrha and across Ruby, had three such boxes in front of her. "That's right. Given my lack of ability and Juno's focus on support abilities, it only made sense. Even the guns built into Ancile were strictly to deter others from approaching rather than as a way to fight."

"I see. But what about what you said the other day? I believe you mentioned how your mentor was exceedingly powerful and that she taught you how to fight against stronger opponents." Even as Pyrrha spoke, a confused expression settle on her face as she glanced around the table. "Was it because you were aware that you would be at a disadvantage once you arrived here?"

"That's right," Fuuka answered with a nod. But watching Pyrrha stick her face in to the paper bag, she couldn't help but wonder what she was searching for. "In fact, all of us trained that way. It's just that I didn't have to focus on attacking as much that I could defend so well while everyone else had to find a balance."

"I see."

Fuuka could see that Pyrrha's attention was no longer on the conversation and was clearly on whatever it was that had distracted her. "Uh… Pyrrha? Is something wrong?"

At Fuuka's question, Ruby and Yang paused their conversation to see what was going on. What they saw was Pyrrha, who was looking at the ground around the bench, seemingly searching for something while still remaining seated. "I believe I must have dropped the utensils earlier when I emptied the bag."

The three people shared a confused look with one another, shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders. Fuuka turned back to Pyrrha, looking very confused. "Um… What utensils?"

"For the meal," was the redhead's brief response.

Again, three people shared a glance. This time, two of them looked a bit surprised, realizing just what the problem might be, while the third had begun laughing behind her hand. The more composed pair looked to each other, wondering what they should do.

Deciding to help them out, Yang took a moment to breathe deeply and calm her laughter before she called Pyrrha's attention, who had gotten off the bench and was checking underneath the bench. "Pyrrha?"

"Yes Yang?"

"It's a burger."

"Huh?"

"A burger."

"Oh, bless you."

By now, Yang was very close to breaking down in laughter once more.

"… Pyrrha? Do you know what a burger is?"

* * *

Later that night, all four teams were lounging around up on the dormitory's rooftop. Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei, and Pyrrha were the only ones missing as their Tactics class would not end for another half-hour.

Initially it had only been the members of SEES who had gone up to lounge around on the rooftop. One by one, their teammates had come up for one reason or another, and the group grew in number.

That had been two hours ago.

Since then, the twelve students and Koromaru had spent the time just talking about their day as well as making plans for the next day.

"Wait, why would you spent most of the day training?" asked Yang. "Come on, it's Sunday. We should be out there having fun and wasting away our youth!"

"You do know that's not likely to get me to agree, right?" Yukari asked in turn with a raised brow. "Still, the training session we had yesterday shouldn't have ended like that. We might not have been ourselves the past few weeks but that wasn't any reason to slack off in our training, which showed with how badly we lost to Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai especially when there were four of us against just the two of them."

Aigis nodded her assent at the archer's statement. "Indeed. The last time you fought under those conditions the four of you nearly achieved victory. But yesterday they had defeated you with relatively little effort. Now that we've become acclimatized to our new lives in Beacon, I believe we should see about incorporating our previous training regimen into our mornings. Perhaps Akihiko-san could assist in that matter."

"But don't you mostly rely on your Personas anyway?" Yukari had to hide her annoyance at Weiss's words and the more than slightly condescending tone she used. "I mean, the only reason you haven't used them in class is because of the unknown effects it would have on students with Aura. But when it comes to the Grimm, wouldn't you be fighting more with your Personas rather than your own skills?"

Fuuka had noted the brunette's irritation at the implication behind Weiss's words and decided to step in before anything unwanted occurred. "Maybe, but that's not really an excuse to neglect training our bodies. Our Personas are strong, but they have limits as well. It may not have been obvious during our recent training sessions since we take turns fighting, but prolonged use of our Personas can tire us out as very quickly."

Chidori decided to add her opinion on the matter as well. "We also rely on our Evokers to bring forth our Personas. Take that away, and we would be completely vulnerable if we didn't know how to defend ourselves. No matter how you look at it, our training is far from unnecessary. After all, even with your Semblances, I don't see any of you neglecting the other aspects of your training."

Chidori certainly had grown a sharp tongue for a girl who used to barely say anything. That last statement had clearly been directed more towards Weiss, who was the only person among them who could fight using nothing more than her Semblance, in response to her own statement. There was a victorious grin on Yukari's face, a small, hidden one, but a grin nonetheless, when she saw the Schnee heiress turn away with a grumbled agreement.

She couldn't really understand the heiress. Then again, the closest thing Yukari could compare her to was Mitsuru and even the Kirijo heiress hadn't been anywhere near half, or even a quarter, as bad as Weiss when it came to the stereotypical heiress/princess mold. Perhaps Mitsuru could shed some light on that subject.

Speaking of whom…

"I didn't expect everyone to be up here."

All heads turned to the door when it opened, allowing their four missing members to come in and join the group.

"We were wondering where everyone else was and found them up here," Yang answered, to which Blake and Ruby nodded.

"Nora saw them go up and followed them." Akihiko grinned at Ren's unspoken statement of following Nora up to the roof.

Jaune shrugged when Junpei and Pyrrha turned to him. "I was just gonna to come up here to think. Didn't think anyone else would be up here."

Weiss could be heard grumbling about persistent blondes and their equally persistent sisters.

"How was the class?" Yukari asked the quartet, ignoring the heiress's complaints. "Were you able to keep up after missing last week's lesson?"

Due to their trip to Vale, the quartet had missed last week's Tactics class. It was only because Glynda, having been one of three teachers to handle the class that night, had sent them copies of what was discussed, along with the combat scenario they were to assess and devise a plan for, that they hadn't fallen too far behind. But it still meant missing a lesson. And in a class where several teachers taught all at once, it was a difficult class to miss.

"Pretty much," answered Junpei, sitting on the ground and leaning his back against the knee-high wall at the edge of the roof. "And if I could keep up then I'm pretty sure Pyrrha, senpai, and senpai had no trouble at all."

"You give yourself too little credit Junpei." The red-haired Mistralian took a seat on the ledge next to where Junpei sat, placing her between her partner and her team leader. "While your answer to last week's scenario did not work as you had planned, Professor Giollah did praise your use of unconventional tactics."

Yang whistled and turned to Junpei. "That's pretty high praise there. Professor Giollah's one of the oldest teachers in the school and he's pretty famous as a Huntsman too. He isn't easy to impress either from what I've seen."

The sound of someone yawning caught Yang's ears, and she redirected her attention to Ruby, who was looking decidedly more tired. "Looks like your bed's calling you Rubes," she teased only to stifle a yawn of her own, much to her chagrin.

"Re~en, carry meee…"

Looking around, Junpei could see that the others seemed to be just as tired. Considering the time it was hardly a surprise.

Nora had managed to cling onto Ren's back, much to Ken's amusement. Jaune was hiding a huge yawn of his own while Pyrrha mentioned being tired as well. Yang helped Ruby up to her feet while Blake and Weiss stood from the chairs they were using, getting ready to head to bed as well.

But as they moved towards the door to return to their respective dorm rooms, they seemed to realize that something was amiss. Turning, they found SEES still behind them, converging into a tighter circle as conversation fired up once more. Interestingly, none of them looked the least bit tired. Not even Ken, despite his young age.

"Aren't any of you going to rest?" asked Weiss, though, as was the norm for her, her focus was almost entirely on one specific person. "I suspect some of you must be tired after such a long day."

Yukari just waved away the concern. "We're fine, don't worry about us. We're pretty used to staying up late and getting up early the next day."

"Oh? But surely it would be better to get the proper amount of rest rather than staying up late for no significant reason."

The archer once again resisted the urge to let her irritation be known at the heiress's condescending tone. It hadn't escaped her notice that Weiss had been hanging around their team a lot over the past week for reasons that Yukari could only imagine, given the lack of proper evidence. She might even have been doing it the previous weeks as well though Yukari couldn't be certain. She hadn't exactly been in the proper state of mind to notice.

Moreover, she had noticed something else regarding the Schnee heiress. And she didn't like it. She had no evidence beyond the looks so she didn't bring it up with anyone just yet. But that didn't mean she wouldn't keep an eye on the situation whenever she could. The girl may be the heiress to Remnant's largest and most powerful corporation, but that wouldn't stop Yukari from putting the girl in her place if need be.

"Thank you for your concern, but we'll be fine." Mitsuru's perfectly timed response managed to put a halt to the impending conflict between the two girls before it could begin. "Back at Iwatodai, we had to balance our schoolwork with our training, so most of our training took place at night."

"I see." Yukari's eyes narrowed slightly at the change in Weiss's tone the moment Mitsuru spoke. "Then I suppose we'll go on ahead if you're certain."

"No one asked you to stay in the first place," Yukari muttered under her breath even as the former Kirijo heiress reassured Weiss that they would be fine. While none of the Aura-users had heard her, she was certain her fellow Persona-users were more than aware of what she said. But she didn't care if they heard.

Having nothing else to say, Weiss spun around and left the rooftop, followed by the others after gaining reassurance from their own teammates that they would be fine. Once they were gone, everyone who remained turned their attention to Yukari.

"Yukari," Mitsuru began, speaking sternly but with a look of understanding on her face. "I understand that Weiss is not the easiest person to get along with, but I would rather you not antagonize her needlessly. You may not have spoken out loud this time but…" Mitsuru left the sentence hanging, unsure of how to phrase her thoughts.

"Sorry senpai," said the archer, but her tone failed to match her words. "I know I sometimes just let my mouth start talking without really thinking. It's just… I don't like it. Something about her's been bothering me all week. I can try to avoid her and not saying anything when we're together, but I can't make any promises if she keeps acting like… well… a spoiled princess."

Sitting on his haunches between Ken and Akihiko, Koromaru barked and whined, not looking very happy about something. Turning to Aigis, the blonde translated for them. "He says, 'She doesn't like animals.'"

Ken, Junpei, Fuuka, Chidori, and even Aigis, despite being the translator, looked confused, wondering what that had to do with what they were discussing. Especially since she had never once mistreated Koromaru. Even if she did it in private, there was no doubt that Koromaru would have let them know. Yukari and the two seniors, however, looked thoughtful, as though understanding what it was the albino Shiba Inu was trying to tell them.

"Well, I suppose that is the best I can hope for at the moment," conceded Mitsuru before anyone would ask Koromaru to elaborate. "For now, let's discuss tomorrow's training."

Aigis immediately brought up her earlier suggestion of incorporating their previous exercise routines to their current schedule. Both seniors agreed and Akihiko began to note down everyone's class schedules, specifically their electives, so that he could build a proper schedule for each of them. Though Mitsuru was quick to remind him that they would also need time for studies. The slight blush of embarrassment on Akihiko's cheeks brought some amusement to the conversation.

Mitsuru also informed them of hers and Aigis's meeting with the Headmaster and the other staff members, letting them know who else was now in the know regarding their Personas and Aigis's secret. She added that they may soon be participating in some experiments to determine how their Personas' abilities affected Aura, much to their excitement. Akihiko, especially looked downright manic.

"Looks like our team training sessions are gonna get interesting soon enough," he said, getting more than a few devious looks from the others.

Down in the dorms, eight people felt a cold chill run down their spines.

And once midnight had come and gone, tiredness set in as their bodies came to terms with the fact that they would not be visiting Tartarus that night. They bid each other goodnight amidst yawns as they descended the stairs and entered their dorms to retire for the night.

* * *

 **October 12, XX13**

"As I informed you all last week, beginning today we will begin group combat. Specifically, you will begin fighting alongside your partners for the next few weeks before we more on to pairing you with one of your other teammates."

Excited muttering spread throughout the class even though this was the second time they were hearing this bit of information. Many were already whispering under their breath praying to be the first ones called to fight while others were waving their hands in the air, as though doing so would catch Professor Goodwitch's attention.

"The rules will remain the same," explained the blonde teacher, raising her voice just a little more to ensure she was heard. "Once your Aura meter falls below thirty percent, you are considered out of the fight even if your partner still retains a full Aura meter. As always, those without Aura are considered out of the fight after receiving a single blow."

"Since you all look so eager to begin perhaps we could start with some volunteers. Let's see…" As Glynda scanned the crowd for a good match-up, an unexpected hand shot up just as her eyes passed over its owner. "Mr.… Arc? Well, this is a surprise. I don't believe I've ever seen you volunteer to fight before."

Jaune laughed nervously as he tried to ignore his friends' surprised looks. "W-Well, I uh… I just thought I should, you know, start taking things seriously."

A pale blonde eyebrow rose, its owner having trouble believing his words. But as she did not want to scare away what little confidence he had mustered up to volunteer, she simply nodded. "Very well. Mr. Arc and Ms. Nikos, please make your way down." Even as the two rose from their seats and walked down the steps leading to the combat area, green eyes began to scan the crowd for suitable opponents. "Let's see, how about-"

"We'll do it."

Again, blonde eyebrows rose at the unexpected volunteer. Though given what she knew of the boy, she shouldn't have been surprised considering that one of their opponents would be Pyrrha Nikos. She had soundly defeated him during the one-on-one matches so there was almost to be expected that he would want to make up for it. Or perhaps, 'getting revenge' was the more apt term all things considered. "Very well. Mr. Winchester and Mr. Thrush, please make your way down so we can begin the fight."

As she went about preparing the combat area for the match, she and many others failed to notice the grin that flashed briefly across Cardin's face.

As the four fighters made their way down, Junpei was frowning. Chidori instantly picked up on it and turned to face him. "What's wrong, Junpei-kun?"

"I don't know, really," he replied, eyes locked onto his two teammates down in the combat area. "Something about this just doesn't feel right. Jaune's never volunteered to fight before."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean things won't change Stupei," piped up Yukari. "I mean, no offense to him but even Fuuka's won more fights than he has. It sometimes makes me wonder if he's serious about this whole Huntsman thing."

"That's just it, Yukari." The brunette frowned a bit at the way he had addressed her. Junpei only ever stopped using that annoyingly childish nickname when he was thinking seriously about something or if something bothering him, so much so that he wasn't in the mood to play around. "He's sayin' all that but he doesn't look it. It's almost like he's just trying to convince himself or something."

Before they could discuss it further, the match began.

Russel was the first to rush forward, brandishing his daggers and running straight for Pyrrha. The red-haired Mistralian prepared herself to engage him when her partner suddenly dashed forward. Caught off-guard by Jaune's uncharacteristic act, Pyrrha had only just began to run forward to support him by the time he and Russel clashed.

Jaune raised his shield and blocked the first blow, but Russel snaked his second dagger past Jaune's pitiful defenses and struck the blonde's side. When he recoiled from the blow, Russel pushed onward, circling around and repeatedly slashing at the boy.

Pyrrha dashed forward even faster upon seeing her partner being attacked but suddenly jumped back. Cardin's mace smashed into the ground where she would have been had she kept running, an explosion going off the moment the flanges made contact. She spared Jaune another glance, slightly relieved to see that he had gotten away from Russel, but worried since he had chosen to retreat farther from her.

She raised Miló and Akoúo just as Cardin shouldered his mace with a smug-looking grin. She could easily make her way past him but leaving an opponent to your rear was never a good idea. As much as she wanted to help Jaune, she would have to take out Cardin first. Hopefully Jaune could hold out long enough.

Back with Jaune, the blonde boy was busy fending off Russel, doing his best to keep him from getting within striking range with his sword. Unfortunately, his wild swings were too predictable. In the middle of a swing of his sword, the dagger-wielder swung upwards and struck the flat of the blade with his own dagger. The unexpected counterattack sent Crocea Mors flying from Jaune's hand and threw him off balance, leaving him wide open for another flurry of attacks.

Jaune raised his shield and backpedaled to try and open up the distance between them. But in his haste, Jaune raised his shield too high, blocking his own line of sight. Taking advantage of this, Russel circled around him once more, attacking from the side with very little difficulty. And whenever Jaune turned to face him, the dagger-wielding boy would once again circle around.

From near the center of the stone platform, Pyrrha could only watch as Jaune was battered and beaten by Russel's relentless attacks. Cardin was just as relentless. Despite how heavy his mace must be, he was easily swinging it around with one hand just as easily as she wielded her own sword. And the one time he had used both hands to wield it, Pyrrha attempted to parry the blow, thinking the force behind his swing would cause him to lose his balance. Instead, she nearly lost her grip on Miló.

He wasn't as skilled as her, of course. She had already landed over a dozen blows while he had yet to hit her once. But he wasn't completely unskilled either. Just enough that she wouldn't be able to knock his Aura down to the red zone before Russel did the same to Jaune.

With no other option, she loosened her grip of Akoúo and waited for her chance.

Jaune skittered back on his elbows and knees, having been knocked back by a kick to the sternum. Seeing his opponent leap upwards, he rolled to the side just in time to avoid getting struck again. Jaune wanted to fight back but unfortunately, the other boy was doing a good job of keeping him away from where Crocea Mors landed and his shield wasn't very helpful in keeping _him_ away from Jaune.

He desperately tried to think of a way to get past the dagger-wielding boy, to get to Crocea Mors, but his inexperienced mind couldn't come up with a single plan. He had considered turning around and running to Pyrrha for help but he discarded that idea almost as soon as it entered his mind. _'I can't,'_ he thought, jumping wildly to the side as Russel charged at him once more. _'I won't.'_

Raising his shield in front of him, charged in the direction of Russel. Unfortunately, he once again made the mistake of raising his shield too high. Russel quickly sidestepped him and, with a mischievous grin, stuck out his leg and tripped the charging blonde, who had effectively blinded himself with his own actions.

The blonde tumbled to the ground in an undignified heap, dazed by his unexpected fall. As he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, a foot came in and kicked him hard in the side. One arm instantly wrapped around the injured side but the foot came around again and swept his other hand. With the loss of both arms for support, his face crashed down onto the ground, which was exacerbated by Russel stomping down on the side of his face.

He watched out of one slightly blurry eye as Russel raised his foot, fully intending to repeat his previous act, when something struck the side of his head. Then all of a sudden, something brown and red was attacking the green-haired boy, forcing him away from the downed fighter.

Jaune tried to stand, but Russel's last attack had affected him more than he'd care to admit. His vision was a little blurry and his legs were shaky, not to mention the pain in his side where Russel had kicked him. As wonderful as Aura was, it did little to stop pain.

The first thing that registered once he felt well enough to actually stand was Professor Goodwitch's voice, though nothing she said made sense at all. "… ma… ver… nners ar… ne Arc… kos."

He shook his head just a little bit, trying to get his sense back to normal, when something, or someone, entered his line of vision. A very blurry one at that. "ne... ou… ight? Jaune?" He blinked, shook his head once more, making him wince when his head throbbed with pain when he did so, and slowly regaining more of his bodily functions. "Jaune? Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

"P-Pyrrha?" he asked, his head clearing up some more. Gathering his bearings, he found himself sitting on the ground, one hand holding him up while another was wrapped around his abdomen. "I-Is the fight over? Did we…"

"Yes, we won," she responded but continued to look down at him with a worried look. "Are you alright? You fell over as soon as you tried to stand."

"I… did?" he didn't remember falling down. Well, at least not after he stood up after Russel had stomped on his head.

"Hm…" He looked up when he heard someone humming and found Glynda standing just a few feet away. "Mr. Thrush's last attack might have injured you despite your Aura. A light head wound perhaps. Ms. Nikos, please accompany Mr. Arc to the infirmary just down the hall. Better to be safe than sorry after all, even with Aura. We'll go over your fight another time."

"I-Infirmary?" asked Jaune, looking almost disbelieving at what he just heard. "B-But I'm fine. L-Look, see?"

He attempted to stand only to fall back down before he even got halfway up, earning a round of snickers from the spectators, as well as laughter from Cardin, who had just gotten up along with Russel. Both were off to the side for their evaluation, waiting for Glynda to finish checking on Jaune.

"Clearly you're not," Glynda responded dryly. "Ms. Nikos, if you would."

"Of course, Professor."

Pyrrha knelt down beside her partner and wrapped his arm around her shoulder despite his protests. She rose to her feet, slowly so as not to aggravate any injuries he might have sustained, and slowly guided him towards the door leading out of the combat area to head to the infirmary.

Up in the spectator's area, Junpei had watched the entire fight with worry. Specifically, he had been watching Jaune.

"Think he's alright?" asked Yukari, worried that Jaune might have gotten injured despite his Aura taking most of the punishment.

"If not, I'm sure they can patch him up," he responded absent-mindedly, his thoughts still trying to process everything he had seen.

"Do you know why he acted like that?" Chidori asked her boyfriend, having noticed how out of character Jaune had been during the entire fight, just as Junpei had noted earlier.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. But from where she sat, Chidori could see the determined look in his eyes. "But I'm gonna find out as soon as I can."

* * *

Despite his words, Junpei didn't actually get the chance to speak with Jaune until later that night.

Just as Glynda had said, Jaune had suffered a light head wound due its repeated impacts with the ground, the occasional punch, and, at the end, Russel's boot stomping down. As such, the nurse had him stay in the small infirmary in the combat building to rest while his Aura went about healing him and repairing any damage done.

After Jaune had been released, Pyrrha had accompanied him for a later-than-usual dinner before they returned to Team JACN's dorm room, where Junpei and Chidori were going over their homework for the day. As soon as they entered, Junpei shut his book and notebook.

"You doing alright?" he asked, watching as Jaune walked to his bed and practically collapsed onto it.

"I'm fine." Junpei highly doubted that. "Just… I don't know."

"… what the heck was that about earlier?" the goateed teen asked as calmly as he could. As badly as he wanted answers, forcing them out was rarely the way to go. He just hoped the other teen decided to be cooperative.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. "What do you mean?"

Even Junpei could tell that he was avoiding the subject. "Volunteering for a fight? Running straight up to that other guy? Forgetting everything we've gone over during training?" He enumerated the things that bothered him most, making sure to keep his voice more calm and concerned rather than accusing. "Take your pick. Dude, I know we haven't known each other that long but even I could tell that that wasn't like you."

"I… I just… I guess I'm just tired of being the worst guy in class." His excuse was weak and he knew it. Everyone in the room knew it. It wasn't the first time he had said it, but just like those other times it didn't sound as though he was serious about it. And just like those other times, it didn't look like Junpei would get a straight answer.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. Only a little over a month as leader and he was already screwing it all up. Not only could he not do anything for the team's strongest, but he couldn't even properly comfort his teammate.

He was about to push some more when someone knocked on their door. A curious look appeared on his face as he turned to look at each of his teammates in turn. Neither Pyrrha nor Chidori looked like they knew more than he did, and Jaune was just lying on his bed, practically dead to the world.

Junpei rose from his seat and walked to the door, wondering who could be visiting them at this time. Anyone from ASYR, ANKR, or KYBT would have spoken through the door to let them know it was one of them. The main door to the dorm needed a Scroll to verify their identity so it had to be someone from the school. Or at least, someone who had gotten permission from the Headmaster to enter the dorms. Still, that didn't really narrow down the possibilities.

The person outside knocked once more just as Junpei reached the door. Hoping that it wasn't anything bad, he twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open to be greeted by a woman he had never met before. A beautiful woman at that.

She was roughly his height, her brown eyes leveled with his, with blonde hair tied in a braid that hung over her left shoulder. She wore a sleeveless, black, turtleneck top that hugged her lithe form, and olive green cargo pants tucked into black combat boots. The hilt of a sword peeked over her right shoulder while a strap ran across her torso, from her right shoulder to her left hip, presumably holding the sheath.

Looking closely at her face, Junpei could have sworn there was something familiar about her but pushed that out of his mind for the moment. "Can I uh… help you with something?" he asked as politely as he could, though he was sure his confusion was evident.

The woman nodded but looked a little uncertain. "Yes. I was looking for Jaune Arc." Her voice was firm though, despite the uncertainty her face reflected. "The Headmaster told me this was his room. Did I make a mistake?"

"Oh, no, you've got the right room. Give me a sec," he looked over his shoulder to the blonde's bed and called out to him. "Hey Jaune, you've got a visitor."

"A visitor?" His team could hear the confusion in his tone as he spoke, pushing himself up to a sitting position. "I wasn't expecting anyo-" He froze the moment his eyes caught sight of the woman standing at the doorway. "S-S-Scarlett?!"

The woman, Scarlett, smiled coldly at being recognized, her uncertainty gone now that she had found her prey. "Glad to see you still remember me, little brother."

* * *

 **Hoo boy, looks like Jauney boy's in trouble. Bet you guys weren't expecting this little twist now, were you? XD**

 **Anyway, not much to say here except that this chapter marks the beginning of the Arc Arc. Yes, I decided to keep using it. I'd only said it as a joke at the start but now it's grown on me for some reason. XP**

 **As always, please let me know what you think of the story or my writing. I always appreciate hearing from you guys.**

 **Until the next chapter then.**


	11. Ch 9 - The Hero's(?) Training

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Looks like FF had a couple problems with the reviews last week… again. I'm pretty sure this was a problem that popped up years ago. Multiple times. Can't remember how it was resolved and what happened afterwards but I guess there's not much I can do about it.**

 **Don't know if having just six reviews for the last chapter is a result of those problems and the other reviews never showed up. If this was it then hopefully they show up... at some point.**

 **Buuuut… if the lack of reviews is not because of the system then I guess I've started getting too big a head and I'll need to work harder on this chapter. XD**

 **Anyway, busted system or no, lack of feedback or no, it's not gonna stop me from writing. I'm not one of those who write solely for popularity, numbers (reviews, followers and favorites), and whatnot, though admittedly having a large following and plenty of feedback is good motivation XD. I started writing for fun and that's how it's gonna be.**

 **Anyway, without further ado, here's the next chapter of the Arc Arc.**

 **Hehe, I really, REALLY, have no idea why but saying that out loud always makes me giggle.**

 **Arc Arc. Arc Arc. Arc Arc. Arc Arc. XD**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – The Hero's(?) Training**

 **October 12, XX13**

"So you're Jaune's teammates?"

The beautiful blonde who they learned was Jaune's oldest sister, Scarlett Arc, sat on her brother's bed, her legs crossed at the thighs. Leaning against the foot of the bed was her weapon, what seemed to be a longsword of sorts – Junpei had never been knowledgeable about weapons after all – with a revolver for a hilt. It looked fairly simple but Junpei had learned over the past few weeks not to judge certain things too quickly.

Pyrrha and Chidori sat on the former's bed, facing the older woman, while Junpei pulled up a chair to sit by the foot of said bed. Jaune was seated beside his sister looking strangely worried and… afraid, if Junpei was reading his expression right.

The blonde boy hadn't shared much about each sister so Junpei was unsure why he would react that way. Perhaps she was one of those older sisters who liked tormenting her younger brother?

"Yup, that's us. I'm Junpei, the team's leader." He gestured to the two girls on the bed beside him. "Beside me's Chidori, my partner, and over there is-"

"Pyrrha Nikos," finished Scarlett, smiling pleasantly all the while. "Mistral's Invincible Girl and four-time winner of the Mistral Regional Championships. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't at least heard of her in our line of work." Much to her surprise, Junpei raised his hand with a knowing grin, followed soon after by Chidori. "Wait, really?"

"Hehe, yeah. My friends and I are from way, way east, off the coast of Mistral. Heck, we pretty much thought our island was all there was," explained the team leader, sticking to the cover story they had long since established. "Didn't know all this was waiting for us if we'd bothered to explore a bit."

"If you kids came from an island that far from the mainland then I guess that's to be expected. Despite how few of them there are, the aquatic Grimm are far more dangerous, even if only because of the danger of fighting over the sea. One bad hit on the boat and you're sunk, literally." Junpei hadn't really considered that – he knew there were Grimm living in the sea but it's not as if he had read that far ahead of the class that he knew how to deal with them – but it was good to know if they were ever near the sea. "So what brought you kids all the way here? Not to presume anything, but wouldn't it make more sense to stick closer to home? Haven Academy may not be as prestigious as Beacon but it's still on of the four major Huntsman Academies."

"Well…" Scarlett's smile slipped a bit at Junpei's uncomfortable tone. "Let's… let's just say that we've got nowhere to go back to."

"Ah." There wasn't much else for her to say after hearing that. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't worry about it," he replied with a wave of his hand. "That was eight months ago. We've had more than enough time to get over it." There was no need to mention they'd only really dealt with it last weekend. "As for why here, Beacon was what Elizabeth-san recommended so it's where we came." He shrugged. "Anyway, what brings you here? Not that I'm kicking you out or anything but it's a little late for a visit don't you think?"

In response, Scarlett laughed and wrapped an arm around Jaune's neck, pulling him in close and eliciting a cry of surprise from the boy as he found his head locked in place with his check pressed up against the side of her chest. "Well, why wouldn't I visit? I mean, it's not like it's been over a month since anybody in the family, or even anybody from our hometown of Domremy last saw him, let alone heard from him."

The smile on her face began to turn predatory as her laughter sounded less amused and more… dark, matching the darkening expression on her face. "It's not as if he disappeared in the middle of the night all of a sudden and stole the family heirloom on his way out." She tightened her hold on his neck as Jaune tried to wiggle his way out of the hold. "And it's not like he most likely faked his transcripts for a chance to take the Initiation Exam to get into Beacon, the most prestigious and most selective Huntsman Academy in all the four kingdoms, since he didn't even attend a combat school."

By now, Junpei, Chidori, and Pyrrha's eyes were wide open, their jaws agape, as their eyes went back and forth between the now snarling Scarlett and the pale, struggling Jaune under her arms. "By the way, did he ever mention that he never had his Aura awakened? I'm not really sure how he got it unlocked but it had to have only happened between leaving home and coming to Beacon."

"That… that was me, actually."

All eyes turned to the red-haired Mistralian as she meekly raised up her hand, bowing her head in embarrassment at the attention.

"Pyrrha?" breathed out Junpei, shocked at the admission. "Did you… Did you know?"

"What? N-No!" Pyrrha denied Junpei's assumption, shaking her head violently. "I mean… I found out during the Initiation that he didn't have Aura so I unlocked it for him since I was worried he would get hurt." Scarlett gave her an appraising look at her words. "But I wasn't aware that he had used false transcripts," she added quickly. "Had I known then I-"

"Hey, hey, calm down Pyrrha, no one's blaming you for anything," said Junpei, though he inwardly wondered _what_ she would have done if she had discovered that little fact during the Initiation.

Dormant Aura? Easily fixed. For all they knew he could have been someone who had been raised on the streets and wanted to try his luck at Beacon, which would explain the Aura problem. But false school records? That was another thing entirely.

Beside her, Chidori took one of Pyrrha's hands in her own. "Junpei-kun is right. We were just wondering whether or not you knew. You don't have to worry."

"They're right you know, you're hardly at fault here. My brother, on the other hand," Scarlett tightened her hold on Jaune just a little bit more, practically strangling him with her toned arms. "Well Jauney?" Her tone was sugary sweet, and her smile was as innocent as could be, but her eyes told a different story. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"C-Can't… breathe…"

The blonde woman rolled her eyes and released Jaune. He pulled away quickly, dramatically taking in large mouthfuls of air while rubbing his neck. "Honestly Jaune. I barely even tried holding you down. Even Hazel could have gotten out of that. You remember Hazel, right? Your only younger sister who, by the way, is pretty much top of her class and is looking to get into Beacon next year after she graduates. I'm sure she would have been _thrilled_ to see you here next year. That is, if you suddenly decide not to come home between school years." The sarcasm was impossible to ignore.

"I'm surprised you can swing around Crocea Mors when you're this weak," she added with a scoff. "That thing may be sturdy but it's anything but light. I'd know. I remember trying to play with it way back then."

"I…" Jaune coughed to clear his throat, still rubbing his neck. "I-I can explain."

"That's what I'm here for." All cheer and humor was gone from her tone, genuine or otherwise, replaced by a seriousness that she had yet to display to the trio. "So start talking. What the _FUCK,_ " the other three jumped while Jaune winced at Scarlett's unexpected cursing, "Made you think it was a good idea to do all this shit?"

While his three teammates were still recovering from Scarlett's less than ideal language, Jaune looked away in shame but remained silent. His sister continued to glare at him with a deep scowl, her arms crossed in front of her chest. When clearly no answer would be forthcoming, she clicked her tongue. "The hell? You had the balls to not only run away from home, but also steal Crocea Mors, our family heirloom might I remind you, and even send in fake transcripts to get into the school, but now you don't even have a fraction of the guts to explain why?!"

When her provocations failed to elicit a response, she shut her eyes and huffed. "And here I thought you'd actually grown up and grown a pair. Looks like you're still the same crybaby you always were." She rose from the bed, grabbed her weapon, slung the strap over her shoulder, and began walking towards the door, much to the surprise of the entire team.

"S-Scarlett?"

Jaune's older sister paused with her hand on the doorknob, half-turning to face Team JACN. "Sunday."

"Sunday?" he parroted in question form, wondering what she meant by that.

"I'll be back on Sunday with whoever else from the family who can make it," she said, causing Jaune's eyes to shoot wide open. "Then we're taking you home."

"Y-You can't!"

"THE HELL WE CAN'T!" yelled Scarlett, letting go of the doorknob and spinning around to pin her brother in place with a volcanic glare. Again, Jaune's teammates jumped while he winced and huddled down. Clearly it was not his first time being exposed to this side of the eldest Arc sibling. "You wanna know how I found out you were here?" Without waiting for an answer, she stomped back to the foot of Jaune's bed and looked down at him over the bridge of her nose. "I was in Vale for some business and I decided to come here for a visit. While walking around, I meet Glynda and the first thing she asks me after greeting each other is, 'Are you here to visit your brother?'"

Everyone saw Jaune's face pale even further at the implication behind Scarlett's words. But much to their surprise, she shook her head. "Neither she nor Ozpin know. At least, if they didn't already. I barely managed to keep up a straight face when I heard you were here. No, I just told her that I wanted to see how you were doing in class but asked her not to let you know just yet."

"After she hooked up my Scroll to the combat area's security feeds, she let me into one of the nearby supply rooms where I watched the fights on my Scroll. She was supposed to call you and your partner for a fight after a few others went ahead." Then her voice and expression softened somewhat at her last statement. "Imagine my surprise to see you volunteering for the first fight."

Then it was gone. "Now imagine my fucking disappointment at that absolutely pathetic display you put up." Jaune bowed his head even more.

Pyrrha tried to speak up in defense of her partner but Scarlett immediately turned on her with a glare telling her to shut up. The redhead found herself obeying, freezing in a half-standing position before slowly, mechanically, sitting back down and closing her mouth as the elder Arc sibling turned her attention back to the younger.

"When she told me you were one of the lowest ranking students, I thought that it was because everyone else was just that far ahead of you since you barely had any training when you were younger, never mind not going to a combat school. I couldn't have been more wrong." She sighed, full of disappointment and anger. "You've been here over a month. If you'd actually been taking all this seriously, if you'd been training hard with your team outside of class to be the best you could be, if you'd been paying attention to every fight, every lesson, and actually learned even the slightest thing from it then you wouldn't have made all those stupid mistakes you did."

"Even a month should have been enough to know what you did was stupid. Charging ahead of your partner? Allowing your opponents to split you up that far apart? Losing your weapon?" Jaune winced at every fault that was pointed out and huddled down even further, his head almost sinking into his hooded sweater. "Pyrrha might be able to get away with that given how skilled she is, but you? A dropout? The last time you even held a sword before all this shit was over five years ago, before you dropped out of Remorra Academy. At best you've only been using Crocea Mors since you took it."

Unexpectedly, she turned to her brother's teammates with a face that said that she had just thought of something. "Can I at least assume you've been teaching him how to fight outside of class?" While her question was aimed at all three of them, her gaze kept switching between Junpei and Pyrrha. The former was the team leader after all, he had to have noticed Jaune's lack of skill, and Pyrrha was her brother's partner.

Though Junpei was the leader, Pyrrha spoke up first, deciding that as Jaune's partner the responsibility fell to her first before to Junpei. "W-We have." She couldn't help the slight stutter that entered her voice. Scarlett was a different sort from the usual kind of people she dealt with. More straightforward, less afraid of speaking her mind, vulgar though her choice of words may be at times. "Though it usually takes several reminders before-"

"Before he does something without being reminded." Pyrrha was surprised that Scarlett knew exactly what she was going to saw. And she nodded with a barely audible 'yes'. The blonde woman sighed. "Then next time you train, even if it was just the day after, he needs to be reminded again several times, though less than the day before. When you try to teach him something new, the previous lesson starts to slip. And trying to remind him of both lessons simply ends with him completely unlearning both. Am I right?"

"Y-Yes." Pyrrha's response was breathy and full of disbelief, but her sharp mind quickly pieced together just how it was the older woman knew. "It's how it was before, wasn't it? It's why he dropped out of combat school. He didn't have any talent for combat, any potential." Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Jaune wince at her choice of words.

Scarlett's nod was, contrary to her previous actions, filled with regret. And her tone as she spoke was much the same. "That's right. At first we thought it was because dad wasn't the right teacher for him. So when we came home after another year at Beacon, Gwen and I started teaching him since we were the only other two who've had training with a sword. Then after a few weeks with nothing to show for it, dad decided to call in a few favors from some friends of his, thinking maybe they'd have better luck."

"Better bad luck from the sound of it," quipped Junpei, earning an elbow to the gut from his girlfriend.

But the elder Arc just nodded, a faint, though tired, grin on her lips. "Pretty much, yes. So we decided to give him a break from the training. He kept up with some of the basic exercises to keep in shape, enough that he wouldn't be behind on physical conditioning when he finally enters a combat school. A few years later, when he was old enough, dad enrolled him in Remorra, thinking that people with actual experience teaching kids would be able to draw out what potential he had."

"And you know how that ended." Those were Jaune's first words since Scarlett began explaining. "A dropout barely a month in."

Neither Jaune, nor Scarlett, nor the rest of his team said anything afterwards. Jaune had nothing to add, Scarlett had shared everything she felt was relevant, and the rest of Team JACN did not know what to say given the mood.

Eventually, Scarlett broke the silence with a sigh. "Look Jaune," she began, her tone softer than any other time since her arrival. "Since you haven't said anything, I can't even begin to imagine why you'd suddenly want to come to Beacon, even going so far as doing everything you did. But no matter your reason, I can't, in good conscience, let you stay if what happened today was you 'taking things seriously'." Jaune winced at the reminder of his words in Combat class earlier.

The older woman walked back to the door and twisted the doorknob. She paused and glanced over her shoulder, looking straight into her only brother's eyes with a look of regret. "Like I said earlier, you've got until Sunday to take care of whatever business you have. That's how long it'll take me to finish my business in Vale, go back home, let everyone know, and get back with whoever can come. But knowing them and considering the news, they'll all find some way to come regardless of where they are or what they're doing."

"I won't tell the Headmaster, or Glynda, or anyone else outside the family what you did. But since you got yourself into this, it's gonna be up to you how you're gonna explain why you're leaving." Jaune's head dropped again, already imagining what would happen in the future. "Tell them the truth, make up some story, or maybe just disappear altogether again like you did when you came here, I don't care. But whatever happens from this point on, it's all on your head."

Then, she turned to the rest of Team JACN. "I'm sorry that our first meeting had to go like this. I hope the next time will be more… pleasant. Can't really say it'll be better given the circumstance. Again, sorry. And it was nice meeting you all, short as it was." And without another word, she pulled the door open, crossed the threshold, and shut the door behind her.

For a while, nobody dared to speak or even move, as though afraid that either one would invite even more misfortune and ill news. But when it was clear that nothing else was going to happen, Junpei rose from the chair and moved it back under the table. Then he went over to the wardrobe they bought that first week and grabbed his leather jacket out of it.

"Junpei-kun?"

The goateed teen stopped just as he reached the door, and turned around to face the rest of his team. "I'm gonna go clear my head for a while."

"It's almost curfew."

"Don't worry. I'll just be up on the roof." He opened the door and stepped through. Just before he shut the door, he pushed it open and addressed his blonde teammate. "Jaune?" He waited until apprehensive blue eyes met his tired gray ones. "For what it's worth, I'm not mad or anything. Wish you trusted us enough to tell us, but that's pretty much in the past now. Your sister's right though. Whatever happens from here is all on you. It always was." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, shutting the door behind him.

By the time he returned to the room, nearly two hours later, the lights were already off and all three members of his team were fast asleep.

* * *

 **October 13, XX13**

Breakfast was a quiet and somber affair for the members of Team JACN as a result of the previous night's events. And though nobody else was aware of said event, everyone was keen enough to pick up that something had happened last night.

Junpei sat with his head cradled in his hands and his elbows resting on the table, his breakfast sitting half-finished in front of him. Pyrrha was eating at an incredibly slow pace, casting worried looks at her partner every two seconds. Her partner, on the other hand, hadn't even bothered to get anything to eat, simply sitting there with tired, sleepless eyes directed down at the table. Only Chidori acted normal, though she would still look upon the others with concern.

"Is… everything alright Junpei?" Yukari asked hesitantly. Inwardly, she was thankful that Yang was still in her Unarmed Combat class. By now the blonde would have made some sort of joke to try and break the ice.

She was also thankful that Junpei had thought to warn her that Yang was quite fond of puns. Jokes were one thing but puns? She could only imaging what would have happened if Yang didn't have someone keeping that little hobby in check while in Mitsuru's presence.

Junpei sighed and raised his head, allowing Yukari to see the tired look on his face. "Not really, no. Some stuff happened last night and… well…" He sent a discreet glance at the boy seated across from him, wondering whether he should even ask if it was alright to tell the others.

"It's fine." Junpei blinked, wondering if he heard that right. "Doesn't really matter if you tell them now. I mean… they're gonna find out on Sunday anyway. Might as well just get it over with."

For a moment, he just kept staring at the top of Jaune's head, the boy still gazing straight down with what was no doubt a dejected look on his face. He felt like he should be making sure that it was what Jaune really wanted and not simply because he felt he was being pressured into telling.

Then again, perhaps it was better this way. They were all friends after all. They all deserved to know the truth. Junpei took a deep breath to prepare himself. But before relaying the previous night's events to the group, he made them all promise that they would not tell anybody else, no matter who it was, and refused to begin until they all gave their word. Then, and only then, did he tell his tale, making sure to keep his voice down and reminding them again to keep quiet about it.

By the end of the tale, most of them were looking at the blonde boy with either pity or sympathy, along with sadness for his predicament, not that the blonde could see any of it. There was, however, one exception.

"Of all the stupid, idiotic things you've done, enrolling into Beacon with-"

"Hey!" Junpei yelled at the white-haired girl who had begun to berate his teammate, stopping her mid-sentence. "First of all, keep it down. Second, his sister already told him off so save it. Third, what's done is done so there's no point getting all mad. Besides, it's not like it's got anything to do with you. This is Jaune's problem, not yours."

Weiss let out a gasp as though she'd been insulted. "Excuse me? This… charlatan is in this school and you expect me to remain silent? As his team leader you should have brought the matter to the Headmaster the moment you found out! The fact that he's still here is a sign of your substandard leadership!"

Yukari's eyes flared with anger at Weiss words and condescending tone. "Hey! Why don't you just-"

"And what the hell would you know about being a leader?" Junpei's cold response cut off Yukari before she could even begin to berate the Schnee heiress. "Even if you're not a team leader I don't see you acting like one. All you do is go around complaining whenever you don't like something. Hell, don't think I haven't seen you trying to boss Ruby around now and then."

Again, Yukari was grateful that Yang wasn't present. That little revelation, which even Weiss had been smart enough to keep hidden from the blonde, would have caused the biggest fight in all of history had she heard it.

The heiress huffed. "Don't forget, _I_ am the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One day, I'll be leading the company and I'll make it even better than it already is. As for Ruby, she should be honored that I'm taking the time to correct her shortcomings."

"Being leader one day doesn't mean you _are_ one here and now." Junpei countered with a scowl. "All I see is a whiny little princess who bitches whenever she doesn't get what she wants."

Weiss looked taken aback by Junpei's choice of words. And all around them, people began muttering at Junpei's bold statement. "Wh-Wha… How… How dare you?! I do not b… b…"

At her hesitance to even speak such a word, Junpei grinned darkly. "The word, is 'bitch'," he said, enjoying the way her face began to change color. "Just in case you didn't know, it's spelled W-E-I-S-S."

Weiss's face turned red, almost puce, at Junpei's words, her teeth clenched so tightly the others were worried they may crack soon. Just as she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to retort, someone else found it necessary to interrupt.

"ENOUGH!"

Both teens turned to Mitsuru, whose face had tightened into a frown. Glancing around, they noticed that everyone in their group, as well as those close enough to hear, had been watching them. Some had shocked looks on their faces and others seemed to be cheering one of them on for some reason. A few looked uncomfortable, wishing they weren't there to witness such a scene.

Junpei turned away, ashamed that he had let his emotions get the better of him. "Sorry senpai," he muttered, just barely audible to everyone else's ears. He had attempted to keep things quiet, to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. And instead, he became the reason why they drew attention. The only consolation was that Jaune's secret was still kept within their group.

Weiss calmed down but huffed once more as she turned back to Junpei. "As you should be. Do you really think that-"

Once again, the Schnee found herself interrupted. But this time, the source was completely unexpected. "I meant, the _both_ of you."

"Wh… Mi-Mitsuru?" Had it been any other time, Yukari would have burst out laughing at the completely dumbfounded look on Weiss's face as she tried to come to terms with the fact that she was the one getting scolded. "But… he-"

"I _know_ what he said." The red-haired young woman cut in once more, sending the white-haired girl a stern look that caused her to recoil in shock. "But you are not blameless in this. First, Junpei shared Jaune's secret with us under the condition that we keep it to ourselves, a condition you verbally agreed to in front of everyone here. And yet you were about to break your word not even a minute later."

"But he-"

"Second." The word was spoken sharply but calmly, a warning that she would not appreciate being interrupted once more. "Junpei is correct in that this situation ultimately has nothing to do with us. The problem is Jaune's to deal with, and his alone."

She paused briefly to consider her next words, aware that the other students were now listening in. "Whether he explains his actions or not, or chooses some other course of action, it will be his decision in the end. And no matter what we say or do, the final choice lies with him. There is also the fact that the situation now is a result of his past actions. Only he, and he alone, is responsible for the consequences of such."

"That's why I-"

"IF!" The increase in volume and sharpness of Mitsuru's interruption caused all of them to jump, the coldness of her tone only adding to the apprehension and fear they now felt. "You intend to get involved in any way, then you had best be prepared to face the consequences of your actions, be they good or bad."

Remembering one detail that Junpei had related, Mitsuru lowered her voice before continuing to avoid being overheard as much as possible. "Do not forget that his sister has already taken and will take further action, and that she has chosen to withhold the information from even the Headmaster. Unless you believe you know better, or that you have the authority that surpasses that of a family member, then I suggest you keep your hands clean of this matter. I do not doubt for one moment that she, and even her family, will be unhappy with any outside interference regardless of intent."

Mitsuru half-thought that Weiss would attempt to speak once more so was relieved that the girl did not attempt to test the limits of her patience further. "And finally, it is not your place to decide whether Junpei is fit to be leader of his team or not. You are free to believe he is unfit, that is your opinion and yours alone. But that is all that it is, your opinion. The only people who can decide if he is the best choice to lead are the Headmaster, and Junpei's own team."

Weiss continued to stare at Mitsuru with dumbfounded shock, unable to believe what was happening. Junpei was just as shocked for the same reason.

Aigis looked hesitant for some reason, uncertain. Yukari was still fuming but held herself back, no sense throwing more oil into the fire especially now that Mitsuru had doused it with a mountain of ice. Chidori's eyes had widened a hint but was otherwise the same. Nora looked lost and uncomfortable as her gaze constantly shifted between Mitsuru, Jaune, and Weiss with uncertainty. Blake had a strange look in her eyes as she watched Weiss. Pyrrha shared her team leader's shock, but was also unsure of what to think. And Jaune…

Jaune was certain he was the most surprised of them all. He hadn't expected Mitsuru to defend him like that. Granted, she hadn't actually said that he should stay, or that his actions were right, but she had more or less sided with Junpei, who had done his best to minimize the damage.

Given how strict she was, he had expected her to be one of the first to condemn him for his actions, to start calling out for his expulsion. After all, her family had once owned a school. Surely she would have no tolerance for his actions, right?

The uncomfortable silence was broken when Junpei rose from his seat, the rustling of his uniform as he stood the only sound they could hear.

"Junpei-kun?"

He had already turned to leave but stopped at Chidori's voice. "I'm gonna go cool my head a bit," he said without turning. He had taken two steps when he paused and seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Hey, Jaune?" The blonde boy looked up from the table, though Junpei didn't turn to meet his gaze. "I know it's not much but… don't worry, alright? Whatever happens, we've got your back." Without waiting for a response, the dark-haired teen walked away, slinging his school satchel over his shoulder.

When Akihiko, Fuuka, Ken, Yang, and Ren arrived at the dining hall from their Unarmed Combat class, only Mitsuru was there to meet them, having remained behind to explain the situation.

* * *

Needless to say that, given the events of the past twenty-four hours, nobody from JACN was in the proper state of mind to learn. Save, that is, for Chidori. The other three teams weren't unaffected, but both Mitsuru's and Junpei's words that it was all ultimately up to Jaune took off much of the weight from their shoulders. Still, that did not mean they were not worried for the blonde or the team as a whole.

All, that is, with the exception of Weiss.

The first years were already in their Social Studies class with Professor Giollah, the second class of the day discounting Unarmed Combat, but she still could not shake the events that took place during breakfast out of her mind. Or, one event in particular. _'She scolded me,'_ she constantly repeated in her head. _'She_ _scolded me._ She _scolded_ me. _Me!'_

To her, that event was far more appalling than the fact that Jaune Arc had gotten into Beacon Adacemy using falsified school records. More than the fact that the others seem to be siding with Junpei and his desire to keep things secret.

Why? Why had Mitsuru done that? Surely informing the Headmaster of such a disgraceful deception taking place under his own nose was the right thing to do. She was just doing what was right, wasn't she? So why was she stopping her?

Mitsuru had always struck her as a strict, law and rule-abiding person. She tolerated no excuses – often displayed during their training sessions – and though she was far more tolerant and patient when dealing with others' shortcomings and failings, Weiss had simply seen that as a show of maturity and emotional control, something she knew she was still lacking by how quick she was to anger at times.

But with what just happened, she was beginning to doubt some of what she had believed regarding the red-haired young woman. Surely even her tolerance would be tested by Jaune's duplicity, and her patience similarly tested by Junpei's defense of such. And there was no mistaking Junpei's actions. Not once did he denounce the blonde's action nor had he, explicitly at least, stopped referring to or treating him as his teammate and friend.

And yet she was simply going to let it be? Simply go along with whatever decision the unrefined cap-wearing team leader made?

Inconceivable. Completely, utterly, and absolutely inconceivable.

Has Mitsuru's time with SEES, her friends – though Weiss _still_ couldn't believe that such a person could be friends with some of the more uncultured members of the group – dragged her down to their level? They had been working together for roughly a year-and-a-half now if memory served, a few years more in Akihiko's case. More than enough time to change a person.

Or had she always been that kind of person? Had Weiss simply misjudged Mitsuru, and even SEES as a whole, during their first few meetings? It was certainly possible.

Besides the redhead's actions and bearing the day before the Initiation, the fact that she was an heiress, albeit a former one, had most likely caused her to see Mitsuru as the ideal she wanted to become based on her own personal judgement. Yes, perhaps that was where she went wrong.

It was like a newly born lion cub opening its eyes for the first time and seeing a fierce tiger, mistaking it for its parent simply because of a few physical similarities. Though similar, they were ultimately two different species. In their case, just because both were raised as the heiress to their respective families did not mean that their way of life was the same.

Thinking back, Mitsuru had called that one deceased young man – Shinjiro Aragaki if she remembered right – a friend, despite the fact that he had been little more than a hoodlum prior to and even during and after his time in SEES. What right-minded person would consort with such people? Acquiring his aid was one thing, but befriending such a man?

Weiss resisted the urge to nibble on the end of her pen, a habit that she had long since gotten rid of. At least, she thought she did. The situation must be more stressful than she thought if her body was slowly falling back on habits she had not done in nearly a decade.

Glancing to her left as discreetly as she could, she frowned. Junpei barely looked like he was paying attention to Professor Giollah's lecture on the Kingdom of Vale's economy and how it had changed in recent times, a follow-up to the previous week's lectures on the political changes. Even now, especially now, she could not fathom how he had become the leader.

His performance in his academic classes was just a tiny sliver above the class average. His combat ability, without his Persona, was just slightly higher than that, although it was dropping slightly. Slowly, but ever so surely. Chidori had far better grades in class though her combat scores were lower. And the less said about Jaune's performance in either case the better.

Pyrrha, on the other hand, lived up to her reputation as both Sanctum's top graduate and the Invincible Girl. Near the top of their class in academics, topped only by four others which included Mitsuru and Weiss, and tied for the top in combat – Aigis's victories really shouldn't count due to her being an android.

Among the four members of JACN, she was clearly the most capable in every aspect. So why did the Headmaster choose that dunce Junpei to lead them?

Given the other options on Team KYBT, Mitsuru was clearly the best choice on her team despite Weiss's recent misgivings. On Team ANKR, Akihiko was a decent choice as a leader as the only option was Ren, who tended to blend into the background too much for her to see him as a good leader. Aigis… Weiss could grudgingly admit that, from a tactical standpoint at least, placing a living computer at the helm was an excellent idea. She did not like the fact that she answered to a machine, but there was no denying the android's observational and analytical abilities, a powerful asset in any combat situation.

So again, why? Why Junpei? Why choose him over someone as clearly accomplished and distinguished as Pyrrha? It was like having a first-year student lead a team of soldiers into battle while placing the ranking officer under his command as well.

Weiss held back a growl at her thoughts, pulling her eyes away from the buzz-cut-haired teen. Instead, she glanced to her right where Mitsuru was, as expected, listening intently to the lecture while occasionally taking notes. She may be having doubts, but she still respected the redhead greatly.

Her musings were cut short by the ringing of the bell, signaling the end of the class. As had been drilled into them by half their teachers, nobody made a move to stand just yet, though they all began to pack away their things.

Professor Giollah's deep, rumbling voice rang out across the room, easily drowning out the voices of a few chattering students. "Alright, we'll continue this discussion on Thursday so I expect you all to read ahead. Expect me to call on each of you at least once to see if you did. Anyone who fails to answer gets double the homework on that day. Dismissed."

Faunus or not, Weiss could find little fault with their teacher. He knew his subject well and knew how to teach. And given the topics they covered, he had also expected them to keep up with recent news, local and intercontinental. He had, on more than one occasion, required essays with topics derived from recent events to make sure they kept up with that long-term assignment.

Still, that didn't mean she wouldn't keep an eye on him, or any of the other faunus in the school for that matter. And while not a faunus, she had also been observing Aigis, though the observation time dedicated to the android had increased recently.

Not long after their call, Winter had gotten permission from her superiors and had set up Weiss with three contacts within the Atlesian military. One was an engineer, another was a programmer, and another was an Aura specialist. She had spoken with each of them at length at least twice each, explaining her situation – in the same way she explained things to Winter of course – and learning from them in turn.

It was a little difficult balancing her academics – which were surprisingly more challenging than she had expected despite her already high expectations from Beacon Academy – with her extracurricular lessons and readings on androids and AI, but she was determined if nothing else. And now, she was using what little she had learned to try and understand Aigis's programming better.

The blonde android was speaking with Mitsuru about something. In response, Mitsuru turned to her team and said something to them just as Aigis did the same with Ruby and Fuuka. Then together, the blonde and the redhead left the room while the members of their respective teams waited for the rest of their friends to get ready.

She briefly debated chasing after the departing pair but the fact that the two were separating from the group clearly meant it was a private affair. With a sigh, she rose from her seat and made her way down to her partner. She may not be able to bear witness to their conversation, but there was more than one way to gather information.

* * *

"So what was it you wanted to speak about Aigis?"

Both Mitsuru and Aigis were inside the Field Medicine classroom, as could be seen by various medical supplies that Doctor Blackthorne brought in the day before for the class to familiarize themselves with before they used them for practice.

Mitsuru found it a bit strange that Aigis wanted to speak in private. The ASW had rarely needed to do so in the past regardless of the topic. In a similar vein, the girl lacked the shame that came with discussing certain topics – one of which was the human body and certain… aspects of it, along with any related topics – so the red-haired young woman doubted it was of that nature.

But looking at her now, Aigis seemed distracted, almost conflicted, by something.

"I… I wanted to apologize." Mitsuru blinked. That had certainly come out of nowhere. "This morning I… I was unsure of what the proper course of action was. Between Junpei-san and Weiss that is."

The bemusement faded from the redhead's face and was replaced by a soft smile of understanding. "What were you uncertain of, exactly?"

"I…" Aigis hesitated, searching for the right words to convey her distress. "Junpei-san may not have explicitly mentioned it, but I believe he felt that Jaune's actions were… justified in some way. And yet, there is truth in Weiss's words that, as Jaune's leader, Junpei-san should have acted according to the rules and reported the infraction to the proper authority."

"Junpei-san is not wrong for defending his friend, and for choosing to respect the decision of his friend's sister. But Weiss is not wrong as well for wishing to uphold the rules that govern this school." The blonde paused again, looking down at her gloved hands. "There is also the matter of whom I should have sided with. Junpei-san is my friend, but Weiss is my teammate. Neither were wrong, but... it did not feel correct to side with one against the other. Yet it did not make me feel any better just watching them argue. I found myself conflicted. Unable to decide which of them is right, or which course of actions was correct."

She had already suspected it even before Aigis explained, but now Mitsuru smiled, knowing the exact problem that the artificial girl was facing. "That, Aigis, is the burden of leadership, of responsibility, and of life as a whole." Aigis looked up from her hands, her face reflecting her confusion. "You know by now that every person has a different way of seeing things, and that even people who have been friends for the longest of times may still find themselves on opposite sides of certain lines."

"Yes," Aigis responded with a nod. "Despite their friendship, Akihiko-san and Shinjiro-san were often at odds with the way the other did things."

"That's a perfect example actually. The difference here is that Akihiko and Shinjiro were childhood friends. They knew each other well enough that they could work through their differences. Sometimes their methods were… violent, but for them it was simply another way they used to settle matters. Junpei and Weiss, on the other hand, are simply acquaintances."

"And thus are unable to resolve their differences so easily as they lack the bond shared by Akihiko-san and Shinjiro-san."

Mitsuru confirmed her words with a nod. "Correct. Moreover, the two of them see the situation in vastly different ways. Junpei is, as you've noted, more concerned for his friend's wellbeing. Weiss is more concerned with upholding the rules and, possibly, the school's reputation. Which one is right, you ask? The answer, is that they are both right."

"Both?" Aigis looked surprised. "But how?"

"The perfect example here would be SEES… and Strega." Surprise was soon mixed by confusion as the blonde wondered why Mitsuru would bring them up now. "Strega, and even… Ikutsuki, believed that death was a form of salvation. That humanity was not a race worth saving. Their belief stemmed from their own past experiences. Their belief is an anathema to us in SEES, who still believe that there is hope that humanity can be saved and is worth saving."

"While complete opposites, neither side is completely wrong." Aigis still looked understandably confused. Perhaps even more so now. After all, why would Mitsuru, of all people, defend such a belief? "Strega had seen and experienced one of the worst sides of humanity, the willingness to do anything and everything to achieve one's goal, even if it meant throwing away the lives of other humans in the process or using them for one's own purpose. We, on the other hand, were aware of such atrocities and yet it is because we have lived in a way that we can see and have seen what such drive can do when tempered with morality that we can continue to believe in the future of humanity."

"We are but the sum of our experiences, of our pasts. Neither the members of Strega nor the members of SEES chose which family to be born into, which people they would meet, or what events would happen to them. Perhaps in another world, I may very well have been one of those children experimented upon due to my early summoning of Persona." Aigis looked aghast at that possibility, and she knew that yes, had things been different it would have been possible that such a thing would come to pass. "But I was not, and thus I came to be on this side of that particular conflict."

"I… I believe I understand," Aigis responded slowly, trying to process Mitsuru's words and correlating it with the current situation. "Weiss and Junpei-san have had different experiences, and thus have different perspective and value different things."

"That is a simplified way of seeing it but yes, Aigis, that is essentially correct." She could see Aigis mulling over her words, but could also see that there was something else that was bothering her. Thinking back to the blonde's earlier words, Mitsuru could only think of one reason that may be causing her troubles. "You also mentioned that you were concerned about whether to side with Junpei, as your friend, or Weiss, as your teammate. But unfortunately, this is one matter where I cannot advise you."

Aigis wondered why Mitsuru was smiling when such was her response. "Am I… lacking in some way?" she asked with a small, sad frown. "Is there something I must learn before you can properly advise me?"

And still, Mitsuru's smile remained on her face. "It's not that Aigis. It's simply that you're already at that point where advising you would be more harmful than beneficial to you."

"Harmful?"

The redhead nodded. "My opinion on this matter is mine, and mine alone. Just as Weiss's opinion on Junpei's abilities as a leader is hers alone. As such, your opinion, whether to side with Junpei, with Weiss, or to take up a different side altogether, is yours and only yours. If I were to tell you what to believe in, then it would not be your belief but mine. And following a belief that is not your own will only lead to ruin."

"So I must discover the answer on my own then." Mitsuru nodded, her smile faded and grew sad at seeing Aigis's disappointment. "I see."

"The best advice I can give you is to take your time and carefully consider your own position on this, and any future matters," she told the blonde. "This is simply another trial every living being must face as they grow and experience more of the world. You are no different. We will be by your side the entire time, but this time, as well as many other occasions in the future, only you can make the decision. Just as you made the decision to 'live'."

She saw how her words sparked a small fire in Aigis's eyes. She was still confused, undecided, but that was alright. Her path was a difficult one and she had already stumbled many time along the way but here she was, still standing. And even if she fell, Mitsuru was confident that she would stand again and again. And if she were unable to rise, then she would have SEES and their new friends to help her stand.

Come hell or high water, they would stand together and, should it come to pass, fall together.

* * *

"So you two in?"

From the very top row, far from anyone else watching the fights down in the combat area, both Akihiko and Fuuka looked at Junpei with serious but conflicted looks. His proposal was… controversial to say the least and may very well put them into conflict with the opposing party. His reasoning, however, was solid.

"If it goes the way you think then yeah, I'm in," Akihiko stated firmly, locking eyes with Junpei.

Beside him, Fuuka nodded her assent. "I don't know if this is right, Junpei-kun, but it also wouldn't feel right to leave things as they are."

Junpei allowed a tired smile to appear on his face. "Thanks guys. My brain's been running since last night trying to think of… well, something. This is pretty much the best I could come up with." He sighed. "I was thinking about asking Mitsuru-senpai for advice but… it just didn't feel right."

Akihiko shot him a grin. "She'd have told you the same thing even if you did. About it not being right, I mean. This is something you should try solving on your own. Nothing wrong with asking for help like you did just now, but everything about it has to come from you and not us."

"Yeah, I get that." Junpei winced as one of the boys down in the combat area took a solid hit, sending him flying back and smashing into the hard-light wall before he fell into the out of bounds area, ending the match. He was glad that the other students were just that afraid of Goodwitch that they held back against SEES for fear of hurting them more than necessary. Any of them would have been seriously, if not fatally, injured taking a hit that powerful. "Anyway, I'll let you guys know tonight how things go. At best we'll start tomorrow morning."

Just then, Fuuka and Aigis were called on to fight. Understandably, most of the other students were excited to see the match. Not only was it the first doubles match of the Untouchable Girl, but her partner was also the only other person to last more than five minutes against the Invincible Girl, despite her failure at the end.

Once Fuuka left to join her partner for the match, Akihiko turned to Junpei with a serious look on his face. "You do know that this could backfire horribly if you've misread the situation, right? Don't forget, I said that you _might_ be right, not that I'm absolutely certain."

Junpei, in response, sighed heavily and bent over his knees, resting his forearms on his legs. "Yeah, I know. Still, I've gotta try. But I'm pretty sure I'm right about this. You always did tell me to trust my gut in a fight."

The silver-haired boxer rolled his eyes in response. "Only you would see that situation as a kind of fight." But despite his words, there was a faint grin on his lips.

His attention was now on the fight, wondering what strategy Aigis and Fuuka would employ. Or rather, what strategy their opponents would employ. He was fairly certain he knew how things would play out though. And sure enough, the moment the fight began, Aigis went in for the kill, targeting the better fighter immediately while Fuuka held off the other one long enough for Aigis to come to her aid. Holding true to her reputation, Aigis eliminated both their opponents without getting hit within the first five minutes of the fight.

Akihiko shook his head. Their opponents would have stood a better chance taking on Aigis two-on-one while letting their Aura take the brunt of Fuuka's attack. After all, they only needed to land a single blow and Aigis would have been out of the game, leaving Fuuka to fend for herself. True, Aigis was still capable enough to handle perhaps even a full team without getting hit, but it was better than going one-on-one.

Still, Akihiko had to admit that Fuuka was doing better now that she was able to fight against a larger variety of opponents. Her only failing was her lack of physical ability. But beyond that, there was little that could pierce her defenses, as shown by how she had held off the Invincible Girl for nearly fifteen minutes.

If she continued to progress the way she did, then Akihiko had no doubt that very few people would ever be able to overcome Fuuka's defenses.

* * *

"Hey Yukari."

The brown-haired archer looked up from her Scroll where she was doing some research for Professor Giollah's class. He had shown that he had no problems asking questions not in the books but directly related to the topic so she wanted to be prepared for his next class. She would have used one of the computers but the couch was far more comfortable than a wooden chair and her Scroll could expand to a large enough screen that she wasn't squinting to read the text displayed.

Approaching her were two upperclassmen she had gotten to know over the past few weeks since that incident in the dining hall with Cardin and his team.

One was Velvet Scarlatina, the brown-haired rabbit faunus whom Cardin had been bullying and, arguably, the reason why Yukari got involved in the first place. Not that she would ever regret doing so. The rabbit faunus – and for her peace of mind she was doing everything she could to not even think of her as a bunny girl – was dressed in her usual brown jacket, a long-sleeved one that only covered the upper-half of her torso, with a black, slightly translucent undershirt covering the rest of her torso, and brown pants. Over her pant legs were black leggings with wide, gold-colored steel bands with a similar material over her toes and around her ankle.

The other, the one who had called out to her, was Coco Adel, Velvet's teammate and leader of Team CFVY. She was wearing a long-sleeved brown top, a shade lighter than Velvet's, with a black waist cincher over it, and black trousers tucked into black leather boots with high heels and multiple buckles. But what stood out was the quality of her clothing. As Yukari had learned not long after meeting her, fashion was a very serious subject for the girl. Her black beret atop short brown hair, that one wavy lock of hair that was artfully dyed to gradually fade into a light caramel color as it neared the tip, and wide-rimmed sunglasses, despite being indoors, could certainly attest to that.

"Hey Coco, hey Velvet," she greeted with a smile, nodding to her two upperclassmen as they approached her. "What brings you here?"

"What?" asked Coco, playfully looking insulted by Yukari's question. "Can't we hang out with a friend?"

"To hang out huh?" the archer responded with a skeptical look. "I'll have to let Fox and Yatsuhashi know that they can get you into the library if they call it 'hanging out'." Velvet giggled at the reversal and Coco threw her hands up in mock defeat before laughing. Quietly of course, considering they were in the library. "Seriously though, what's up? I didn't think I'd ever see you here in the library after those stories I heard from Fox."

"Two things actually," said Coco as she and the brown-haired rabbit faunus settled down on the seats across Yukari. "First, what was that about this morning?"

The smile faded from Yukari's face immediately after hearing that question. "Oh, that," she responded with a sigh, collapsing her Scroll and placing it in her pocket as she leaned back into the soft seat. "Just Weiss being a spoiled little princess again over something that didn't even have anything to do with her."

"Princess Schnee huh?" The fashionista nodded with a small frown. "Can't really say I think much of her, or her family. Or even her company for that matter."

"That issue with faunus labor I'm guessing." Again, the second-year team leader nodded, and Yukari could imagine her glancing at Velvet behind those sunglasses of hers. "Yeah, well, I'm starting to think Weiss is the same, given how she looks at the faunus in school. But she hasn't really said or done anything bad just yet so I'm trying not to judge her too soon."

There was still that other thing she noticed but since she had even less evidence of what it might be about, she withheld the information. Moreover, that second problem was something best kept to themselves for the moment.

"As for what she was getting all worked up about, that's something more to do with Junpei's team. It's also pretty personal so I really can't say more," she said with a slightly apologetic look.

Coco just waved away the unspoken apology as she leaned back into the sofa, searching for the most comfortable position she could find. "It's fine. It's not like I was looking for something to gossip about or anything. I leave that kind of stuff to Team KRMM and their blabbermouth of a leader. Anyway, the other thing I wanted to ask was if your team was interested in training with ours now and then."

Yukari blinked, not having expected that invitation. "Us? Why us?" she asked with a bit of confusion mixed into her shock. "I mean, we're just first-years. Wouldn't it be better to train with other second-years?"

"For one thing, it gets pretty boring fighting the same people over and over and over again," came the nonchalant response, but the confident grin on her face ruined the tone. "Don't get me wrong, the other teams are pretty strong too, but when you know who can do what and how they fight, it gets pretty repetitive unless someone pulls out a new trick. So I was thinking we'd see what the first-years we got this year can do."

"I don't know." Yukari didn't bother to hide the hesitance in her tone. She was also doubtful of Coco's real motivations. The girl may be able to hide it well enough, but the uneasy look on Velvet's face told Yukari that there was more to the story than the fashionista was telling her.

It was highly unlikely that Coco had any malicious intentions towards her team, but Yukari had long since come to hate going into a situation blind or even just half-blind. While the situation now was far from going into a fight against an Arcana Shadow, it didn't mean she had to like it.

"Let me talk to Mitsuru-senpai about it," she finally said after considering the offer. "She is the team's leader after all and I can't make the decision for everyone." And hopefully, she could catch Velvet alone to ask her about this. She had nothing against the girl but compared to Fox or Yatsuhashi – Yukari still sometimes had trouble not laughing at the name – it would be easier to get answers from the timid faunus.

Not that she enjoyed things like that, but even without pressuring the girl she was still the most likely to give up the answer if Yukari asked while Coco wasn't there. Not unless it was a secret of some sort of course, Velvet was quite close to her team and wouldn't give away something like that even when pressed. Yukari didn't think it was that big a thing though so Velvet would probably let her know if Yukari explained that not knowing made her uneasy.

"That's fine." Coco smiled and nodded in acceptance, still leaning into the couch and looking as self-assured as ever. "You can bring your other friends too if you want. Might make things a little more fun that way."

The next hour passed with Coco trying, once again, to convince Yukari to go shopping with her to expand her wardrobe, Coco trying to get Yukari to help her convince Velvet to go shopping for a new wardrobe, and even asking Yukari if she had her eye on anyone in particular in the school. Still, as tiresome as Coco's persistence was, Yukari would admit to herself that she enjoyed the time she spent with the fashionista.

The week following their first meeting hadn't been the best since Yukari had been both wound up by Cardin's actions, and grieving for the death of her friend, her mother, her classmates, and everyone else she knew. Coco had, after that first meeting, approached her nearly every day, alternately trying to invite her out as thanks for standing up for Velvet, and trying to find out what was bothering Yukari. The latter once almost ended with Coco ready to assault Cardin when she thought that the boy had shifted his focus to Yukari.

Last Monday, when Coco approached her again, the first thing Yukari did was apologize for her previous behavior. At first, Coco just waved it off like she did with a lot of things. Then Yukari explained the reason for her behavior, which included the reason why she and the others had come to Beacon in the first place. Needless to say, Coco had her own apologies to give for being so insistent, but she did say that she still would have done the same things, if only to take Yukari's mind off the more serious matters. She just would have been less insensitive about it.

They didn't meet every day, but when they met, Yukari sometimes felt she was back in Gekkoukan, with friends who knew nothing about the Dark Hour and Shadows and were more concerned about exams, annoying teachers, and relationships. Similarly, Coco knew little of the true burden weighing on Yukari's heart and, asides from that first week, the two often spoke about mostly inconsequential things, sometimes while sharing a small snack in the dining hall or with the second-year's team.

It was moments like those, moments like the one now, that reminded Yukari of why they, or she in this case, chose to continue fighting even when they were no longer the only ones capable of doing so. It was moments like this that would keep her going until the very end of their journey. And it was the prospect of even more moments of a similar nature that made her even more determined to see that journey through until the very end.

* * *

The first time Junpei had seen the academy's training halls, back when they first decided to test out the room two weeks after they arrived at the school, he had openly stated that he had expected something far more advanced, technologically speaking.

On the floor in the middle of the room was a large white circle similar in size to the platform in the Combat classroom, along with a large white square that marked off most of the room. Possibly used to simulate a ring-out area.

The floor according to Fuuka's observations via Juno, was made of wood that was far thicker, heavier, and denser than normal, enough that most bladed weapons would probably get stuck in the wood if someone tried attacking the floor. Though blunt or concussive weapons, like Nora's Magnhild, would probably cause quite a bit of damage.

Off to the side was a haptic terminal which would allow them to access a variety of training regimens or settings to create their own training area. The white square marked off the area where the hard-light wall was set to appear, similar to the one in the Combat classroom.

The very basic setting would activate the wall which, interestingly enough, also included a door that would allow entry to those who registered their Scrolls via the terminal, letting the computer know who would be participating in the training as well as connecting them to the Aura sensors. It also served to prevent people not part of the exercise from running into the training area since all participants had to register their Scrolls prior to beginning the training session.

There was a marksmanship setup, which brought out holographic targets that could be set to be stationary or mobile. The targets would then light up where the projectile passed through it. It also assigned a score based on how close it was to the center.

There was evasion training, which brought out hard-light firearms that would fire on those taking part in the exercise. The machine would also cover their bodies in a holographic outline, which would turn red in the location they were struck. It could be set to end either when they were hit a set number of times, or even just once, or after a set amount of time has passed.

There were many various settings, even a pseudo indoor area, which created opaque hard-light walls to create hallways and rooms. Of course, that particular training setup was only available in the larger training rooms underground. Those rooms were at least three times the size of the normal ones and needed to be reserved ahead of time since there only being two of them.

SEES, of course, encountered one little problem the first time they used the rooms. Due to their lack of Aura, the computers had assumed they were drained of Aura and did not allow them to train. They had to speak with Professor Goodwitch, who brought up the matter with the Headmaster, who then had to program them into the system to have special permission.

He, of course, sent the members of SEES a message, stating that he was trusting them to be careful during their training since they would be unsupervised and were, thus, responsible should any of them be hurt. Having a small infirmary in the same building was helpful but not even they could reattach one's head if it were cut off due to their carelessness. It was a… morbid way of reminding them to be careful but it drove home the point.

The door to one such training room slid open as two people walked in not long after dinner. Junpei had to drag Jaune towards the training halls, literally so at the beginning since the blonde wanted to just go straight to bed. Now that they were there, Jaune turned to his team leader with that same tired, defeated look on his face.

"So why are we here?" he asked listlessly. "If you wanted privacy I don't think we needed to come this far."

But instead of answering, Junpei walked over to the side of the room where several benches were lined up against the wall. He sat down on one of them and patted the spot beside him, inviting the blonde to sit down. Once he did, Junpei asked him a question he hadn't expected. "Why'd you come to Beacon?"

"Huh?"

"Why'd you come to Beacon?" repeated Junpei, looking directly ahead into the empty room. He waited patiently, waiting for Jaune to answer, even if all he was going to say was that he didn't want to tell Junpei his reasons. But after a few moments of silence, Junpei sighed. "If you don't wanna answer that's fine. But… there's one thing I want you to answer and we're not leaving this room until you answer it." He turned to face his teammate and gave him the most serious look he could muster. "Do you really want to leave?"

"To… leave?"

"Do you really wanna go home, after coming this far?" reiterated the older teen. "Or are you just gonna head back home after everything you did to get here?"

In response, Jaune sighed, sounding as though he had just given up on everything. "You heard Scarlett. She'll be back this Sunday to take me back home. Besides, I don't deserve to be here."

"And why the hell not? You worked your ass off to get this far didn't you?"

"Work?" Jaune laughed derisively. Though whether he was mocking Junpei or possibly even himself, not even Jaune could be certain. "What work? Doctoring my sister's old transcripts and passing them off as mine? Stealing Crocea Mors from my family? Or maybe you're talking about how I barely did anything during the initiation. Oh yeah, it was pretty hard letting Pyrrha pin me to a tree so I didn't die when I hit the ground. Or maybe stumbling into that cave with the Death Stalker and being sent flying was harder than I thought. Can't forget how I nearly pissed my pants seeing all that Grimm at the end and barely did anything to help asides from not getting killed."

If Junpei bothered or disturbed by Jaune's slowly deteriorating composure and his open mocking of his own actions, he didn't show it. Instead, he continued to listen even as Jaune stood and began pacing in front of him.

"Or… Or maybe you mean in class where I barely know anything. Yeah, it's pretty hard being stupid isn't it?" Jaune had a small scowl on his face, though his tone remained openly scornful. "Not to mention how I'm the best in Combat class at being beaten. Oh yeah, definitely can't forget that. Victory's assured if Jaune's your opponent."

"And what else? Oh right, it's pretty hard work having the Invincible Girl as my partner. All I gotta do is let her fight and we win. I could just sit back and get beaten up while I wait for her to come rescue me. Yeah," he said, turning to face Junpei with his lips practically a snarl. "It's definitely hard being the damsel-in-distress."

But Junpei remained unperturbed, his firm, serious gaze looking directly into Jaune's angry expression. "That all you gotta say?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Jaune's sudden, unexpected shout caused Junpei to lean in surprise, his back hitting the wall, but his expression remained calm, though dour. "You think I like this?! Do you think I came here just to be laughed at?"

"Do you know what it's like to be the only kid of a famous Huntsman who can't fight?" Jaune's expression was angry, and his fists were clenched tight by his sides. "My father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and probably every single ancestor I have were all warriors. Heroes! And look at me! The only son of Aurelian Arc and I can't even put up a decent fight to save my life."

"You wanna know why I came here?" He was beginning to calm down, his anger slowly bleeding away to be replaced by something else. "I wanted… I wanted to be a hero. I'm tired of being the damsel-in-distress. I'm sick of being the one who ran away while everybody else fought and risked their lives. I'm fed up with being pushed around just because I can't put up a fight." Jaune's voice cracked. He was holding back but Junpei could see just how weak his hold on his emotions was.

Scarlett's arrival, her revelation of Jaune's secrets, and her decision to pull him out of the school, willingly or not, have all done a great job of damaging the wall. Junpei's words did nothing to patch it up. Instead, they only served to cause further damage.

"And now there's no point. I'll never know whether I could have been a hero or not." Jaune hung his head and his arms fell limp by his sides. To Junpei, it looked like a puppet held up by just one uncut string. "By next week I'll be back to my old life. Back to being the guy who needed his younger sister to save him from the bullies."

His tirade over, Jaune stumbled his way back to the bench before finally collapsing onto the seat, burying his face in his hands and leaning on his knees. He wasn't quite at the point where the tears would start flowing, but he was close. It was only sheer willpower that kept him from breaking down completely in front of his soon-to-be former team leader.

"You know," Junpei began, speaking just as calmly as he was earlier. "You never answered my question."

"H-Huh?" Jaune looked up from his hands to turn and face the other teen, confusion written all over his face. "Wh-What question?"

"I asked if you really wanted to leave." Junpei shrugged carelessly, as though it wasn't really important to him beyond getting an answer.

"What does it matter?" The blonde teen leaned back and slumped against the wall, banging his head lightly against it. "No matter what I do, or what I say, Scarlett and the rest of my family are gonna drag me back either way. Besides, Weiss'll probably get me kicked out even if I manage to convince my family to let me stay."

"Dude, forget that!" The cap-wearing teen's words were sharp, almost harsh, instantly drawing Jaune's attention again. "I didn't ask what they wanted. I asked what _you_ wanted. Forget what Weiss wants, forget what Scarlett wants, hell, forget what your parents what and even what the rest of us want. Forget all that and tell me what. The hell. _YOU_ want."

Junpei punctuated his words by jabbing his finger against Jaune's breastplate, which he hadn't cared to take off after their Combat class. The dull, lightly echoed thud of flesh against metal rang loudly in his ears as he stared into Junpei's stern gray eyes, eyes that never looked away, eyes that demanded an answer.

"I…"

What _did_ he want? Of course he wanted to be a hero but… was that really a realistic dream? His father, his sisters, his teachers, and even the accomplished Huntsmen his father knew have all noted his lack of talent in combat, the near absence of any potential whatsoever. What little he had was squandered by his inability to retain their teachings past a single training session.

But did he really just want to go home? To go back to that life where the people around him had to protect him from the smallest of threats? Where even his sister, his _little_ sister at that, had to stand up for him?

"I…"

In Beacon, being able to fight was the norm. Back home, in that little town of Domremy, being average was the norm. His family was one of the very few exceptions. Yet neither in Beacon nor in Domremy did he fit the mold. He couldn't fight very well, or at all. Yet he was far from simply average. An average person wasn't pushed around by just about everybody, even those younger than him. The average person certainly didn't need to have his sisters, both older and younger, acting like his bodyguards or, worse, his babysitters even at his age.

Which did he pick? Which life did he want to live? Or better yet, which path had less heartaches and disappointments?

He opened his mouth to speak, then slowly shut it. He opened it again, then shut it once more. Twice more he repeated this, trying to speak, to say anything. But twice more the words failed to come.

Beside him, Junpei let out a resigned sighed and rose from the bench. "I'm going back." He said without fanfare. Jaune followed him with his eyes as he began walking towards the door. "I'll only wait until tonight for your answer. If you don't have one then, well… you're on your own. Can't exactly do anything for you if you don't even know what you want."

Before Jaune could ask what he meant, Junpei had already left the room, the door sliding shut behind him just as the blonde rose from the bench, Junpei's name half-uttered before his voice faded.

With a sigh much like the one Junpei had let out, he collapsed onto the bench once more. Twisting around, he place a foot up on the bench while the other lay outstretched over one end. Then easing himself onto his back, he lay down on the bench until he was facing the ceiling.

"Great."

* * *

 **October 14, XX13**

Early the next morning, Blake was making her way to the Emerald Forest, where their next Stealth and Reconnaissance class was taking place. She wondered just what Professor Peach had in store for them that day. Would the students be the ones hiding? Or would they be the ones searching?

It had surprised Blake and Ren when they found out, after receiving their revised schedules after the first week of class, that Professor Peach, the tiny, child-like, pink-haired, Geography teacher, would also be teaching their Stealth class. Their first class had been even more of a surprise. One that none of them will ever forget, and one that had her past students laughing as they watched.

The thirty or so students who had signed up for the class had gathered in one of the classrooms as instructed the day before by Professor Peach via Scroll. Then just before the class was scheduled to start, a sleepy and extremely cranky student came into the room.

Her black hair was completely bedraggled, her blue eyes were surrounded by dark circles, and her uniform hadn't even been put on properly. Two buttons on her blouse were misaligned, the vest was missing, the ribbon was simply hanging around her neck, her blazer was half tucked into her skirt and was also inside-out, her socks were completely mismatched – one was black, which was most likely what she meant to wear, and the other was thick and red, possibly what she had worn to bed the previous night – and she had worn sneakers, one of which was still only halfway laced while the other didn't even have laces.

One of the fourth-year students had gone up to her to make sure she was alright, while everybody else approached also voicing their concerns. The girl reacted almost violently, ranting and raving about how teachers shouldn't be using students as messengers, especially so early in the morning, just because they needed a little extra credit to make up for a low grade the previous year.

Once they had calmed her down, just enough that she stopped ranting about Professor Peach's wake-up call and the unfairness of the situation, she brought out her Scroll, shoved it into some random person's hands, sat down on the nearest seat, laid her head down on the desk, and promptly went to sleep.

They had decided to leave the poor girl alone, feeling sorry for the girl and more than a little annoyed that their teacher had a hidden, inconsiderate, and almost power-tripping side to her. The one who had been handed the Scroll read the message out loud to the entire class.

" _You have until 7:45 AM to find me. The rules are simple. I am still on campus. My hiding place is within 50 feet of at least one building. I will remain where I am hidden and will not move from my current location unless my life is threatened for any reason. I do not have an accomplice who will lie about my location. Whoever finds me is exempt from one month of homework, including the first and second-year Geography classes with me, and will also receive a 500 Lien gift certificate for any one shop of their choice within the City of Vale."_

 _"Everyone is to search, and, should you fail to find me, everyone is to return to the classroom by 7:50 AM. Anyone who lazes about in the classroom or elsewhere instead of searching and anyone who returns late will receive a penalty. I may be in hiding but I will know if you attempt to do so. At 7:55 AM I will leave my hiding place and meet you all in the classroom. That is all. Happy hunting."_

Needless to say, everyone scrambled as soon as they had the full message. Some had formed teams, though no more than three or four since the prize would then be severely reduced in value once divided, but most had gone off on their own. Ren and Blake had teamed up and began searching the school with the others.

For nearly two hours the thirty plus students ran wildly around the campus, searching every nook and cranny, opening every single door they could open and entering every accessible room, and even getting permission from various staff members to search through staff-only areas. Some had even returned to search the classroom, making sure that their teacher had not hidden herself in the room prior to their arrival that morning.

After about an hour, more and more students were waking and began wandering the school as well. Some had even taken the time to watch the spectacle. Those who were searching often had to reassure their fellow schoolmates that there was no emergency and that it was, strange as it was, part of their class.

When time finally ran out, they all returned to the classroom, disappointed and a little discouraged by their failure. They all took their seats in the room, the upper years making sure that nobody disturbed the still sleeping student, though they resolved to wake her if she failed to do so by the time the class ended.

Just before their teacher was scheduled to return, the slumbering girl woke up. And after apologizing for her rude behavior, she rose from her seat, walked to the front of the class with a huge smile on her face – looking nothing at all like the sleep-deprived student that had walked in earlier – and pulled off her wig to reveal pink hair just as the clock on the wall struck 7:55 AM.

Needless to say, there were a lot of gaping mouths and wide-eyed looks of shock and disbelief at Professor Peach's grand reveal. Before they had recovered, their teacher had also removed her contact lenses, revealing her violet eyes, and had fixed up the uniform she was wearing to make herself more presentable. The sight of her in a school uniform, however, caused a variety of reactions from both the male and female students of the class for a variety of reasons.

Blake shook her head and smiled wryly at the memory. That had been the beginning of a very interesting series of classes. Afterwards, she had given them homework in the form of an essay detailing why they failed to find her and why she managed to hide successfully. Then she explained how their class that evening would be held. The same exercise would be done but this time, they would be the ones hiding.

The rules were similar but were tweaked slightly.

She would be in the staff room by seven that night, right after she ate dinner, and would remain there until nine, when their evening Stealth class would officially begin. In that two-hour period, or even before that if they so wished, they could hide anywhere they wanted provided they remained within fifty feet of any building, meaning they could not hide in the forest but they could hide outdoors if they wanted to. They could not have an accomplice from outside the class, but those within the class could lie and misdirect her as necessary to increase someone else's chances of remaining hidden. Once nine o'clock came, they were to remain in place and would not be allowed to switch hiding places any more.

She would have the same amount of time, one hour and forty-five minutes, to search for all thirty-three students. Afterwards, she would proceed to the classroom within the next five minutes and wait there. After another five minutes, they would leave their hiding places and join her in the classroom. The prize? A 500 Lien gift certificate to _each_ student she failed to find.

Everyone tried their best. Everyone pulled off every trick they could think of. Hiding in obvious but overlooked places, using costumes and disguises to make themselves harder to spot, sneaking into unauthorized areas, and even going so far as to sneak into the staff room and hiding there before Professor Peach went in.

Yet each and every one of them failed completely and utterly. Not only had she found them before the first hour had passed, but she had also called out their names and hiding places _before_ she spotted them visually. Some had tried to remain silent, hoping it had been a bluff, but she would then expose their hiding places to show that, no, it was not a bluff.

Similar to that morning, she had assigned them all another essay to write. This time, they were to write about why they failed to hide and how they think she managed to find them.

After that, the Stealth and Recon class became Blake's favorite out of all her classes. Every meeting after those two exercises had focused on their essays and the theories behind stealth and recon, comparing their experiences with theory. Though the diminutive and mischievous teacher had yet to explain how she found them all in such a short amount of time, much to the class's annoyance.

With more than thirty of them, it meant she had spent less than two minutes per student. Given that they had hidden all over the school – indoors, outdoors, within the walls, floors and ceilings, inside furniture, the highest point of Beacon Tower they could reach, and someone had even hidden inside the elevator shaft of Beacon Tower – and avoided hiding near a classmate, it also meant she scoured practically the entire school in less than an hour all on her own.

Any misgivings they had about the pink-haired teacher disappeared after that unbelievable display.

As Blake walked through the forest path leading to the cliffs where the class was scheduled to meet, her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of steel clashing against steel a little ways to the side. It was rare that someone was awake this early to train, especially combat training. Akihiko and Pyrrha only woke up early to exercise rather than to train.

' _It's still early and I have a little time.'_ Curiosity taking over, Blake decided to follow the sounds.

The sharp ringing and rasping of steel striking and sliding off one another grew progressively louder as she approached. The sound of two male voices, grunting and groaning also reached her ears after a certain point. Then came the sound of rustling grass and leaves caused by their movements. More than once, she heard someone falling to the ground but the fighting did not stop there. Either the attacker was relentless, or the one who had fallen over was determined to keep fighting.

She slowed her movements just as the clearing came into view. No need to surprise them, or be surprised if their fight drew close before she had time to react. As she moved around the trees and shrubs in the way, she held in a breath of surprise at what she saw.

There, bearing down on a downed fighter near the opposite end of the clearing, was Junpei. He was wearing a sleeveless black shirt and jeans, sweat pouring down his face as he ground his sword against another. Casting her gaze down, she stifled a gasp when she saw who his opponent was. Lying on his back, his sword held parallel to the ground in front of him and blocking Junpei's katana using the flat of his blade, was none other than Jaune.

Seeing that he wouldn't be able to overpower Jaune, not with one of his hands pushing against the opposite side of Crocea Mors, Junpei quickly pulled back his sword, raised his foot, and stomped down. The foot made contact with his abdomen, just above his belt, causing his to curl forward and gasp out as the air was driven from his lungs. "Don't just lie there like an idiot!" Junpei followed up by kicking Jaune's unprotected side, causing his to go rolling away.

"Get up!" Junpei snarled, walking after the blonde with his sword in hand.

Jaune attempted to comply but could only push himself onto his knees, right hand wrapped around his abdomen, cradling the area where he had been stomped on and kicked. His sword lay on the ground next to him while his left hand, the shield strapped to his arm, helped keep him steady. And despite the pitiful sight, Junpei continued to approach.

Blake didn't know what was going on, but she knew what she had to do. "Sto-" A hand clamped down on her wrist before she could even take a single step out into the clearing and pulled her back into the forest. "Wha-"

"Sshhhh!" The shushing sound did its job of silencing the black-haired faunus, though mostly because of how unexpected it was. That and the fact that it was Akihiko who had grabbed and shushed her. Next to him, watching the one-sided beat down, was Fuuka.

"Wha-" Her attempt to speak was silenced once more by a stern look accompanied by a finger rising up in front of the boxer's lips. Taking the hint, she nodded and lowered her voice. "What's going on? Why is he doing this? I thought he wasn't mad at Jaune."

Rather than answer, Akihiko jerked his head away from the fight before walking off, careful to avoid making too much noise. Blake hesitated to leave, especially when Junpei's blade met Jaune's shield, followed by a swift kick that struck Jaune's shin. But seeing Fuuka, of all people, watching the fight without a peep was slightly reassuring. She was not one to allow such things, not without good reason. A very, very good reason.

And so, reluctant though she might be, she slowly followed Akihiko, making significantly less noise than the older teen. Once they were a fair distance away, she opened her mouth to ask but was interrupted once again – that was beginning to get very annoying – this time by a raised hand.

"I can't really answer all your questions, not yet," he said, cutting her off. "All I can say is that Junpei tried thinking of a way to help Jaune and this is what he came up with."

"What? Beating him half to death?" Blake spat out, unable to believe that the carefree and laidback teen had thought of such a thing.

"Jaune asked for this," he responded with bared teeth. "And I mean that literally." Her doubt must have shown since Akihiko sighed. "Look, all you need to know right now is that Junpei spoke with Jaune last night. I made him promise, at least, to warn Jaune that the help he was going to get was going to be hard and painful, and that we weren't going to let him back out once he started. I honestly have my doubts as to whether this plan of his will work as he expects, but I trust Junpei. And I know he won't intentionally do anything that will make the situation worse."

"And beating him up like that will make things better?"

"If Jaune's situation is what Junpei thinks it is then yes, it might."

"Might?" The disbelief in her tone couldn't have been more obvious or more present. "You're betting everything on something that isn't even certain?"

"Nothing in life is ever certain," was the boxer's calm response. "Not until it comes to pass. You can stack the odds in your favor but even at the best of times there's that one in a million chance of getting screwed over." He held one hand out slightly to the left, the palms facing up, then mirrored it with his right hand when he spoke again. "Just as there's a one in a million chance of something good happening when the odds are against you."

"But how is beating up Jaune going to help?" Blake sounded almost desperate, as though it was her life that was on the line and not Jaune's future. "He's not the best fighter and beating down on him like that is just going to make him feel worse."

But much to her dismay, Akihiko just shrugged. "Junpei said this was the best way to help him."

"And you believe him?" she asked, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. "Why? Why would you let him do something like that? You just said you didn't think it might even work."

Ignoring the look she was giving him, he nodded with a serious expression. "Like Jaune's sister said, everything that happens from here on out is all on Jaune. Junpei's aware that getting involved may get him caught in the crossfire, but he offered his help all the same. He let Jaune know he was willing to help, he warned Jaune that his help would be tough and painful, and then he let Jaune decide if he still wanted help. Jaune accepted."

"As for why Junpei decided to get involved, that's for him to share, not me." Akihiko made to rejoin Fuuka but paused after a few steps and turned his body halfway to face Blake. "I'll tell you this much though. Junpei has no idea how to be a leader. Unlike me and Mitsuru, he's never had to lead other people, whether a hundred, ten, or even just one, never mind three. All this is new to him."

"But even though he isn't mentally ready, his heart is in the right place. He's doing all this because this is the only thing he could think of to help Jaune both as a team leader and as a friend. You asked me why I would let him do this even though I'm not confident it'll work. The answer's simple. Even though we have our doubts, sometimes the best we can do," he began as he turned back towards where the sound of fighting was coming from and walked away, "Is trust in our friends."

* * *

"Hey Jaune, don't forget we're training again later. We'll be using the training rooms this time."

The blonde resisted the urge to shudder at Junpei's reminder as he ate his lunch, Pyrrha giving him a comforting pat on the back even as she continue to help him sort through his notes from their Grimm Studies class. The beat down he received that morning at the hands of his team leader was certainly not what he was expecting when he woke up that morning. And it was certainly not what one would normally consider training.

Unfortunately, he couldn't back out even if he wanted to. Junpei had made that abundantly clear the previous night when Jaune had given him his answer.

* * *

 _ **October 13, XX13**_

" _I want to stay."_

" _Could you say that again? I couldn't really hear anything."_

 _Jaune swallowed the lump in his throat as he kept his eyes locked onto Junpei's as they spoke in the dorm. The latter was sitting at one of the desks, studying with Chidori as they did every night. Sitting at a desk behind him, Pyrrha had stopped writing her essay as she looked up and listened to her partner._

" _I… I said I want… I want to stay." He tried to raise his voice despite his nervousness. "I want to stay here at Beacon," he repeated, louder this time. Even though Junpei was sitting down while he was standing up, he still felt so tiny under his leader's stern gaze._

" _You sure about that? I mean, you already look like you're having trouble keeping up with classes, not to mention the fact that you can't fight."_

 _He winced at the reminder but was also confused as to why he was bringing that up now. Not even half-an-hour ago it almost seemed like Junpei wanted him to stay. Now it almost sounded like he was trying to drive him away._

" _Junpei." Pyrrha spoke hesitantly but Jaune could almost see the confused look on his partner's face. "Why are you-"_

" _Hey, come on Pyrrha, you know it's rude to interrupt when two people are talking." Junpei's words were said with a small grin, with a hint of amusement in his tone, but Jaune felt as though there was something more to his sudden interruption of Pyrrha's words. "So what's it gonna be Jaune? You still planning on trying to stay?"_

 _A strange glint appeared in Junpei's eyes at that moment, making him look almost… sinister. "Never mind what you've gotta do to keep your grades up, you've got your sister to deal with too. And whoever else comes along this Sunday. How the hell're you planning on convincing 'em to let you stay?"_

" _I…"_

 _Again, what little progress he made by being able to admit what he wanted was shot down by a simply question that he should have already considered. Two of them for that matter. His continued studies at Beacon, including his combat training, and the matter of his family coming to pick him up._

" _I… well…"_

 _He saw Junpei shoot a meaningful look at something past Jaune. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Pyrrha was about to do something again, speak on his behalf perhaps? Or maybe just try to give him some support?_

 _That didn't matter now, however. Junpei was still waiting for an answer. And if it was anything like in the training room, he wouldn't wait long. For all he knew this might even be the last chance Junpei was going to give him. After all, everyone else had long given up on him. The fact that Junpei had given him more than one was more than a lot of others had given him._

" _I… I don't…"_

 _And then it happened. Junpei sighed, just like he did earlier. And just like he did whenever he was about to leave for one reason or another. He was either going to stand up and walk out the door, to get some fresh air or whatever he could come up with to avoid outright saying that he was giving up on him, or he was going to tell him straight up that he should just give up as well._

 _When Junpei opened his mouth to speak, Jaune spat out the first thing that came to mind, afraid of whatever his team leader was about to say. "I DON'T KNOW!"_

 _The trio in the room with him jumped in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden exclamation from the normally calm blonde. The volume, the sheer emotion in his voice, was far beyond what Junpei had witnessed earlier in the training room._

" _I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!" The blonde began to stomp around the room, his hand cradling sides of his head as he raged about. All prior hesitation was gone now that the he had opened the floodgates to his emotions. That small crack had burst wide open in the face of pressure. "I DON'T KNOW HOW THE HELL I'M GOING TO STAY HERE OR IF I CAN EVEN LAST HALF A YEAR, NEVER MIND FOUR! I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I'M GOING TO DEAL WITH MY FAMILY OR EVEN WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IF OZPIN FINDS OUT!"_

 _Jaune took a deep shuddering breath as he came to a stop at the foot of his bed with his back facing his team. "I just…" his shaky breath came out in gasps as he struggled with himself. "All my life I've been dreaming of this… Of becoming a Huntsman, a hero, like my family before me. I know… I know I'll… probably be the worst hero ever but… I can't… I can't imagine doing anything else."_

" _And I'm tired. I'm tired of just sitting back thinking things will get better. I've always been pushed around because I was weak. I kept telling myself it'll pass, that people will get tired of pushing me around if I just left it alone. But then…" He paused as a memory flashed through his mind. Dozens upon dozens jeering at his predicament, looking down upon him for his weakness, laughing at the pathetic person that he was. An endless sea of derision and scorn cascading down to drown him._

 _He bent forward and stretched out both arms, each hand landing on a separate bedpost to hold himself up as he bowed his head down in defeat. "But I don't know what I'm going to do. I barely know anything since I never went to a combat school, I can barely fight, there's no way I can convince my family to let me stay and even if I do, there's no way I can stay in Beacon if people find out what I did to get in."_

" _No matter how I look at it, there's no way I'll be able to stay at Beacon, let alone make it through four years."_

" _Jaune…" Pyrrha rose from her seat, ready to approach her partner to comfort him when Junpei cut in._

" _What if I told you there might be a way you can do all that?"_

 _Jaune spun around so fast he was surprised he didn't give himself whiplash. But when he did, he was met with a grimly grinning Junpei. The only word that slipped past his lips was a very articulate and dignified, "Huh?"_

" _You can do all that if you want," said Junpei, leaning forward in his seat and locking gazes with Jaune's hopeful eyes. Across the room, Pyrrha was also looking at her leader with an equally hopeful gaze. "You might just be able to stay."_

" _I'll do it!" The Mistralian turned to face her partner._

" _It'll be pretty hard you know." Then back to her team leader._

" _I don't care!"_

" _You'll be wishing you were dead."_

" _Anything's better than where I am now!"_

" _If you agree I won't let you back out, no matter what you say, no matter how much you beg… no matter how much you bleed."_

 _Jaune swallowed at that last word and hesitated for just a brief moment before screwing up his face in determination. "I… I don't care. I don't care how much it hurts, how hard it is, or even if I bleed so much I'm an inch from death."_

" _Look Junpei I…" The blonde shut his eyes, his head tilted back, and took a deep breath. He slowly let it out and opened his eyes, looking pleadingly at his team leader. "I've got nothing to lose anymore. If I just sit back and do nothing I'll just end up back home at the end of the week. Back where I have less than nothing. Just another guy with impossible dreams." His hands, slightly trembling and half-curled into fists, rose up in front of him and his eyes moved down to look at them. "If… If whatever you've got planned works then… then maybe I'll finally, finally, have a chance to be the hero I've always wanted to be. And even if it fails, even if I do end up going home in the end, then at least for once in my life I can say I tried my best, did everything I could instead of just giving up like I did every other time."_

" _So please." He shut his eyes and bowed his head as low as he could. "Please, let me do this."_

 _That was it. That was all he could do. All that was left was to see if Junpei was still willing to give him that chance, if his words were enough to convince Junpei of his own determination._

 _His breath was caught in his throat when he heard another sigh from the only other male in the room, followed by the chair's legs scraping against the floor. Footsteps echoed loudly in his ears, all other sounds fading away as he felt his team leader's approach along with whatever judgment he had in store. He flinched when a hand came down on his shoulder…_

… _and squeezed lightly, much like his father did when encouraging him after his past failures._

" _We'll start tomorrow."_

* * *

 **October 14, XX13**

Prior to starting, Junpei had reminded him that the training would be extremely harsh and unforgiving and even required a promise from Jaune, stating that he would do exactly as he was instructed no matter what it was. Considering he would only have to go through with it for a few days before his family arrived, he gave his word. Once he did, his new training routine began.

And what a hellish routine it was.

Repeatedly getting beaten down into the ground, getting constantly yelled at for every little mistake, fighting until his Aura was just a handful of blows from being depleted – not just getting pushed into the red zone but outright depleted – fighting Fuuka and attempting to get through her impenetrable defense while his Aura recovered, and then fighting Junpei once more the moment his Aura was roughly half full. That was what Junpei considered training.

He was only allowed to rest after an hour, and even then only for a few minutes. They gave him some water and a small packet of crackers to help keep him going, but they hadn't even allowed him to sit down to rest. Akihiko mainly watched, but during those short breaks he would speak with Junpei and Fuuka outside his hearing range.

And all that was just the start of what Junpei said was the first part of his new training routine. They had started before the sun had even come up, joining Akihiko on his morning workout, then searched for a clearing in the nearby forest for the combat training where Fuuka joined them. They stopped a little before eight, giving them time to wash up and eat breakfast before the first class of the day.

During the one hour break between Grimm Studies and Local Geography, Pyrrha tutored Jaune while they ate lunch as a team, their team eating separately from the others so minimize distractions. And after their class with Professor Peach, Pyrrha once again sat down with Jaune to go over the lesson. Combat class proceeded normally, thankfully without him getting called for a fight, followed by another tutoring session during dinner.

He watched as Junpei left the dining hall, accompanied by Akihiko and Fuuka, to prepare for their evening training session. Junpei had yet to explain how the training was supposed to work. Whenever he asked, he would either tell Jaune to trust him or, if they were in the middle of training, yell at him to pay attention right before knocking him flat on his ass or back.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

The blonde resisted the urge to sigh at those words. Pyrrha had been asking him that question all day, along with trying to get him to divulge the details of his training. Despite being the strongest fighter on the team, Junpei had opted to use her intellect rather than her physical prowess. He had even gone as far as explicitly prohibiting her from taking part in Jaune's combat training, using his position as team leader to do so.

Needless to say, Pyrrha had not taken it very well. But when Junpei threatened to rescind his offer to help Jaune, even blonde boy had turned to his partner and asked her to let Junpei handle it. Chidori was of little help to her fellow redhead, simply stating that she trusted Junpei, something the Mistralian should have expected.

She gave in to her leader's demands, but had not given up her cause. Whenever the two of them were alone, she did her best to try and convince him to at least let her know what sort of training they were doing. But, apparently having expected it, Junpei had warned him ahead of time and also warned him that he really would stop the training if he let Pyrrha know what they were doing. And so he had to convince Pyrrha multiple times to leave it alone. Which, given that she was going to try again, was not very successful.

"I'm fine Pyrrha," he said with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Just… tired, and thinking of what we're gonna be doing later."

"Jaune, he's not going to find out if you tell me." He had been wondering how long it would be before she used that line on him. "I'm just concerned. You looked really tired this morning and I'm worried that he may be pushing you too hard."

"Pyrrha I…" he hesitated, wondering if what he was about to do would be considered telling her what they were doing. "I… don't even understand what he's trying to do with this training. He says it'll help, and even Fuuka and Akihiko said so. I'm just… There's really not much I can do but believe that it will."

His partner looked down thoughtfully. She was still clearly worried but slightly placated by that little bit of information he had shared. Now he could only hope that he hadn't given too much away that the training would end. As much as it hurt, and damn did it hurt, it was his only option if he wanted any chance of remaining at Beacon.

Glancing at his Scroll, he noted the time and sighed. _'Back to hell in thirty minutes.'_

* * *

He was wrong. So, so very wrong.

Their morning session hadn't been hell. It was just a warm-up.

Not long after dinner, he had proceeded to the training hall, looking up the room that Junpei had told him to be at. Inside, he was met by Junpei, Akihiko, and Fuuka, much like that morning.

Very much like that morning, he fought against either Junpei or Fuuka, the two Persona-users switching whenever Jaune's Aura dropped or recovered. Unlike that morning, Akihiko and Fuuka would switch and he would find himself completely unprepared to deal with an opponent who dodged more than he blocked.

A part of him was worried that he might hurt the boxer due to his lack of armor. Or even Junpei and Fuuka, despite the latter's shields. The more tired he grew, the more effort he had to exert to swing Crocea Mors. And the more effort he exerted, the less he was able to hold back to ensure he didn't hurt them too badly. Then again, why was he worrying about hurting them? He had to worry about being good enough to hit them in the first place before he worried about hurting them.

Instead of a half-hour warm up and a two-hour training session, he had also gotten four straight hours of training. Much like that morning, they gave him a few minutes to rest every hour, along with a bottle of water and some crackers to munch on, but no more than that. And again, he had been made to rest on his feet rather than on the benches or even on the floor.

Jaune collapsed onto his bed, hair still damp from his shower but now dressed in his one piece nightie, the sight of which _still_ sent Junpei into a snickering fit even after more than a month of seeing it just about every night. Because warm and comfy or not, _"No sane teenager would be caught dead wearing something like that outside their own home."_ At least, according to Junpei. Pyrrha's comment that it was… cute… wasn't very reassuring for some reason. Especially not when her lip had twitched when she had said that.

Only the lamp on the bedside table between his and Pyrrha's beds provided a source of light in the otherwise dark room. Chidori was already sleeping, had been even before they returned from their training, while Pyrrha had waited for their return.

Right now it was just the two of them since Junpei had just stepped into the bathroom for his own shower. None of them were really comfortable with the thought of showering with someone else, so they always had to take turns.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

Just like the last half-dozen times she asked, the blonde held in a sigh and did his best to give her a reassuring smile. "Tired, just like last time, but I'll live." He was grateful that they never completely depleted his Aura, even though they brought it dangerously close. He may be battered and beaten at the end of each session, but never bruised or cut, the sight of which might have sent his partner running for a doctor, possibly with him on her back.

Neither one said anything after that, for which he was relieved even though he knew she was far from feeling the same. Both knew the conversation would end the exact same way as it had the last few times, but that didn't mean both were happy about it.

Jaune wanted to tell her, to ease her worries by no longer keeping it a secret. But finding out what was happening would only cause her more worries. Then again, she wouldn't have to worry since letting her know would end the training.

Damned if he did, damned if he didn't, and just plain damned regardless.

The best he could do was survive the training and hope that Junpei's plan, whatever it was, worked. That way, he could at least say that hiding it hadn't been for nothing.

* * *

 **October 16, XX13**

Two days later saw the beginning of Jaune's second stage of training. Jaune and Junpei left Team JACN's dorm room before the sun was up, joined by Akihiko and, later Fuuka, just as they did the last two days. Then it was back to business as usual, with Junpei viciously attacking and Jaune frantically defending. All the while, Junpei was shouting the blonde's failings whenever he managed to overcome the blonde's defenses.

"Just 'cuz you can't see me from behind your shield doesn't mean I can't see you!"

"Now your left's open you idiot!"

"It's not fighting dirty if there aren't any rules!"

Being a Friday, the first-year students only had Combat class in the afternoon, thus allowing the quartet to train nearly the whole day. Akihiko and Fuuka had to attend their Unarmed Combat class that morning so Junpei had to alternately play the attacker and defender by himself for the first two hours of training. After breakfast, however, it was back to the usual.

Only this time, they added a new twist to his training. Fuuka deflected another slash from Crocea Mors, violently knocking the sword aside and throwing its wielder off-balance. This, in turn, opened him up to an attack from Junpei, his katana sheath striking at the junction where Jaune's neck and shoulder met, draining another portion of his waning Aura and bringing it close to depletion.

The final change in their training, and the one that scared Jaune the most when he was told, was that they would no longer stop just because his Aura got too low. As Junpei had explained, _"The Grimm won't care just 'cuz your Aura's down and out. So you shouldn't either. Aura or not, you get up and fight."_

Combined with the new combat arrangement, Jaune's hell took on a completely different level as he began the most painful training session yet. Even now, he knew his Aura was dangerously close to running out. Fuuka most likely knew it too but she said nothing and continued to defend herself even as Junpei repeatedly attacked him.

Just as their training was nearing the one-hour limit, Fuuka called out to Akihiko. "Senpai, she's here. She's coming from the direction of the school."

Akihiko nodded. Fuuka didn't say who 'she' was but the boxer knew even without being told. He had expected the Mistralian would try to find out what was going on with Jaune sooner or later. Though to be honest, he had expected her to try sooner given what he's seen of her. Either way, she was here now. Without another word, he turned and left to intercept the redhead just as Junpei's Scroll rang out, followed by its owner calling for a quick break for Jaune.

He had only been walking about a minute before he met the redhead, who looked surprised to see him approach. Her worries and concerns were written on every inch of her body and he could see the way she tensed at his approach. Despite her surprise, she obviously knew why he was there, as evidenced by the frown on her face.

"Let me pass." The frown on her face grew worried as she thought about what Jaune must be doing at that moment. "Please," she added, sounding close to pleading.

He understood how she felt, but he couldn't let her interfere. Not with what he had seen of her during their group training sessions. "I can't."

"Why not?" Anger seeped into her tone and her frown melted into a scowl. "Jaune is my partner."

"And Junpei's your team leader," was the calm, almost blasé, counter that came.

"I'm simply worried about him."

"Knowing what's happening won't make you worry less."

"He looked ready to collapse after each session the past two days."

"He won't be able to stay if he doesn't put the proper work in."

Each one of Akihiko's seemingly uncaring responses lit a pyre of anger within Pyrrha. By the end, she looked about ready to erupt in rage while the boxer was just as calm as ever. "How is working him to death going to help him?! He barely made it into his bed before he fell asleep last night!"

"How is getting mad going to help him?"

"You…" Pyrrha took a deep, calming breath, forcing down the anger welling up within her. The neutral expression Akihiko was sporting wasn't helping, but after a few deep breaths, she finally managed to calm down. "What is going on? What… What kind of training are you doing? And why not let me help? He's my partner!"

Akihiko gazed into her eyes for a moment, searching for something she couldn't be sure of, before he sighed with a stern look. "If I show you, can you promise not to interfere?" His sudden capitulation surprised Pyrrha, having expected him to put up more of a fight. "Can you promise to keep the fact that you know a secret? Can you trust that we know what we're doing? That Junpei knows what he is doing?"

She wasn't sure why he needed her to make those promises. She suspected it was because she would most likely not like what she was going to hear and see, but she still held onto that little bit of hope that it wasn't as bad as she was thinking, that perhaps Akihiko and Junpei were simply overestimating her possible reaction to a simple matter.

Still, she gave her word that she would not interfere, that she would trust that they knew what they were doing. When that was done, Akihiko nodded and said, "Wait here and keep your Scroll ready. I'll give you a call to let you see the fight." Before he turned, he gave her another stern look. "If you have any complaints, or anything at all to say, I'll hear you out afterwards when I get back to you. If you come and interfere then Jaune's as good as gone."

She didn't really know how to feel about his warning but didn't have much time to think about it as a call came through to her Scroll. When she answered the call, she nearly dropped the Scroll at the sight that greeted her.

She didn't know when it happened, but she found herself sitting on the ground and leaning against a tree with her Scroll in her hands, the sounds of combat booming out of the speakers in the otherwise silent forest.

She watched, nearly numb with disbelief, as Junpei repeatedly struck Jaune, who was focusing solely on attacking Fuuka for some reason. She could hear Junpei shouting but she ignored it as she focused on her partner. His movements were sluggish, his guard was weak, his stance was completely unstable, and she could see his sweat falling down his face like rain.

And yet Junpei kept attacking. And _Jaune_ kept fighting. His shield rose up, stopping the katana sheath from striking his head, but the impact caused him to stumble. Junpei followed-up by ramming the shield with his shoulder. Already off-balance, Jaune couldn't withstand the assault and fell over, falling onto his back with a grunt.

Pyrrha gasped when Junpei launched a kick aimed at Jaune's undefended side, reminding her of the fight in Combat class the other day. Weak as it was, the blonde raised his shield arm to intercept the attack. The black-clad teen shifted the kick at the last minute, planting the sole of his shoe on the shield and giving it a hard shove.

She mentally applauded Jaune for managing to brace himself against their leader's latest move, the shield barely moving as he hardened his arm and struggled to rise. Junpei swiped his sheath sideways, aiming right at the blonde's head. But Jaune rolled away at the last moment, landing on one knee and ready to push himself up. Junpei chased after him, but, to Pyrrha's surprise, her partner leapt away and re-engaged Fuuka, striking repeatedly and futilely with his sword.

Why? It made absolutely no sense to her. From what she could see, Fuuka wasn't attacking and was focused solely on defense, playing to her strength. In such a situation the best choice was to take out the more pressing threat first, namely Junpei. Sure even Jaune knew that. So why? _'Why is he ignoring Junpei?'_

Again and again, he attacked Fuuka, trying and failing to break through a defense that even Pyrrha found challenging to overcome. And all the while he struggled to defend himself against Junpei's relentless assault. After watching the same, repetitive scene for about half-an-hour, the feed was cut.

The fight was still playing in her mind's eye when Akihiko returned. All she could do was look up at him and ask, "Why?"

* * *

Jaune proceeded to shower after returning to their dorm room after their morning training session. While Junpei was awaiting his turn, Pyrrha entered the room and approached him with a stern expression.

"I want to help."

* * *

 **And that's the end of this chapter. It's several thousand shorter than my average, but I felt that this was a good place to end this chapter. No sense making things drag on too much.**

 **Jaune's secret is out and Junpei's got him in a weird training regimen along with Akihiko and Fuuka. But why are they beating him up? Why is Pyrrha not involved? What will the Arc family have to say about it? Will the training work? Will Jaune get to stay in Beacon? Will he be taken home despite his last minute efforts? Why am I asking all these questions when I know the answer? Why am I still asking questions?**

 **Anyway, look forward to the next chapter as the Arc Arc comes to an end. Or will it? Either way, look forward to seeing the fruits of Jaune's training.**

 **As always, I'm looking forward to seeing what everybody thinks about the chapter. So tell me what you think please. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Despise it? Let me know and hopefully I can make the next chapter even better.**

 **Until next time everyone. Gonna go wait for RWBY Volume 4 now. WOOOOHOOOOOO!**


	12. Ch 10 - The Hero(?) of Domremy

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **VOLUME FOUR! WOOHOO!**

 **The first episode/chapter should be available to the non-members about now so hopefully I don't spoil anything here. But just in case, I'll keep spoilers to a minimum if I intend to bring up the latest episode for any reason. Like now.**

 **I've also seen Episode 2 already but, for the sake of the non-members who can't watch it until next week, I'll keep quiet about it and won't mention even a single hint. Though I'll answer the questions if you're willing to have it spoiled. Not sure why you'd wanna do that though. It's much more awesome to watch the actual thing. XD**

 **And on another note, I got another anonymous review that pretty much told me I lost a reader. With no shortage of inappropriate words and the like, they told me that I'm taking Weiss's bitchiness too far, that she wasn't that bad in canon. I doubt they'll be here to read my response but I wanted to share my reasons for portraying her as such.**

 **This might get a little ranty (okay, more than a little) so feel free to skip if my insight and opinion on Weiss doesn't really interest you and you just wanna read about it in the story itself.**

 **What little we know about Weiss's life** _ **prior**_ **to the start of canon (and before any Volume 4 episodes) can be summed up as such. Weiss and her father are not on very good terms. The White Fang's militant actions affected her childhood and home life negatively, thus leading to a hatred for the WF and a severe dislike for the faunus as a whole. She idolizes Winter. She disagrees with the path her father took the SDC to and wants to take it down a better path (I'm assuming she's felt this way even before her change of heart).**

 **I know I missed a few things, but that's pretty much everything major about her past that's been revealed. Nothing about her mother is mentioned. Nothing is said about why Weiss, the younger sibling, is the heiress instead of Winter, the elder sister and first born (though Winter joining the military might have something to do with this). If the position of heiress was passed onto her at some point, how did she feel about it? Did it affect how she was raised? How** _ **was**_ **she raised? What kind of home-life did she have beyond what was already revealed?**

 **There's a gaping hole in her canon history and speculation can only go so far. But even through speculation, I'm of the firm opinion that someone like Weiss would not have changed as easily as she did in canon. Some say she is a tsundere, nice underneath all that ice, but I disagree. She was a snobby, semi-pampered princess who** _ **became**_ **a tsundere.**

 **Not once, prior to her saving Ruby from the Death Stalker, did she show a nice side. Ruby knocks down her luggage, she demands answers uncaring that Ruby might have been hurt from the fall. Ruby tries to apologize, she insults Ruby. Ruby causes an explosion, she is understandably angry but she remains condescending. Blake recognizes her, she preens from the attention. Blake gives her opinion on the SDC, she gets mad. Again.**

 **She holds a grudge, as shown when she brings up the Dust incident when she sees Ruby again. The noise is getting in the way of her beauty rest so she complains, loudly and rudely, uncaring that she, herself, is now a cause of that same problem. She approaches Pyrrha with the intent to use her fame and ability to further her own reputation. She has an overinflated opinion of herself, calling herself the 'smartest girl in class', and treats everyone, with very few exceptions, as though they were beneath her in every way. She is not willing to admit her mistakes, pushing the blame on others when possible.**

 **And even after saving Ruby – which, in some ways, could be seen as protecting her own interests in that she would fail if her partner died – she showed little change afterwards. I honestly cannot see how that one talk with Port was enough to get her to accept Ruby as the team leader. I honestly expected her to support Ruby while secretly planning to either undermine her authority, making Ruby a puppet leader of sorts, or to blatantly outshine Ruby in every manner to prove that she is more deserving of leader.**

 **I've said it before but I'll say it again now just to be clear. I like Weiss. I really do. What I did not like was how quickly she changed. Even her opinion of Blake had changed too quickly to be believable had it happened in real life. Blake is a faunus, difficult to accept but she did not act like a criminal so acceptable. Blake used to be White Fang, she isn't a member anymore so it doesn't matter? Really?**

 **Weiss is more the type to grill Blake on what she did while in the WF, to try to find out if Blake ever took part in any operation that killed her family members and, consequently, made her life hell. And even if Blake claims not to have taken part in any, or even if she could prove it, I can see Weiss holding her past against her for a decent amount of time, keeping an eye on Blake for even the slightest hint that she may be lying about leaving the WF.**

 **So seeing Weiss change so swiftly in canon seemed like a waste. Not only could there have been more drama and team bonding as Team RWBY tried to help Weiss through her issues, but it seemed like a waste to come up with that kind of character only to change it so soon. It made me feel like they themselves didn't like how Weiss came out and decided to hasten the changes so they wouldn't have to portray her in that manner anymore.**

 **Obviously I wouldn't know if Monty, may he rest in peace, or the people at RT felt that way, but that is the impression it gives me.**

 **So the events surrounding Weiss in this story is simply my way of showing a more realistic change of heart from the typical spoiled princess to the lovable tsundere we all know and… well… love.**

 **I know that quite a few of you love how you are able to hate Weiss's character, but hopefully that one reviewer is the only one who hated it enough that they chose not to continue reading.**

 **Anyway, I doubt it's the last time I'll get a review like that, especially from the cowards who can't even use an actual account (or log-out when they review to avoid receiving a response from the author of the story they reviewed), but it's why I moderate the anonymous reviews and all that. I don't mind bad reviews, they're a valid opinion, but when they aren't constructive and are submitted anonymously to avoid having to talk about it and such they're nothing more than an eyesore.**

 **Still, I'm sure everyone's had enough of my incessant babbling and just want to know how Junpei plans on keeping Jaune in Beacon. So here's the next chapter. Cookie to whoever picks up on the little joke in the chapter title WITHOUT using having to search online for it.**

 **Quick warning, there'll be quite a few OCs appearing here, as you might expect, so prepare yourselves.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – The Hero(?) of Domremy**

 _ **February 19, XX13**_

 _Junpei raised his sword just in time to block a slash from his opponent's blade, but was unable to react to the follow-up attack that came not long after. He bit down a curse as a light spray of blood burst from his forearm. The cut had been intentionally shallow, enough to let him know he had made a mistake but not enough to make him pay dearly._

" _The first attack is almost always a feint or a set-up," called out the mechanical voice of his opponent even as his sword flew towards Junpei once more. Again, the attack was blocked. And when the second one came, the cap-wearing teen managed to pull back just enough that the tip of the blade just barely grazed his arm. "Better, but not good enough!"_

" _I'm gonna hit you if it's the last thing I do!"_

 _Junpei knocked aside another attack and lunged, thrusting his katana towards his opponent's abdomen. But despite his foe's considerable size, he was incredibly swift and nimble. It certainly didn't help that his opponent could fly with just a thought. His katana missed completely, not even managing to snag his opponent's clothing. Now completely open, his foe's sword flew through the air and cut into the side of his neck, stopping just as it drew a single drop of blood._

 _The teen froze, both to avoid further injury and also because he had lost the fight. When the sword was pulled away from his neck, he relaxed and sheathed his blade as he faced his opponent._

" _That was a good attempt, Junpei-kun. Had I been human then you might have won with that move. Or injured me at the very least."_

" _Yeah, well, if Elizabeth-san's stories are true then the people out there aren't exactly normal humans anymore." He paused, considering his words, before amending them. "Well, normal by what we're used to anyway. Guess having a Persona ain't that special anymore, huh Ryoji-kun?"_

 _The echoing, mechanical chuckle from the large form of Thanatos sounded forced and emotionless, but Junpei appreciated the effort all the same. "Perhaps. But from what we've been told, your Personas are still unique. And even if they are no longer as special as they once were, I don't believe you would exchange it for this… Semblance."_

" _Hehe. Yeah, you got that right."_

 _While Ryoji Mochizuki was still present mentally, the former exchange student had long lost that which made him human. It was only due to his presence within Minato that he was able to gain a temporary human form. And with that physical form came everything else associated with humans. With the passing of time, that small shred of humanity had long since faded. He retained his memories of those times, but Thanatos could not play the part of Ryoji Mochizuki any more than he could regain a human form._

 _He was Death. He was the thirteenth Arcana Shadow. He was the Harbinger of the Fall. He was the Avatar of Nyx. He was many things. But he was not, could not be, Ryoji Mochizuki._

 _But he tried. For the sake of the one who had given his life for the world, he tried. He spoke as he once did, flirty and full of humor. But his words were discordant with his terrifying form. He joked around as he once did, making light of every situation. But his mechanical voice and near monotonous tone failed to convey his amusement. Had he still been human he would have undoubtedly been sulking at his failure. But he felt nothing but acceptance at his inevitable failure._

 _But the bonds he had formed were still there. Countless years have passed for him, but for SEES it had been as though they had fallen asleep a single night only to reawaken in an unfamiliar land._

 _He and Fuuka had never been close, merely acquainted with one another through mutual friends. Yukari was his classmate, one whom he had flirted with on many occasions in the past. Junpei was his friend, one with whom he had spent much of his time with during his time as a human. Next to Minato, he was the one with whom he shared the strongest bond with._

 _A bond that had survived despite everything they had been through._

 _His human guise had been shed in exchange for his true form. His human allegiance had been discarded as he returned to his mother's side. His friendships were cast aside so that he may fulfill his purpose._

 _And yet…_

 _And yet despite all that not even the members of SEES he had not known very well, had treated him any differently. Some were wary, which was understandable, but none of them had treated him like an enemy. They spoke with him like they would with another human, albeit one with vast knowledge regarding Shadows._

 _Only Aigis was different. Then again, was it really different? Even as Ryoji Mochizuki she had been wary of him, knowing, on some instinctual level, that he had been the Shadow that she had been sent to hunt down. The Shadow that she had failed to destroy and was, thus, forced to seal away. No, it wasn't different at all. Whether as Death or as Ryoji Mochizuki, she had recognized him as a threat. She still recognizes him as a threat. And strange as it was, it brought him a measure of comfort that her treatment of him hadn't changed._

 _Perhaps it was as Yukari had said the day they reawakened,_ "Besides, it's not like friends don't fight from time to time."

" _Yo, Ryoji-kun, you still there?" Thanatos glanced down at Junpei, belatedly realizing that his wounds had already healed. "You look like you're trying to find out the meaning of life or something."_

" _I don't need to try. I already do." His flat tone and inability to express emotions via facial expressions ruined the joke but Junpei grinned nonetheless. "I'm merely considering your training and how it's progressed these past weeks."_

 _At that, even the ever-carefree Junpei had to sigh. "I know, I know, I'm thinking too much." He sat down on the grass before releasing all tension in his body, allowing gravity to pull him back and down to the ground on his back. "It's just… different, y'know? When I'm fighting Shadows I just need my Persona. My sword's pretty much just there for the smaller ones but it's almost useless when it comes to the really big ones. Never really needed to know how to use it asides from 'pointy end goes away from me'."_

" _I suppose that's an apt way to put it." Thanatos floated back down to the ground to Junpei's right side. He set his sword down to his right and sat on the ground, much like a human would. One leg was stretched out in front of him while the other was bent, one arm resting on the upraised knee, his right hand supporting his weight._

 _Junpei found it a strange sight, but as with all of Thanatos's attempts at acting human, Junpei appreciated it._

" _And now I've gotta learn since it's not just Shadows we might end up fighting, what with criminals having Aura and Semblance like any other dude out there." Junpei sighed, interlacing his fingers behind his head as he stared up at the sky. "Can't just swing my sword around anymore. Gotta be smart about it now and think about what I'm doing instead of just trying to hit something hard enough to bring it down."_

" _And yet thinking too much is precisely your problem," summarized Thanatos. "Regardless of who it was that was training you, the end result is the same. It is not that you are incapable, simply that it is not something you are suited for."_

" _Then maybe you shouldn't think." The new voice surprised Junpei, but Thanatos had already sensed their arrival long before they came within hearing range. Akihiko took a seat next to Junpei, ignoring the curious look he was receiving at his strange comment. "There's this training method I remember my coach used. It's… not really something that's supposed to be used on its own but I think it'll help with your problem."_

" _Seriously? Why bring it up now though?"_

" _Like I said, it's not really supposed to be used on its own," repeated the boxer. "It's a training method that's used to help train your instincts, nothing more. It won't teach you a fighting style or anything like that. And it wouldn't really solve the problem but… but I think it might help you get started on solving it."_

 _Junpei gave it a little thought before shrugging and grinning. "Why not? What have I got to lose?"_

* * *

 **October 17, XX13**

Akihiko and Fuuka watched from the sidelines as Jaune battled against Pyrrha. Unlike yesterday, when Akihiko and Fuuka were unable to attend the morning training, this time Junpei was in Leadership class and, thus, could not be present for the training session.

Still, Pyrrha was a more than adequate replacement. In fact, having her help out was the best outcome there could have been after the boxer had spoken to her the day before. Especially after she just left without a word after hearing his explanation.

In truth, it could have gone either way. She could have refused to listen and simply marched in and stopped the training, deeming it too harsh, perhaps even brutal. Given her combat prowess none of them would have been able to stop her had she chosen that path. Or she could have walked away, distancing herself from the training. But that would have also widened the gap between her, and Junpei and Jaune. While the damage might have healed in time, it was not something they could afford anytime soon considering they were still a somewhat newly-formed team.

Choosing to help? Even when she clearly had misgivings about the training? _That_ had Akihiko sighing in relief when he had heard about it.

Pyrrha smashed her shield against Jaune's, her other hand braced against the back of the shield, knocking him away and off-balance before following it up with several shots from Miló's rifle form, the barrel peeking out through the small semi-circular opening on the side of Akouó. The shots were absorbed by his Aura but the force behind them knocked him further off-balance. So when Pyrrha rushed in with her xiphos, the blonde was unable to defend himself and was struck down. Seeing her partner fall, Pyrrha hesitated for a brief moment.

"Hey! Keep going!"

The redhead shifted her gaze to the source of the shout, Akihiko. But in that brief moment, Jaune had rolled to his feet and launched himself forward, his sword already pulled back and ready to strike. Her shield rose on instinct, deflecting the blow upwards even as she spun in the same direction, her blade coming around to strike his exposed right side.

The attack lifted him off his feet. Briefly, but enough to send him flying. The moment he touched the ground, his unintended flight turned into a roll and transitioning into a crouch, however clumsy his movements might have been. Yet despite his clumsiness, his shield rose up just as bullets fired from her rifle reached him.

She rushed him just as the bullets struck, closing the gap in the time it took him to defend. Jaune could see her coming, just over the top of the shield, but he couldn't move away in time. He was down on one knee, having braced himself for whatever attack came. It was just chance that she chose to attack from afar rather than rush him sooner. Had she done so, his defensive posture would have been able to withstand the swift follow-up.

But since she had seen him put up that defense, she was more than ready to counter it. Raising Akouó, she rammed her shield against his once more. This time, he managed to withstand the attack, holding his ground and maintaining his balance. Unfortunately, he had forgotten one piece of advice that Akihiko had been yelling at him since the day before.

"The first attack's rarely the real one!"

By the time Akihiko's words reached Jaune's ears, Pyrrha had already begun to enact her plan. She had purposely crashed into the upper half of Jaune's shield, hitting it as high up as she could. With Jaune taking the lower position and her the higher, it came as no surprise to the spectators when the blonde angled the shield higher in response, unknowingly playing to his partner's plan.

Just as Crocea Mors's shield angled upwards, Akouó was pushed downwards. And with it, Pyrrha was able to lean forward just a little bit more. With her momentum from the charge, she kicked off the ground, twisting her body and flipping over her partner. Her shield slid across Jaune's as she launched herself over him, pushing her shield down against his to pin him in place.

Once she cleared the space above him, she brought her legs around to land in a crouch with her back to her partner's. With Miló in its spear form, she slashed as she twisted around, Jaune frantically doing the same as he realized that she had gotten behind him. As they moved, her confident, green eyes met shocked blue ones just before the attack struck his side, just beneath his raised left arm still holding his shield aloft. He grunted and crumpled, the power behind the blow coupled with his surprise enough to incapacitate him with pain.

Remembering Akihiko's recent reminder, Pyrrha reared back and prepared to press the offensive only to halt when the silver-haired boxer clapped his hands loudly, signaling the end of another hour of combat. "Two minutes Jaune, you know the drill."

Indeed he did. Despite the pain from Pyrrha's last attack, Jaune struggled to his feet and made his way over to Fuuka, who was already holding a bottle of water and some crackers. They still had another round to go before they broke up for breakfast. Meanwhile, Akihiko pulled Pyrrha to the side.

"Alright, he's doing well so far but you'll need to step it up," he said to her after making sure Jaune was out of earshot. "Hit harder, move faster, and make your plans less obvious from this point on, but make that transition slowly so he doesn't pick up on the changes. Push him hard and don't let up for even a second. And stop hesitating just because he falls or gets hit. If this training is going to work you can't give him time to recover no matter how bad it may be for him."

"I understand." In truth, she really didn't. Not completely at least. Akihiko's words from the day before made a lot of sense. But he himself admitted that it was purely theoretical, that neither he nor Junpei could guarantee the result even if the method was successful.

Her thoughts must have shown as Akihiko frowned a bit and shook his head. "I know how you feel, and as I said yesterday, that's why I told Junpei not to let you help. I understand that you're worried for him, that you care about his wellbeing, but that's not what he needs right now. Not for his training. I know I haven't explained why it has to be that way, but for now trust me when I say it's better you don't. I can explain after all the training, but until then just push him hard and keep the pressure up the entire time."

The boxer sighed and looked sideways to where Jaune was finished off his snack. "Originally it was going to be you and Junpei helping him out." That admission earned him wide eyes and a raised eyebrow. He hadn't told her when they spoke yesterday after all. "I didn't even want to be involved beyond giving Junpei advice and helping him plan Jaune's training routine. But Junpei was right when he told me that he wouldn't be able to pull off on his own."

"The basis of this training method he came up with started with how I trained him months ago. He might have devised this training routine eventually, but as it is he didn't really have the time, not when the deadline was in less than a week. Even Fuuka wasn't supposed to get involved beyond keeping an eye on Jaune's physical condition but since we're already helping Junpei we may as well make use of Fuuka's talents to help."

"You mean using her defensive abilities to train his offensive ones?" She received a grunt in response. Pyrrha got the feeling there was more to it than just that, but she didn't really have any way of knowing. "Still… Is pushing him this hard really going to work? He's improving but he's still far from what he should have been had he graduated from a proper combat school."

"Our goal right now isn't to get him to catch up in terms of combat ability." Seeing the suddenly doubtful and inquisitive look on Pyrrha's face, Akihiko just shook his head. "Don't think about it for now. Focus on the training and, if everything works out the way we expect it to, he'll be ready for tomorrow when his family gets here."

The redhead looked like she had something to say but Akihiko had already turned away and shouted for Jaune to get ready. Shaking her head, she allowed Miló and Akouó to fly into her waiting hands using her Semblance. Despite all her doubts, on thing Akihiko told her yesterday had been echoing in her head since he spoke them. _"Sometimes all we can do, is believe."_

* * *

It was a little past noon when Weiss stepped out of Beacon tower, having just finished speaking with the specialists her sister had enlisted to teach her.

So far, her independent studies into robotics and the programming associated with it have been going well. She was fairly confident that, provided she had the proper materials and equipment, she could create a basic robot with minimal aid. It would, of course, be controlled remotely rather than acting semi-independently, but that was still a step in the right direction.

She was no closer to understanding how someone could have programmed an android like Aigis, let alone how she was capable of using a Persona, their version of Semblance, but she knew it was only a matter of time.

She had even managed to speak with Winter for several minutes. Her elder sister had, as expected, noticed her agitation and questioned her about it. Seeing no real reason to hide it – it's not as if there was anyone there to stop her – she related the tale of how Jaune had entered Beacon via unscrupulous means, and how her team and those she had become closely acquainted with over the past month had essentially agreed to leave the matter alone.

The response she received was… unexpected to some degree. While Winter had more or less praised her desire to see the school's rules upheld, she did admonish her, however lightly, with regards to the fact that the matter had already been settled by the blonde's own family.

"While the outcome may not have been to your liking, you should take care not to overstep your bounds. Your friend, Mitsuru, was correct on that regard," Winter said to her. "While it is shameful that the boy's sister had made the decision not to inform the proper authorities, in some ways she made the correct decision. Not only would it force the boy to face the consequences of his actions, it will also allow his family to save face by not publicizing the event. The Arc family may not be as famous as they were compared to when the Great War came to an end, but they are still fairly well-known, even outside the Kingdom of Vale."

"And even if he were to admit to his fault, it would fall to him, and possibly the school's administration, whether or not his actions will be publicized and affect the rest of his family. Letting him know that it is his actions that will determine such things can be seen as a suitable punishment in some ways. As things stand, it is not a matter I believe you should be concerned with. Especially since things shall be resolved by the morrow."

Winter's words mollified her somewhat, but it was what she said afterwards that gave Weiss pause. "I am, however, concerned by what you said with regards to your new acquaintances. There is nothing wrong with defending one's friends. But it is another matter entirely when they continue to defend someone who is clearly guilty of wrongdoing. Take care that you are not influenced by such ways of thinking. Minimize contact with such people and, if necessary cut all ties beyond that of schoolmates or even teammates. After all, you need not be friends in order to fight together."

She certainly had a point, one that Weiss, herself, had already considered. The people she had become acquainted with over the past few weeks were, ultimately, of little consequence in the long run, save for a few.

The first was Mitsuru. Intelligent and highly capable in every regard, she would be a fool not to befriend the young woman. While they clearly had some differences in opinion, it was not something that couldn't be fixed in time. Surely, the only reason she had defended her friends was because that was what they were, friends. As Winter had told her just now, there was nothing wrong with defending one's friends.

After all, the main reason why they had come together as a group was because of their similar powers and circumstances. And it was understandable why she would be hesitant to break those ties now. They were all she had left after losing everything, the only ones left from her past. As such, they were the only people she could truly rely on in this new world.

Again, that could be fixed given time. Weiss would simply have to show her that there were other, better, people she could rely on now. People who were more knowledgeable, more reliable, more capable, and also more understanding of her highborn status.

Weiss scoffed at that last one. Despite calling themselves Mitsuru's 'friends', they seemed to be treating her more like a commoner than the noblewoman she truly was. After taking some time to sort through her thoughts the past few days, it became abundantly clear why she and Mitsuru had different views on certain things. While some were simply differences in personal opinion, the other more important differences were clearly a result of having her opinions contaminated by her friends.

No, they weren't her friends. Merely people who had used her for her status back when she had it. And though she could no longer claim to be heiress to anything, they probably still found entertainment in bringing her down to their level now that she had to rely upon them. Probably even the idea that she, an heiress, had to rely on lowborn people like them was more than enough to entertain them behind closed doors.

In time she would fix that. She would help Mitsuru return to where she truly belongs, help her open her eyes to the deception of her so-called friends. And hopefully, doing so would get the older redhead to join her when she graduated, returning to Atlas to raise the SDC to greater heights.

It was unlikely, though, as someone like Mitsuru would undoubtedly have ambitions of her own. But if the possibility was there then she would take the opportunity to see if she could obtain it. And if not, then at least she could secure Mitsuru as a future ally. Whatever the Japanese girl's goal was for the future, Weiss was certain she could make use of it to further her own plans for the future. She would, of course, return the favor. Someone like Mitsuru was more than deserving of being her equal after all.

Asides from Mitsuru, there were only three other people of note that she would need to associate with on a regular basis.

The first was, of course, her own partner, Ruby Rose. Despite everything, the two of them worked surprisingly well enough together. The younger girl could certainly stand to focus more on her studies than her weapon, but she was a decent student especially when one considered that she was behind them by two years in terms of age, training, and studies. Fuuka often needed to teach the girl, but that she could keep up was a miracle in itself in Weiss's eyes.

She doubted the girl would have anything to offer her once they graduated from Beacon, but for the moment she would need to maintain a decent working relationship with the girl. All bets were off the moment they graduated, however.

The second was her teammate, Fuuka Yamagishi. Fuuka was – leaving aside the fact that she treated Aigis as though she were human – alright in Weiss's eyes. She was a fairly decent student, though the fact that she was skilled when it came to computers and electronics showed that she was quite intelligent in her own right. She was a poor combatant when on the offensive but, as shown by her match with Pyrrha, her defensive abilities were top notch, hindered only by her own physical shortcomings. She was soft-spoken, which suited Weiss just fine as it meant the teal-haired girl was not likely to argue against her.

While not a high priority, she would certainly like to see if she could tempt Fuuka to accompany her back to Atlas. Her knowledge of Aigis's inner workings would certainly be a boon for Weiss's homeland, especially if she could eventually reverse engineer how Aigis was capable of using a Persona, a Semblace.

The third, and the one Weiss was not looking forward to associating with the most, was, of course, her team leader, Ai-

"Weiss?"

She did not scream. She most definitely did not scream. Or yelp. Or make any sound that would indicate her surprise. She managed to tighten her throat before a single note could come out. Besides, she was a Schnee. Schnees did not scream. Especially not in surprise. Better yet, Schnees weren't surprised… or scared. They were simply caught off-guard. That's all.

"Y-Yes?" She cursed in her head when she heard her own words, hearing the very slight stutter that came out. And when she finally noticed who it was that had sca… caught her off-guard, she had to clench her jaw shut – discreetly of course – to avoid cursing out loud.

"Are you alright?"

Speak of the devil. Weiss couldn't believe her luck. Even though she no longer needed to associate with many of her new acquaintances, that did not mean she would be able to avoid them. Not only were they her classmates in all her core classes, but her teammates were also friends with them.

But sadly, there was one person whom she wanted to avoid the most but, again, sadly, would be unable to. At all. Aigis Arisato. Her team leader. An android. An android that everyone treated as a human. A majority of those people did not know the truth, of course, but even so, that did not mean she liked seeing it happen.

"Why do you ask?" she asked in return, crossing her arms and raising her chin up just a little bit more. "Does it look as if I'm _not_ alright?"

"You were about to walk into this lamppost," Aigis stated plainly, her finger point at something in front of Weiss.

When she looked away from the blonde, she found that, much to her embarrassment and consternation, the lamppost in question was a mere foot away from her face. Had Aigis not called her attention then there was little doubt she would have embarrassed herself much more by actually walking into it face-first. But as grateful as she was, one little thing like that did not change anything.

"And?" she asked, turning her nose up at the android. "Did you really think I hadn't noticed? Or did you think a Huntress-in-training can't pay attention to her surroundings even when she isn't looking?"

"N-No… I…" The wince accompanied by a look of shame that crossed Aigis's face gave Weiss a tiny taste of sadistic pleasure, enjoying just how the blonde she had briefly looked up to was quick to bow down in a sense.

Would it have been better had they never been told? Or if the full truth hadn't been disclosed that day? The Schnee heiress immediately discarded that thought. No. Living in ignorance would not have changed anything. In fact, it would have been much worse if she had to follow Aigis's lead only to later discover that she wasn't human, or even a living being, at all.

Such a thing would mean that she was unable to see through her deception. And that would mean that her abilities, both as a future Huntress and as the future CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, were sorely lacking. After all, if she couldn't see beyond the façade presented by one living with her, how much more would she fail when faced with board members, business partners, and the like?

With the way things had gone, she could at least claim to not have had the time to properly observe her prior to learning the secret first-hand. She had only been in the presence of the mechanical girl four times before learning her secret after all. The incident shortly after disembarking from the airships, in the clearing prior to the initiation, during the initiation itself, and in the amphitheater while awaiting the announcement of the teams.

And she had hardly been in any position to give her more than a brief examination during those times. That, or she had been too preoccupied with more important matters.

"Well, whatever." She wasn't in any mood to deal with Aigis at the moment. Or at any time really. Best reserve her patience for the times when she absolutely needed to deal with her and just avoid her any other time. Weiss sighed inwardly at that. And she would have to do that for the next four years. Wonderful.

"Have I…" The heiress nearly bit her tongue trying to hold in what she wanted to say, and even had to hold in the growl that threatened to make itself known, when Aigis spoke again in that same hesitant tone. "Have I done something to anger you, Weiss?"

"Yes," was what she wanted to say. But for more than one reason, she had to keep that answer to herself for now. Instead, she turned to the blonde with a flat gaze and said, "Of course not. I simply received some ill news from home. I assure you, it has nothing at all to do with you."

There. That should be enough to get Aigis to leave her al-

"Are you certain?" asked Aigis, completely unaware of even a hint of Weiss's true feelings. "I have… noticed that you often avoid being in my presence. And when we are in close proximity of one another, you refrain from interacting with me in any way."

This… thing was going to burn out all her patience for an entire year if she kept that up. _'If she's so Dust-damned observant then why can't she understand that I want nothing to do with her?!'_ Again, Weiss stamped down on such thoughts before they could make themselves be known outwardly, whether verbally or through her actions.

"I prefer to keep any relationships I form within the school at a professional level, even within our own team" she responded, her face and her posture the picture perfect image of calm and collected. "Unless it has something to do with the team then I prefer to keep to myself. Asides from our studies, I do have other matters I need to attend to."

There. Given how overly polite Aigis tended to be, she shouldn't bother ques-

"Weiss I-"

"Oh, there you are Aigis."

Weiss would have sighed heavily in relief and started thanking whatever being was responsible for the intervention if it wouldn't have been completely out of character for her. Instead, she settled for making a mental note to treat Fuuka to something nice sometime in the near future. Not that she would let the girl know why she was doing it of course.

"Fuuka-san." Aigis greeted her friend with a nod, transferring her attention from Weiss. "Did you need something?"

Fuuka nodded towards Weiss. It was a simple greeting and enough for the heiress. By the look on Fuuka's face, her reason for seeking out Aigis must be fairly important. "I was looking over the data from the full scan we did a month ago and I came across something strange." She held out her Scroll, the green corners stretching as far as they could to expand the screen to maximum size. "Here it is."

Standing on the opposite side of the screen, Weiss could make out countless lines of what could very well be a programming code, or at least something to that effect. The girl's small fingers were pointing to specific line and the heiress could see Aigis's crystal blue eyes following the finger. Slowly, the code – though calling it a report or such might be more accurate given that it was the result of a scan – scrolled upwards, the words moving and changing faster than Weiss could follow due to seeing it in reverse.

She could see Aigis's brow furrow in thought even as the rest of her face expressed confusion. Fuuka looked hopeful but was also a little worried that the android was just as confused. Eventually, Aigis looked away from the screen. "Could you send a copy of the results to my Scroll? I will need time to analyze what you showed me and to determine what it is and whether or not it is something we will need to worry about."

"Alright Aigis." Fuuka went about transferring the data even as she continued to speak. "By the way, Ruby was looking for you earlier when we had lunch. She said she wanted to talk to you about your weapons and possibly modifying them, if not replacing them outright."

Fuuka shut her Scroll, the transfer complete, even Aigis was opening hers. "I see. Did she say where she would be?"

Weiss slipped away quietly as the two Persona-users discussed other matters. She didn't really want to remain there any longer than she had to lest she end up drawing Aigis's attention to her once more. Clearly she would have to rethink her behavior around the blonde. Maybe getting a little closer, on the pretense of working better as a team, would work. The essay they were assigned to work on for their Leadership class sounded like a good starting point.

Hm… Maybe if she sped up her independent studies she could offer to help Aigis and Fuuka with their recent problem. It would certainly help her own goal if she had a copy of any part of Aigis's programming, even if it wasn't the part she was after.

Regardless, she just hoped the mechanical girl didn't question her behavior again. At least, not before she could properly prepare a believable story beyond a simple desire to keep their relationship professional.

* * *

The sun had long since sank beneath the clouds and the earth and, as had become tradition every Tuesday and Saturday night, every member of SEES converged on the dormitory's roof to pass the time. And as was the norm due to their Tactics class, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Junpei were missing from the group. Their teammates had also opted to join them for a variety of reasons.

Yang had, upon remembering Yukari explaining that they met every Saturday night, joined them along with a more reluctant Blake. Nora had literally dragged Ren along when Ken left the room. Ruby received a message from Yang, inviting her up to the roof, and had tried to get Weiss to join but failed.

And finally, Chidori had invited Jaune so that he would not have to be alone in JACN's dorm room due to Pyrrha also attending the Tactics class. Jaune wanted nothing more than to die in his sleep after spending a total of ten brutal hours of training that day but Junpei red-haired girlfriend was very insistent.

And so there he was, leaning against the low, knee-high wall at the edge of the roof – why even bother putting up a wall like that if it would do nothing to stop people from falling over the edge? – and trying very hard to put the training out of his mind. Two two-hour sessions in the morning, each one followed by a one-hour break for breakfast and lunch, and then six straight hours of his usual training. They had, thankfully given him a half-hour break after the first three hours, rather than the usual two-minute break he got after every hour, along with a heavier snack, or a light meal depending on how you looked at it, to make up for it.

But still, he had spent almost double the amount of time training today than he did the previous days. And even so, he still hadn't improved. AT ALL!

He wanted to just curl up and die at the thought of that. Junpei had taken a lot of time to train him. Not train WITH him, but train him. And Akihiko and Fuuka had done the same. All three of them had gotten up at least two hours before they usually did, with the exception of Akihiko, to train him in the mornings. They rushed in between classes and meals to do their homework so that they could spend the evening after dinner to continue his training.

Yesterday, Friday, they had spent their free morning training him again rather than relaxing. And even today, they spent nearly the entire time the sun was up training him instead of doing anything else. Torturous and brutal as it was to train for that long, he was equally grateful and guilty.

Not to mention, Pyrrha had decided to help train him during today's sessions due to Junpei's absence in the morning. But, as grateful as he was for the added help from someone so skilled and incredible, it only added to his guilt that he had wasted her time as well.

A part of him, despite his entire body being stiff and achy, wanted to train well into the night, desperate to become even just the slightest bit better, for even the smallest bit of improvement. If he could show his family that he _could_ learn, that he _was_ improving, even if it was incredibly slow compared to everyone else, then they might just let him stay. After all, if he still had nothing to show, even after four days of intense and unforgiving training, then it would mean the end of his dreams.

And yet when he tried to convince Junpei and Akihiko to let him train that night, they brought up two very good points.

The first was that they didn't know when his family would arrive. Junpei had even joked that, considering how long he had been missing, they might even arrive right after dinner. Jaune knew he was just playing around, but he knew his face had gone pale at that thought. Either way, he would need to properly rest to ensure he was in the best possible condition to show off his – to Jaune at least – non-existent improvement.

The second was much simpler. Junpei, Akihiko, AND Pyrrha all had Tactics class that evening, right after dinner. Fuuka couldn't conduct the training all on her own and training on his own would be pointless since he might end up unknowingly undoing what they had built up, not that Jaune knew just _what_ they had built up in him.

And so with nothing to do, he went over what little homework he had left unfinished, aided by Chidori, before heading for bed. Or at least trying to. Before he knew it, she had grabbed him by the wrist and half-dragged him up to the roof, telling him that he needed to relax otherwise he wouldn't be able to rest even if he went to sleep.

That didn't even make any sense to him. How was it possible not to rest while sleeping? Sleeping was resting wasn't it?

Jaune's attention was pulled from his thoughts when the door to the stairwell opened, letting the four missing people enter. A bark rang across the roof as Koromaru ran towards Akihiko, followed a split-second later by a soft whimper from the blonde's right that caught him by surprise.

' _Oh right, Blake.'_

The black-haired girl had settled down a short distance away to his right not long after she and Yang arrived, a book in her hands. The reason she had chosen that spot was because it was close enough to the group that Yang wouldn't nag her to come closer but far enough from the main group where Koromaru was.

"You doin' alright there, Jaune?"

Junpei had walked up to him with his usual carefree smile, still dressed in the Beacon Academy uniform. The somewhat formal-looking uniform still looked strange on Junpei, even after seeing him wear if for over a month, especially given his buzz-cut and goatee. The older boy crouched and turned, sitting beside the blonde and leaning on the low barricade.

"I'm fine just…"

Jaune didn't really need to say it. Both of them knew what was coming tomorrow. Strangely, Junpei didn't look the least bit worried when they last spoke during dinner. And even now, with Jaune bringing it up, he still didn't look even the slightest bit concerned.

His words simply confirmed it. "Well, try not to worry too much. You won't be able to get any sleep otherwise. And you're gonna want to be in top form tomorrow."

The blonde sighed. "Top form huh?" He leaned back and directed his gaze at the slightly cloudy night sky. "Hey, be honest. Am I really ready? For tomorrow? I mean, you haven't even explained how I'm gonna prove to my family that I'm good enough to stay here."

"It's a surprise," said Junpei as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "And trust me, you're ready. Tomorrow will be like always. Just trust me and Akihiko-senpai and we'll get you through the day. After that, well, it's all you. I doubt we'll keep using this training, at this level at least. You'd collapse in another couple of days if we made it a regular thing, even leaving off Sundays."

Jaune chuckled. He certainly couldn't deny that. He had been able to get out of bed on his own the first two days, just barely for the second one, but Junpei had to wake him up after that. Even though he got a solid seven hours of rest each night, he still woke up feeling more than a little tired. Every single day that went by left him more and more exhausted, even at the start of the day. It had taken all his willpower just to get out of bed that morning plus a lot of help from Junpei and Pyrrha.

Maybe they could cut it down to one session a day? That would certainly help him improve. He still couldn't see any improvements, but if Junpei said they were there then all he could do was trust his team leader. At least they wouldn't need to rush it by training so much everyday if his family lets him stay.

That thought had him sighing again. He really couldn't afford to get his hopes up too much. Junpei and Akihiko might be more positive with regards to his chances, but he was still on the opposite side of the spectrum.

"Anyway, you best get some sleep," Junpei said to him, unaware of his downward facing thoughts. "Don't worry about waking up early in the morning. Just be up for breakfast. Can't really afford to miss that."

He laughed and voiced his agreement, rising to his feet and dusting off the seat of his pants. Nobody else was leaving just yet, but if there was any other day that was more important than tomorrow, it most likely hadn't come yet. He would need every second of sleep he could get given what was happening tomorrow. He may not really know what Junpei had in store for dealing with the Arc family, but Jaune could only trust in him right now.

He had trusted Junpei and Akihiko this far. He could trust them for another day, at the very least.

* * *

 **October 18, XX13**

Despite Junpei's words, Jaune found himself awake far earlier than he needed to be. He had tried shutting his eyes to return to sleep, but all traces of sleepiness fled almost as soon as he woke up. His body had probably gotten used to waking up early and now, the one time he had slept past that usual wake-up time, his body was telling him to get up as though he were late for something.

Unable to sleep, Jaune rose from his bed, gathered a clean set of clothes, and stepped into the bathroom, intent on getting an early start. When he stepped out of the bathroom later, dressed in jeans and a red shirt, he was met by a similarly awake Pyrrha.

"O-oh. Uh… Good… Good morning, Pyrrha," he greeted awkwardly, surprised to see her awake. But more than that, the sight that greeted him was not one he was accustomed to seeing. Not when it came to the Mistralian.

The sight that greeted his now wide-open eyes was that of a Pyrrha who, at the same time, was not Pyrrha. Messy 'just woke up' red hair, bright emerald green eyes half-hidden beneath sleepy, droopy eyelids, and an equally half-asleep expression on her face. Her clothes, expensive looking red pajamas, were ruffled and in slight disarray from use. The top button had come off sometime during the night and exposed just a little bit more than she was baring the previous night.

His ears, on the other hand, were met with a half-groan half-grunt response that could have been 'Good morning'. Then again, with the way she walked past him and into the bathroom without even glancing at him, almost shoving him out of the way actually, it could have been 'Get the hell out of the way' for all he knew.

Still, he paused and glanced at the door to the bathroom, half-turned towards it. Pyrrha was usually so impeccably dressed, always presentable no matter what. She always took a minute or so to check over her uniform in the mirror before leaving for class, making sure that not a single thread was out of place. He could only assume she did the same in the girl's locker rooms when she got dressed for Combat class or the other way around.

So seeing her like that had been quite… different, to say the least. She looked… dare he say, or even think, it… cute.

She was a beautiful girl, he wouldn't deny that but neither would he say it to her face. After all, Weiss had pointed it out to him the day of the Initiation. Pyrrha was famous, even beyond the borders of Mistral, known far and wide for her martial prowess and had been for several years now. And while she would be the first to admit that she was far from the level of an actual Huntress, anybody could see that she was leagues above anyone else close to her age.

Only Aigis could match her prodigious skill in class but, as Aigis herself had stated, she was built specifically for combat, unlike Pyrrha who worked hard to attain that level of skill. That, and her 'mind' was literally a computer that analyzed anything combat related and almost immediately integrates the newly acquired knowledge into her system.

He, on the other hand, was a nobody. No, he was worse than that. People knew him, but for all the wrong reasons. A weakling, a coward, a pushover, and, recently, a faker and cheat.

While his new friends have certainly been supportive of him, cheering him on after they heard that Junpei and Akihiko were putting him through special training, he knew that at least one of them, asides from Weiss, probably had a significantly lower opinion of him now that his secret was out. He appreciated them not saying it out loud, but he knew it was there.

Junpei, Akihiko, and Fuuka were confident that his training would be enough. He was not. And when he ultimately failed, those friendships would fade, and possibly even turn against him, just like all the others in the past. He wouldn't blame them for it. Who would want to be friends with a loser anyway? Certainly not his classmates in the past. So why would things be different now?

Surprisingly, what hurt the most was Pyrrha's reaction that night when Scarlett revealed his duplicity.

" _But I wasn't aware that he had used false transcripts. Had I known, then I-"_

He was a little annoyed that Junpei had interrupted Pyrrha at that point to calm her down. Had she known, then what? What would she have done had she learned the truth that day in the Emerald Forest? Would she have dragged him back to the cliff to report him to Ozpin? Would she have abandoned him then and there to look for a different, more trustworthy partner? Perhaps she would have remained his partner, only to protect him the entire time just as everybody else did.

He laughed bitterly. How pathetic was he that he would have preferred to be dragged back to face the Headmaster, possibly facing criminal charges, rather than be protected, babied, once again.

The sound of a doorknob turning shook him out of his thoughts, and he turned just in time to see Pyrrha take a step out of the bathroom. His hand rose to wave and his mouth opened, ready to greet her once more, only for his hand to freeze, his jaw to drop open completely, and his eyes to bulge out in shock.

Similarly, Pyrrha had frozen in place, eyes just as wide in shock. One hand was still on the doorknob while the other was holding up a towel. Or rather, _the_ towel. The one wrapped around her body. The one that did little to hide her curves. The one that covered her otherwise naked body. That towel.

"Uh…" His partner's face went from shocked to 'so red he couldn't tell her face from her hair' so quickly that she could have been that way from the beginning. "… Good morning?"

That seemed to snap her out of her shock as she suddenly darted into the bathroom, a hasty, high-pitched, panicky, and clearly embarrassed "I'm sorry," reached his ears just as the door to the bathroom slammed shut.

Jaune winced at the loud sound and glanced at his other two teammates only to sigh in relief. Somehow, the two of them remained asleep despite the noise. _'Thank the Dust for that. Wouldn't know how I'm gonna explain that they woke up because I saw…'_

His brain froze again at that thought, his traitorous mind bringing up the image that he had seen just seconds ago. Pyrrha, stepping out of the bathroom, wearing a towel. And _only_ a towel. A damp towel at that. A damp towel that clung to her body. To every. Single. Curve.

Jaune shook his head violently, trying to literally shake the image out of his mind's eye. _'Come on Jaune, think of something else. Anything.'_ He looked down, focusing on his bare feet. _'Okay, still need to put on socks and my shoes. And my bel-'_ When he transferred his gaze to his waist where his belt would have been, his eyes caught sight of his shirt. His red shirt. Red.

Again, that same image from earlier appeared in his mind's eye. Only this time, the center of his focus was Pyrrha's head. Specifically her hair. Red, much like his shirt. It was far different from what he was used to seeing. Pyrrha always kept her hair tied into a ponytail to keep it from getting into her face too much when she fought. And even outside of Combat class, her hair was styled in that same manner.

Seeing it the way he did, loose and actually reaching past her waist now that it was let down, was a novel sight. The way some of it clung to her face, while others hung over her shoulders and down the front, some of it even swaying into view around her sides... That was not a sight he was going to forget anytime soon. And thinking back just a little bit further, to when he had stepped out of the bathroom, he could recall that her hair had also been down then. Messy and sticking out in various places due to having just woken up, but loose all the same.

Jaune could feel his face heating up already. Again, he shook his head from side to side as quickly as he could to erase the image. He had something important to do in a few hours. Now was not the time to be thinking about Pyrrha. Especially not of her having just woken up. Or damp and wearing only a towel. Or maybe even-

"J-Jaune?"

He suddenly jumped back with a yelp, eliciting a short, stifled scream from Pyrrha when he did so. Both of them leapt away from one another, similarly surprised expressions on their faces. Both had a hand on their chest, as though trying to keep their hearts from bursting out. Thankfully, for Jaune anyway, Pyrrha was now fully clothed and was most definitely not clad in a towel.

Just as his thoughts earlier had noted, Pyrrha was dressed impeccably as always. Despite her simple choice of clothing – simple for her at least – Pyrrha looked far more mature than others their age. Her choice of a plain white long-sleeved white blouse and black slacks made him think that she was just a suit jacket – and maybe a tie of some sort – away from looking like an office lady.

"S-Sorry, Pyrrha," he stuttered out, though he wasn't entirely sure if he was apologizing for startling her or for seeing her wearing nothing but a towel. Both perhaps. He really couldn't be sure if he was honestly sorry about the latter. "I uh… I didn't mean to-"

"I-It's okay Jaune," came her similarly stuttering response. "I shouldn't have startled you like that."

And now he also wasn't sure what was 'okay' for her. Most likely the fact that he startled her. No way she'd be fine being seen in just a towel after all.

"N-no, it's fine. I should have been more paying attention." He tried his best to smile, to put her more at east, but he could feel the tension in his face and he was certain that it would affect his smile. "Can't exactly meet my family while I'm distracted and all that."

"N-no, I suppose not."

And cue the awkward silence. As well as the awkward 'look towards the other person then look away when they do the same thing' game. He couldn't look at her without superimposing one of two images over her existing form. And while he couldn't be sure, he was fairly certain that she couldn't look at him remembering what had happened just now.

"You know," someone said, sounding very amused. Turning to the source, both teens blushed a deep red, but also began to worry, when they were greeted by Junpei's knowing grin. "I'd usually say something like 'get a room' but then I remembered that this _is_ your room. And I definitely don't wanna see what you two get up to in private. But I guess Chidori and I could step out for a while if that's what you want."

Both Jaune and Pyrrha began to splutter and babble incoherently as Junpei laughed out loud, only to be silenced and knocked off his bed by a pillow from Chidori, who shook her head at her boyfriend's immaturity despite the faint blush on her cheeks that accompanied a small grin of amusement.

* * *

Despite their eventful start, the rest of the day was more subdued for Team JACN and their friends. Junpei, Akihiko, and Pyrrha were doing their best to keep Jaune's spirits up, who grew more worried with every passing moment. It was, on some level, amusing to watch as Jaune came up with more and more unbelievable scenarios that could happen when his family arrived while the other three tried to disprove the possibility.

It was a little after breakfast – though they had decided to remain in the dining hall for a while longer – when Jaune received a message on his Scroll. Everyone watched as he hesitantly, almost fearfully, pulled the Scroll out of his pocket and read the message. His face grew pale as he did, enough that the others began to worry that something had gone very wrong.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha leaned forward from her spot beside her partner to allow her to look him in the face, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Is… something wrong?"

Her blonde partner nodded shakily. He opened his mouth, shut it, swallowed – quite loudly at that – then opened his mouth once more to speak. "Scarlett just got on an airship in Vale coming this way. With my family." Before they could ask why he reacted that way to something he had already expected, he spoke again, his voice strained and notably fearful. "My whole family."

That… was definitely _not_ what they had expected. Some, or maybe most, was expected since all but two members of the family were Huntresses, with his father being the sole Huntsman of course. To have all of them arrive was either a great coincidence with regards to their jobs and personal schedules, or a sign of just how worried, or angry, they were over their son/brother's actions.

Jaune had, over the past few days, told them more about his family.

His father was Aurelian Arc, a well-known Huntsman who continued to carry on the legacy of Jacques Arc, one of many heroes during the Great War eighty years ago. He was, however, not one to rest on his family's laurels as proven by building a sterling reputation for himself as a man who boasted a 100% team survival rate no matter the mission. A stern but caring man who prioritized his family above all else.

His mother, Sephiria Arc, was even more famous than his father. A member of a team that once won the Vytal Festival two consecutive times, the first their second year, and then again during their fourth and final year at Haven Academy. While not necessarily stronger than Aurelian, Sephiria was incredibly skilled with a blade, far more than any other sword-wielding Huntsman or Huntress in recent times, and certainly skilled enough that her weapon of choice was a plain, if somewhat ornate-looking, cutlass without a firearm of any sort.

Together, they were considered Domremy's local heroes due to having protected the town multiple times in the past. Sephiria also held the distinction of having trained the town's militia. While they would never be on par with a Huntsman, or even a trainee, they were formidable enough with the town's meager defenses that they could hold off a small pack of younger Grimm long enough for help to arrive.

Scarlett was, as he had told them before, the oldest of the eight Arc siblings. She was, quite possibly, the pride of the family, having graduated from Beacon with near perfect grades as well as a near perfect combat record in class. And although it was not as grand an achievement as her father's, her Aura had never once been depleted on a mission.

Gwendolyn Arc, often shortened to Gwen, was the second oldest and was also the strongest of them all in terms of combat. While she was not the most academically gifted, having just barely passed Beacon's written exams – both the entrance and final exams – she was one of the few in Beacon's eighty-year history to hold an undefeated win streak in Combat class throughout all four years. She was no combat prodigy and lost her fair share of fights during training, but she worked incredibly hard to forge, sharpen, and hone her skills, putting in more work in a day than most students did in a week.

Sable Arc, on the other hand, was Gwen's opposite. She was only slightly above average in combat but more than made up for it with her superior intellect. Her name was also known in Beacon as the only person to have scored a perfect score on every single written exam, including that of the elective classes she was not officially part of. When asked why she took those exams even though it wasn't necessary, she responded saying that it was simply to prove that she could.

Melanie and Viola Arc were next in line. Jaune had described them as the 'Rebel Twins'. Of the first five siblings, they were the only ones to not attend Beacon Academy. Instead, they travelled all the way to Atlas to attend the Academy there. And while there, they caused all manners of trouble, pushing the boundaries of each and every rule in the book. Literally. And right after graduation, the two of them simply disappeared from the school, slipping away before they could be 'recruited' into the Atlesian army.

None of what they did were against the rules so Atlas could do nothing with regards to the twins. Even their parents, during conversations with the academy's staff, and even the Headmaster at times, would point out that neither one broke any rules and thus could not be punished in any way. And so came and went two of Atlas Academy's best and worst students of all time.

The sixth Arc sibling, Arianna, broke the mold the previous five had set in more ways than one. For one thing she was tall. Taller than anyone else in the family. Soft-spoken, demure, skilled in all manner of housework, and a pacifist, Arianna couldn't be farther from being a Huntress even if she tried.

Though Jaune made sure to point out one thing to them all. Despite her nature, Arianna was naturally gifted in the ways of combat. While she would never start a fight, she was capable enough to defend herself even against her other siblings. Their parents had once speculated that she was a combat prodigy, but had no way of proving it due to her own inherent nature.

And finally, Hazel Arc, the youngest of the Arc siblings and Jaune's only younger sister. As Scarlett had already mentioned, she was at the top of her year in Remorra Academy and was set to graduate by the end of the next school year. She was also aiming to get into Beacon, studying hard to keep her grades up. What set her apart from her siblings was her seeming inability to miss when using her weapon's rifle form. As long as the target was within her weapon's range, she could hit any given part of the target without fail.

After hearing all that, nobody could deny that every single member of his family was exceptionally skilled and/or gifted. All, that is, save for Jaune. And now, all of them were present to bring him back home.

"Well, let's get going then."

Jaune couldn't help but stare as Junpei and Akihiko rose from their seats, not looking the least bit worried even after being told that his entire family was present rather than just a few.

Seeing his face, Junpei just chuckled. "Hey, we've told you, right? You've got this. Besides, you haven't even heard how you're gonna prove that you belong here."

Akihiko grinned and gave him a solid pat on the back. One that nearly sent his face on a collision course with his half-eaten breakfast. "Believe me, you're ready. All you have to do is show up and follow Junpei's lead. He'll set everything else up. After that, you just need to let your family know your decision and then show them that you have what it takes."

It wasn't much, but the encouragement of his two trainers was enough to steady his legs. Though with the way his hands were still shaking, Jaune wasn't sure he'd be able to hold Crocea Mors properly. "Y-Yeah, you're right." He took a deep breath and let it out all at once. "Let's go."

He couldn't quite hide his anxiety from them, but Junpei and Akihiko shared a knowing grin as they, along with everyone else, followed the blonde boy and his partner out of the dining hall.

* * *

"JAUNE!"

The arrival of the Arc family was signaled by a projectile flying straight for Jaune. Unfortunately, he had been caught completely unprepared. His abdomen was struck dead center and he was launched off his feet, landing on his back a few feet away.

"You're alright! You're alright!"

The brown-topped projectile turned out to be one of his siblings, Hazel if they weren't mistaken. Given that the two closest to him in age were only a year older and younger, and considering Arianna was supposed to be the tallest in the family, it was a safe bet that it was Hazel, the youngest of the eight.

Her arms were wrapped around Jaune and her face was mashed up against his breastplate. It was sure to be uncomfortable, but her concern for her brother must have been stronger than any discomfort she felt.

On his part, Jaune was returning the embrace. One arm was wrapped around Hazel's back despite the large, rectangular block of steel that was her weapon, while the other was softly stroking her head. They could see his lips moving, quietly muttering soft reassurances even as tears began to well up from Hazel's closed eyes.

"Didn't expect to see this many of you here."

The statement, spoken by a familiar voice, came from behind them. Turning around, they saw eight people coming up the stone path, all but two bearing blonde hair that varied slightly in shade.

The sole male was undoubtedly Aurelian Arc. It was clear, at least, where Jaune got his looks from, seeing as the man looked like an older, buffer, tougher Jaune with but a few differences. He had short and neat dark blonde hair, almost a light brown in color, and a bit of stubble on his chin, with a more mature face due to his age. The man was slightly taller than Jaune, who stood at an even six feet in height, and had a larger build. His choice of clothing was fairly simple, consisting mainly of a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, a brown vest over it, and loose but sturdy-looking black pants tucked into brown boots.

Next to Aurelian was his wife, Sephiria Arc, hinted by the way his arm was wrapped around her waist. She was a fairly tall woman with long, wavy, ash-blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Her face was incredibly youthful, to the point that Junpei looked back and forth between her and Scarlett, trying to make sense of the fact that Sephiria looked younger than her own daughter. She had a stern countenance that was accentuated by her clothing, an ankle length, light purple, double-breasted suit jacket with gold accents and shoulder pads over a dark purple dress shirt with a white neck tie, dark purple suit pants, and black dress shoes.

Next in line was the one that had spoken and one that a few of them had already met. Scarlett. Much like last time, she wore a sleeveless turtleneck top and cargo pants tucked into black boots. Her weapon was sheathed at her hip this time, unlike last time where the blade and its sheath were hanging across her back.

Assuming that they were lined up according to age, the next one had to be Gwendolyn. She was almost as tall as Jaune and had short, unruly, pale blonde hair. But what drew their attention the most was her body. Scarlett's bare arms showed off toned muscles. Gwen boasted a far more muscular frame, on par with, perhaps even surpassing, that of Aurelian's, stretching an ordinary t-shirt to its limits. The shorts she wore did little to hide their view of her legs, which were as well built as the rest of her body.

All in all, it was a fitting image for someone Jaune described as one who worked harder than all others. Though the round glasses she wore stood in stark contrast to the rest of her appearance.

Sable, contradicting the meaning of her name, was a pale-skinned young woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair and a wiry frame. Her attention was constantly shifting between her brother and sister on the ground, and the extremely thick, hardbound book in her hands. The maroon suit jacket and pants, along with a white dress shirt and loose, red necktie completed the image of an intellectual.

That is, if it wasn't for the large object on her back that was wrapped in cloth to hide its identity. It was very likely her weapon. Though what the weapon was, none of them could even imagine. It was easily larger than the young woman carrying it, yet she showed no strain or difficulty bearing its not insignificant weight.

The twins stood out just as Jaune said they would. Chin-length hair that was straight and neat on one side and styled messily and spikily on the other, with each twin mirroring the other. One had blue-dyed hair on the messy side and red on the neat side, while the opposite held true for the other twin. Their choice of clothing also reflected their family-appointed title of 'Rebel Twins'. It was reminiscent of Chidori's clothing, that of a gothic Lolita style, but with much more in the way of leather, and metal studs and spikes, a strange mix of soft and harsh.

And finally, standing at the end of the line was quite possibly the tallest person they had ever met. Even Yukari would admit that the girl before her was probably as tall as Yatsuhashi Daichi from Team CFVY, whom she had gotten acquainted with a few weeks prior after defending Velvet from Cardin.

Arianna Arc stood close to seven feet in height, towering over her siblings and parents. But more than her height, the way she composed herself also stood out. While the rest of her family had the air of warriors and carried themselves as such – even Sable was clearly alert despite giving the book in her hands most of her attention – Arianna, alone, did not.

With long, straight hair that shone like a river of gold, unblemished white skin that made even the white sundress she wore look dark in comparison, and a womanly body that oozed femininity from every pore, it was difficult to believe that the young woman before them was only eighteen, just a year older than Jaune.

More than one girl found herself examining Arianna's body and glancing down at her own with obvious disappointment and envy. Even Yang had to concede defeat despite her usual confidence in her own body.

"You all here to say goodbye?" asked Scarlett, taking in the sight of four full teams. She hadn't thought that Jaune, her timid, near spineless brother, would make this many friends, let alone be willing to reveal his secret. Though there was still the possibility that he hadn't told them the details of his departure, so she would have to remember not to say anything until she was certain. He may have acted stupidly, but there was no point in shaming him in front of more outside of his team.

Junpei shrugged. "Meh, somethin' like that." There was something about the mysterious grin on his face that worried Scarlett, but she couldn't say for certain why. "But y'know, I didn't think all of you would be here." At the looks he received, he quickly held his hands up in a placating manner. "Not saying it's a bad thing, just unexpected is all. Nobody can say you guys don't care for him after seeing this."

"I suppose you could put it like that." Her response was simple, mainly to hide her wariness and how her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong.

Scarlett glanced around discreetly, even as Junpei introduced himself and his team to her family. Of the fifteen people that had gathered to see her brother off, she could see two distinct groups.

Half of them, which included Pyrrha Nikos, her brother's partner, were nervous, possibly even worried, about something. And the way they kept glancing at Jaune then to her family and back told her that it had something to do with Jaune's impending departure.

The other half looked mostly unconcerned. It wasn't that the situation had nothing to do with them. They wouldn't have shown up if it didn't, after all. No, it was more like they weren't concerned about whatever the other half was worrying over. Or at least, not to the same level. Junpei and Chidori were notably among this group.

Another thing of note was that the members of the second group, with the exception of the girl she recognized as Weiss Schnee, all had one more thing in common. A pistol. It wasn't much, but the fact that eight people carried the exact same weapon was a curious thing. Scarlett couldn't be sure if it was something important to the current situation, but it most certainly had something to do with the way their group behaved towards the situation.

"We've heard the story from my daughter," Scarlett heard her mother say, her tone as stern as it normally was when she was dealing with something serious. Though judging by what she could see, Junpei was more or less unaffected by it. In her eyes, that already put him above most people his age. Few people could lock eyes with her mother when she was like this, especially when her family was concerned. "But I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Especially you, Miss Nikos. I suspect it hasn't been easy having to deal with having my son on your team or as your partner, given his… shortcomings."

"Oh no," Pyrrha began, waving her hands in front of her. "It hasn't been that difficult at all. Jaune is-"

"A bit, yeah." Junpei's sudden interjection caught the redhead by surprise, and she turned to her team leader with a bit of horror on her face. In response, Junpei just shrugged. "What? They're his family. I'm pretty sure they know him better than we do. No point trying to uh… what's the word? Sugaring?"

Flesh met flesh and a quiet chorus of giggles and chuckles reached Scarlett's ears. Looking towards the rest of the group, she saw a girl with chin-length brown hair shaking her head while palming her face. Then dropping her hand, she turned to Junpei with a look of exasperation. "It's 'sugarcoating', Stupei."

The nickname elicited some giggles from the twins and Gwen didn't bother to restrain her loud, roaring laughter. Junpei just took it in stride, most likely used to having that nickname used despite the insult. "Hey, give me a break Yukaricchi. You know I'm no good with stuff like that. 'Sides, you know what I meant so it couldn't have been that bad."

The girl didn't even deign to grace that with a response, groaning and throwing her hands up in surrender, much to everyone else's amusement. Clearly the girl and Junpei were good friends despite the girl's form of address towards the other.

"Well, I certainly appreciate the honesty," said Sephiria, her expression unchanging even as she nodded to Junpei. There was no indication, however, of how she felt about Pyrrha attempting to sugarcoat the situation but Scarlett knew her mother well enough. While she didn't like it, she definitely recognized that Pyrrha was trying not to get her partner into any more trouble, which she also appreciated. Despite her stern demeanor, she _was_ his mother after all.

At that moment, Jaune finally managed to extricate himself from his predicament and rejoined them, though Hazel still had her arms wrapped around her brother's waist as though afraid he would run off again. Not that there was any chance of that with six full-fledged Huntresses and one future Huntress present who would hunt him down in an instant while the sole Huntsman watched and laughed in amusement.

"Jaune," began Sephiria, looking her only son up and down and taking in his current state. "It's good to see you've been taking care of yourself, regardless of everything else."

"H-hi mom," he muttered, looking away from her soft, but still stern, gaze.

Gwen scoffed and stepped forward, wrapping a single, muscular arm around Jaune's neck and pulling him in, his height advantage useless against her determination and strength. "'Hi mom'? That's it? Come on Jauney, it hasn't exactly been that long since you left, so don't tell me you've already forgotten us."

"H-Hi… Gwen…" he squeaked out, his arms flailing around as he tried to get away from his sister's unbreakable hold.

Sable sighed and shut the book she was reading, walking up to her siblings. "You never change, do you?" she asked with a grin, kneeling down and pinching her brother's cheek playfully. "Yup, those cheeks are still as soft as they look after all this time."

"Really?" The twins asked at the same time before rushing forward and joining their older sister in pinching Jaune's supposedly soft cheeks.

"Oh wow you're-" One of them began with a laugh.

"-right. He's still-" continued the other, picking up the statement without a pause.

"-nice and soft-"

"-and pinchable."

"It's like he never left," finished the twins.

The words flowed smoothly between them. And since their voices were exactly alike, it was as though it was only one person was speaking rather than two separate people. Then again, they were twins. They may very well think of themselves as one person or something along those lines.

Arianna just giggled, watching her siblings play with one another. "It's good to see you again, Jaune." Her voice was soft, almost melodic, once again highlighting how different she was from her siblings. Her family for that matter.

"Little… help…" Jaune gasped out, doing his best but failing to escape from his predicament.

Junpei just laughed and approached. For a moment, Scarlett wondered what he would do, if he really would attempt to help Jaune out. Instead, he knelt down next to Jaune but did nothing to stop the cheek-pinching and head-locking. "Come on," he said chidingly. "They haven't seen you since you left. Why not enjoy it before we get to all the serious stuff?" He placed a hand on Jaune's head and messed up his hair with a laugh as he rose and stepped back, ignoring Jaune's pleas.

Again, something in her called out that something strange was going on. But for the moment, she set it aside as she watched Jaune relax just that tiny little bit. He clearly wasn't enjoying it situation, but he eventually stopped fighting against it and let his four older siblings play around with him. He must definitely trust his team leader more than she expected if a few words like that was enough to get him to surrender. He usually kept fighting until they let him go.

Off to the side, both Aurelian and Sephiria took note of the same thing. Regardless of how long it had been, it was surprising to see Jaune trust someone outside their family that much. Especially given what he had been through prior to his departure for Beacon. And the fact that so many had come to say their farewells made the situation that much more saddening.

It was unfortunate but they would have to take him away from his new friends. After what Scarlett had told them, there was no way they could let him remain in Beacon despite his dream. A month may not have been a long time, but a month with next to no development was clearly a sign that he wasn't meant to be a Huntsman.

Hopefully, he would understand their reasons in time, even if it took years.

* * *

Eventually, playtime came to an end, and a serious air descended upon them all. Jaune stood with his team in front of his family, the other three teams standing off to the side seeing as his departure wasn't their concern as much as it was everyone else's.

Aurelian spoke for his family, deep, blue eyes gazing directly into his son's own. "I'm sorry it had to be this way son," he said, voice full of remorse but with a hard undertone. "But Scarlett told us what happened during your match in class. Considering that, we can't let you stay. Not if you being beaten down that badly is you being serious."

"We do understand why you did it," continued Sephiria, her eyes notably softer than it had been earlier. "But _you_ have to understand that the life of a Huntsman is nothing like a fairy tale. Death is a very real possibility, even as a trainee. Or I should say, especially as a trainee. If your skills are not up to the task then we may very well be sending you, possibly even your entire team, to an early grave."

"Please, Jaune." Arianna stepped forward just a bit. "We're just worried about you. I know that this has always been your dream. That being a Huntsman is the only thing you've ever wanted to be." A nostalgic smile graced her face. "I still remember playing as children. You, me, Hazel, we'd always run around, pretending. You and Hazel would argue over who got to play the Huntsman or Huntress and who would play the Grimm."

"And you'd always be the damsel-in-distress," finished Jaune, a similar smile gracing his, and even Hazel's, lips. The rest of their family smiled as well, remembering those times. "Yeah, I still remember."

The smiles only lasted a short moment before the seriousness of the situation returned. "Come on," said Gwen, a soft smile on her face. "No point wasting time. I'll even carry your bags for you. How's that sound?"

Bags.

Suddenly, Scarlett's eyes shot open as she started looking around, much to her family's confusion. After a while, her eyes settled on Jaune, hard and accusing. "Jaune." Her tone matched her gaze perfectly. "Where are you belongings?"

Everyone else suddenly started looking around and noticed the truth in Scarlett's words. Jaune's bags were nowhere to be found. In addition, they began to notice other small inconsistencies that had slipped their attention.

One was that Jaune was wearing his armor and had Crocea Mors at his side. The latter wasn't that strange, but why would he be wearing his armor if all he was going to do was return home?

Another was his team's expressions. Never mind Chidori, who had remained nearly expressionless the entire time, but neither Pyrrha nor Junpei looked at all concerned that their teammate was leaving. Pyrrha was worried, yes, but she didn't have the look of someone about to say goodbye. On that point, Scarlett remembered Junpei's earlier response to her question. He had never explicitly stated that they were there to say farewell to Jaune. A grin was still on his face, but this one looked quite grim, as though something were about to happen.

"Jaune," she repeated, bearing down on him even more with her presence. "What is going on?"

The blonde was pale and looked close to panicking. He glanced over his shoulder to where his team stood a short distance behind him. The grim smile on the team leader's face didn't fade, but he nodded firmly at Jaune, Pyrrha doing the same a moment later but with a hesitant expression on her face. And then, surprisingly, Chidori smiled. It was small, and gentle, but it was there nonetheless. And like the rest of their team, she nodded, showing her support for whatever it was her brother was about to do.

She had her suspicions, but she would rather not make any assumptions just yet.

Then Jaune turned to the side, where the rest of his friends were. Scarlett followed his gaze. Most of them looked unsure or unconcerned. Only two stood out. A fairly tall silver-haired boy and a short, teal-haired girl. Both were looking in Jaune's direction with smiles. The girl's was, like Chidori's, gentle and supportive. The boy's was more confident, cocky even. But both gave her brother slow, firm nods, lending their support to whatever it was he was planning to do.

And when Jaune finally turned back to face his family, all of them were taken aback by the firm look on his face. "Sorry," he said, his words not quite matching his expression. "But I… I'm staying."

Her family's reaction was about as expected. Hazel and the twins were the most outspoken, calling Jaune stupid and all other manner of names. Gwen and Sable were frowning deeply. Arianna looked deeply worried, her hands wringing around one another in worry. When Scarlett turned to her parents, she found worry, disappointment, and… intrigue?

Meeting her gaze, Aurelian nodded. As the one who had found Jaune and spoken to him, she had a better understanding of the current situation, however slight that advantage was. For now, he was deferring to her to handle things. And she was going to make sure that Jaune understood that returning home was non-negotiable. Even if she had to knock him out and drag him back home by his legs.

"Do you really think we'd let you?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard over her younger siblings' shouts. It also had the effect of getting them to keep quiet. She placed a hand on the hilt of her weapon, Fang, and glared menacingly at her only brother. "Should I remind you what made me decide to take you home in the first place?"

Her brother paled considerably, which was what she was after. But she didn't expect what came next.

"Maybe you should."

The unexpected response, and even the unexpected source, had her blinking for a few seconds before the shifted her gaze up to the cap-wearing teen behind her brother. "What?"

"I mean, Jaune's a pretty stubborn guy after all," he said flippantly, seemingly not caring that Jaune had turned to him with a look of someone who had just been betrayed. Considering his words, it may as well have been betrayal. "He probably won't go back until you beat the idea into him."

"J-J-Junpei! What are-"

"Besides," continued Junpei as though Jaune hadn't spoken. "It might give him a chance to show off the results of the special training he's been doing since you left."

Scarlett ignored her brother's remarks and focused on his team leader. His words had caught her attention. And judging by the grin on his face, he knew it and was expecting it. "Special training?" she repeated with a frown, followed by a scoff. "Does he really think a few days of training, no matter how 'special' it was, will be enough to change my mind? For that matter, why even bother training him? You already know that better people have tried and failed. His time here has clearly shown that his aptitude hasn't changed at all."

If Junpei was surprised that she had figured out his role in things then he didn't show it. Or perhaps it didn't really matter if she figured it out. "Yeah, well, I doubt any training he's done before is anything like what we put him through. Why not give him a chance to show off a bit? I mean, if you're _that_ sure that nothing's changed then you don't really lose anything, right? Don't you wanna give him one last chance to swing that sword of his? Doesn't sound like he'll get to do it again anytime soon. Or ever."

He was baiting her. He wasn't even trying to hide it. In fact, he seemed to be doing his best to make it even more obvious that he was. So why was it working?

It didn't take much time for her to figure it out. He was challenging her. He was challenging her opinion of her own brother, calling her judgment into question. And by the Dust it was working. If there was one thing she could never stand, it was someone questioning her when it came to her family.

But… She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She couldn't afford to let her pride get in the way. She was here to bring her brother home, nothing else. Regardless of what his team leader had to say, he was, ultimately, an outsider in this matter.

"I'll forgive you, just this once," she ground out, glaring at Junpei the entire time. "But I suggest you hold your tongue. You may be his team leader, but considering Jaune's actions, this is, first and foremost, a family matter and has nothing to do with you or your friends."

Instead of responding to her, he turned to face his friends. "Hey Aigis." A girl with short blonde hair turned to face him, cocking her head to the side. "Didn't Ozpin say in our Leadership class that the leader's gotta take responsibility for his team or something like that?"

The blonde nodded and said, "I believe his exact words were, 'More often than not, a leader must bear the consequences of his subordinate's actions. For should they act poorly, then it is a reflection of his abilities as a leader. Furthermore, a leader must then act to correct such shortcomings, whether by correcting his actions, or that of his subordinates'.'"

"Yeah right, that." Turning back to Scarlett, Junpei gave the woman a solemn grin. "Jaune wasn't on my team when he ran from home, or when he cheated his way into Beacon. But he _was_ put on my team after initiation. I'm not exactly the best leader out there. Heck, I've never been a leader, and then I had a ton of stuff to deal with after coming here. But that doesn't mean I couldn't have tried harder."

"I knew something was wrong," he admitted, never once looking away but showing remorse and shame. "I knew something was wrong when I could beat him in a fight. Hell, even Chidori beat him and she's not exactly that good." His hand gestured to the redhead beside him, though she didn't react. "But I didn't really think about it. Just told myself that he got into Beacon and left it alone. Even when he kept getting beat in class, I just told myself that he'll learn, that Pyrrha could help him better since she's the best fighter on the team. That was my mistake."

"That may be so," interrupted Scarlett, stopping Junpei from speaking any further. "But as you said, he wasn't on your team when he made the mistake of coming here in the first place. And you could hardly be faulted for your actions. Believing that he is capable because of his presence at Beacon is hardly a mistake." She pressed on, knocking away each and every one of his arguments. "And admitting that someone is more suited to a role, that someone is your better despite them being your subordinate, is a mark of a good leader. There is nothing wrong with recognizing and acknowledging your own shortcomings."

"Maybe. But I didn't really do anything after I did, did I?" Scarlett had to concede that point to him. "Just 'cuz Pyrrha was already training him doesn't mean I couldn't have done anything else. Maybe I stepped in too late. I definitely should have done something before you came along, but hey, that's what this school is here for, right? So we can learn and all that. And that includes me learning how to be a better leader, and Jaune learning to be a better fighter."

Even though he admitted he wasn't the best leader, she had to admit that he was better than many other first-year leaders during her time. Few, at that age, were capable of looking at themselves and honestly admit their shortcomings, especially to a stranger. At the very least, she could respect that. However…

Scarlett sighed. "Had I never discovered that he was here," she began, her gaze and tone softening, "And had he revealed his secret to you of his own accord, then perhaps you might have been able to change things. But as I said the night I came to visit, I cannot, in good conscience, allow him to stay. Not with the skills he has."

"Then let me prove it."

* * *

Jaune couldn't believe his ears as Junpei continued to defend him. Why? Why would he say that? Why would he do that? As much as he appreciated everything they've done for him, there was just no way that keeping him on the team was for the best.

 _He_ was the weakest member on the team. _He_ was the one who dragged his team down during training. And _HE_ was the one who would end up breaking the team with his departure. And yet there was Junpei, talking as though every mistake Jaune had committed since passing the initiation was his fault, his responsibility.

He didn't even know what would happen to Junpei, Pyrrha and Chidori if he left. Would they remain a team despite having only three members? Or would having an incomplete team mean they would be forced to leave the school as well?

So many possibilities ran through his mind but so few of them, if any, would end well for them. He may not have been the smartest on the team, or even in their group of friends, but he wasn't stupid. There was a reason for the four-man team that every Huntsman Academy used.

Having a partner meant someone was never alone, that they would have someone they could count on at all times. Sometimes the partner was not ideal, but that didn't change the fact that they had one. If their partner fell behind, they, too, would suffer the consequences. Under those conditions, even the most selfish, most self-centered person would have a reason to help their partner. Or at least ensure they did well enough in class.

Being placed on a team with another pair served two main purposes.

One was simply to increase their overall combat potential. Quantity was a quality of its own given the right circumstances, and having four people fighting against the Grimm was definitely better than just two.

The other was to add diversity to a team. Even if every member of the team used the exact same weapon, or fought in the exact same manner, surely they, as individuals, would have different things to offer. And added diversity meant that there was a broader range of problems that they, as a team, could solve both in and out of a classroom.

If he was taken out of the equation, then the remaining members of Team JACN would face a whole host of problems. Not the least was that in a fight, one person could only protect one other person. Having four people on a team meant that each pair could watch out for each other. Removing one would mean that one person did not have someone to watch their backs since the other two would be watching each other's.

Could he really leave them knowing they faced such an uncertain future? But then, Junpei's plan, now that he had revealed it, was absolutely ridiculous. He expected _him,_ the failure, to fight his eldest sister? What would such a fight accomplish beyond getting him beaten to a pulp by someone so far ahead of him that he couldn't even see her back?

Jaune opened his mouth, ready to tell Junpei to stop, to just let his family take him home. But before he could, he found himself thinking of something else. What did Akihiko think of the situation? Surely he had known of Junpei's plan, right?

Though it wouldn't change anything, his curiosity got the better of him. He turned to the side where Akihiko was, and froze in shock. Akihiko was looking at him. Directly in the eyes. As though he had been waiting for Jaune to look his way.

They stared at one another for what seemed like hours. Akihiko offered him no words, nor did his expression shift from the neutral one that was already there. He simply nodded at him. Nodded, as though to say, 'It's up to you.'

Beside him, Fuuka did the same when Jaune's eyes traveled over to her, nodding with a small smile that told him she would respect whatever decision he made, would support him regardless of which path he took. Overcome by curiosity, he glanced at the rest of his friends.

A few of them – Blake and Weiss – neither said nor did anything, simply meeting his gaze. Though Weiss turned away with a huff not long after. The rest… The rest surprised him.

Over the past few days, some of them had offered encouragement, telling him that everything would be alright, that Junpei and Akihiko could get him ready. Nora had even offered to help him fight off his entire family if they had to. And now, those same people were sending their encouragement through their eyes, knowing that now was not the time for them to be heard. _'Ruby… Yang… Ren… Nora…'_

Then he turned to SEES. Their gazes reflected a message much like Akihiko's and Fuuka's. The four other members of SEES were just watching him, waiting to see what he would decide. And he knew… somehow he knew that they would not hold it against him even if he decided to return home. Perhaps it was because of what Mitsuru had said that day they learned of his secret. _"And no matter what we say or do, the final choice lies with him."_

SEES deferred to Mitsuru when it came to a lot of things. Was that the case now? Were they remaining neutral simply because that was her stance?

' _No,'_ was the answer he came to only a second later. Each of them had proven that, while Mitsuru was the leader of SEES, they did not blindly follow her. Nor did Mitsuru expect such blind and absolute obedience simply because of her station.

Akihiko, Fuuka, and Junpei were prime examples of this. Despite her words, they chose to help him. Junpei might be able to get away with claiming to be the team leader, but neither Fuuka nor Akihiko had that excuse. And it wasn't as though they had hidden it from her. Mitsuru knew, that first day, that they were training him. And beyond a curious look, she gave no other indication of her feelings on the matter.

' _No,'_ his mind repeated. _'It's not Mitsuru. It's them.'_

And thinking back to Junpei's words, and listening to his words now, he knew he was right. Not once did he force his opinion on the matter. He poked and prodded, but he waited patiently for Jaune to come to an answer on his own. Not once did Junpei push the training on him, having constantly sought reassurance that it was what he wanted. At most, he might have tried to scare him away by repeatedly telling him that the training would be harsh. _'And wasn't that an understatement.'_

" _I didn't ask what they wanted. I asked what you wanted. Forget what Weiss wants, forget what Scarlett wants, hell, forget what your parents want and even what the rest of us want. Forget all that and tell me what. The hell. YOU want."_

What do you want?

He would never forget those words. He would never forget how they constantly reverberated in his head that night as he thought of his answer to Junpei's question. If he were being honest, it was the first time in years that someone had asked him that question with such honesty.

His parents and sisters often asked him that while he was growing up. But after his disastrous training failures, he had never been asked in the same way again. There was always that tone in their voice that hoped he had given up on being a Huntsman. That hoped he would choose another path. A _safer_ path.

He didn't blame them. He _couldn't_ blame them. They were just worried for him after all. He understood, more than they probably realized. But understanding didn't make it any less painful to know that he would not have their support should he push the issue.

And now he didn't have just one person asking him what he wanted. Only Junpei had given voice to the question on their minds, but, looking at the people who had become his friends over the past month-and-a-half, he could feel that they were all asking- No, _telling_ him the exact same thing. Tell us what you want. Tell your family what you want.

He knew. He knew with absolute certainty that no judgment would come before his answer. And, perhaps, not ever. He didn't know how he knew. He just did.

And for that, he would forever be grateful. More than their friendship, more than their help, more than the training, more than their endless patience for a loser like him. Their unconditional acceptance of him, failures and all, was the one thing that meant more to him than anything else they had offered him these past six weeks since he met them all.

And he would be damned if he repaid all that with cowardice. Not when it was them who gave him the chance to finally pursue his dream.

"But as I said the night I came to visit, I cannot, in good conscience, allow him to stay. Not with the skills he has."

"Then let me prove it."

The words were out of his mouth before he realized it. But he didn't care.

Scarlett was right. Whatever happened from this point on would all be on his head.

Mitsuru was right. No matter what they said and did, the final choice lies with him. And only he could take responsibility for his actions, past, present, and future.

And Junpei was right. Forget what Weiss wanted. Forget what Scarlett wanted. Forget what his parents wanted. And forget what even his friend wanted. Right here, right now, what mattered most was what he wanted. Not them. HIM!

"Jaune… what are-"

"Fight me," he ground out, his hands clenching tightly by his side. He saw the surprise in his sister's eyes at his declaration and pushed. "Fight me and I'll prove that I have what it takes. And if I win, you let me stay. If I lose, I go home."

* * *

Dozens of eyes grew wide at Jaune's unexpected declaration, Scarlett especially. Had her brother lost his mind? Challenging her, a full-fledged Huntress not only ten years his senior but also with six years of post-graduation experience, to a fight? And he expected to win? What madness was this?

Looking around, she took in the faces of his friends. All of them looked just as surprised as she did so clearly none of them knew abo- Wait. There, the silver-haired boy near the center of the group. He wasn't as surprised as the others. Glancing at her brother's teammates, she saw that neither was Junpei. Did they have something to do with this?

"Well?" asked Jaune, before Scarlett could even consider questioning the two. "Come on. I'll even promise never to bring it up again if I lose."

He was serious then. Never before had he made such a promise. Whenever they told him to stop considering being a Huntsman he would just respond with a nod, or a half-hearted answer, never stating outright that he would stop. For him to make a promise now, of all times, meant that he was seriously putting his dream on the line. Jaune was many things, but he had never intentionally broken a promise. He wouldn't start now.

"You're serious then." She felt the need to state that out loud, her heart sinking when he nodded, his face devoid of uncertainty or doubt. Scarlett sighed, long and slow. "If that's what you want, then fine. But," she added quickly when Jaune made to speak. "You won't be fighting me." She turned her head to look over her shoulder before he could question her. "Hazel, come here."

Had she not turned around, she might have caught the brief expression of shock on Jaune's face. But by the time the youngest Arc sibling stood by her side and she turned back, Jaune had schooled his features once more. "It would be unfair for you if I were to be your opponent. Hazel is the only one out of all of us, save for Arianna, without any real combat experience outside of school. Moreover, she plans to attend Beacon next year. She should be roughly on the same level as your classmates. Show me that you can stand alongside such people and maybe, just maybe, I'll let you stay."

"Fine," Jaune spat out without hesitation, drawing Crocea Mors from its sheath and strapping the shield to his left arm.

Seeing this, Junpei quickly herded his team over to where the others were waiting, reassuring Pyrrha that her partner will be fine. Similarly, Jaune's family followed. Despite none of them wanting to see a fight between siblings, they all understood that Jaune would not back down. That he was just that determined to remain at Beacon. Whether he had what it took or not, however, remained to be seen.

Hazel glanced up at her eldest sister with some hesitation but, after receiving a nod from Scarlett before she went to join the rest of their family, she reached behind her and took her weapon into her hands. Given the resemblance to her own weapon's travel form, as well as her own personal interest in weapons, it was Ruby who paid the most attention.

Hazel held the weapon by the grip near one end that ran parallel to the weapon, and then triggered its transformation. The first thing that appeared was the barrel of a gun – which made sense considering the girl was known for her marksmanship – with a blade attached to the underside. It extended from the top. And extended. And extended some more.

As the barrel and the blade extended, the rest of the weapon unfolded. Various parts flew open while others folded in, metal sliding against metal and locking into place. It barely took two seconds for the weapon to complete its transformation.

In Hazel's hand was a weapon that looked to be a cross between a rifle and a large, wide, single-edged blade. The blade and the barrel seemed to be a singular piece and made up half the length of the entire weapon, though the barrel was clearly longer as it connected to the other half of the weapon as well. The very end of the blade was shaped into a grip with a hollowed out portion to allow her fingers to slip into.

Her hand was wrapped around the hilt, which made up the upper part of a hollow shoulder stock. Just above her hand, almost perpendicular to the hilt but angled towards the back, was the rifle's grip and trigger, making it easy to switch her grip on the weapon, thus switching between blade and rifle. Ruby's sharp eyes, however, noted what could possibly be a second trigger just above her thumb, making it possible to fire the rifle with her thumb while wielding her weapon as a blade.

The length of the barrel, the large scope situated on top, and the fact that Hazel was known for her marksmanship pointed to the rifle being that of the sniper variety. But then, Hazel reached into the large pouch strapped to the small of her back and pulled out a large drum magazine, placing it in the empty space between the two grips. At that moment, everybody not aware of the facts began to deduce that it wasn't merely an ordinary sniper rifle. The fact that she undoubtedly had several more magazines like it inside her pouch only supported that theory.

Snipers would not need to carry that many bullets unless they were planning to kill hundreds, if not thousands. And even then, there was no need to have all those bullets in one magazine. No. Only someone who fired large numbers of bullets in a fight would need to carry such a large supply. And if she was as good as Jaune said she was, then the blonde boy was in for a difficult fight, special training or no.

And yet, Jaune showed no signs of worry. He simply stood there, shield raised in front of him, left foot in front, knees slightly bent, and Crocea Mors angled towards the ground and slightly forward. He, after all, had prior knowledge of Hazel's weapon. And while that did little to help him since he knew next to nothing about her fighting style, it was enough that he wasn't shocked by the weapon's appearance.

"Jaune," Hazel called out to him, still looking hesitant despite agreeing to fight him. "We… we don't have to do this. Let's just go home. Please."

Her older brother's expression remained stern but softened a bit at her words. But what little hope she held onto that she could convince her brother not to fight was utterly crushed by his next words. "Yes, we do. And you know what?" His expression hardened once more, causing Hazel to freeze when she saw a hint of anger enter his eyes. "I'm glad you're my opponent."

Faster than she, or any of her siblings expected, Jaune dashed forward with a yell, leading with his shield and his sword ready to strike. Hazel took a second too long to gather her wits. By the time she did, Jaune was only a single step away from bringing her within his attack range. Fortunately, he was already within hers.

She tightened her grip on her blade, Rugitus Leo, and slashed sideways, aiming at the upper portion of Crocea Mors's shield. She didn't use her full strength. Against Jaune, it was unnecessary. But the moment her blade made contact with the shield, she knew something was wrong.

Rather than striking it, her blade slid off the shield as it was angled upwards, causing her to overextend as her attack was deflected to the side. The next thing she saw, was the shield coming right at her. Her thumb flicked upwards, hooking onto the second trigger just above it, and pulled it back. The recoil from the shot that fired brought Rugitus Leo between her and the shield, stopping Jaune's charge in its tracks.

Still, Jaune was taller than her by at least a half foot and, combined with his weight advantage, sent her sliding back. She lowered her blade to take in what just happened, but he didn't give her the opportunity. He closed the distance with a leap and swung Crocea Mors down at her head. Reacting on instinct, she swung upwards, intercepting the considerably smaller blade before it could reach her.

The strength behind Jaune's blow was stronger than she expected, easily within the average level of her classmates at Remorra, but still not up to her level. Before he could pull his sword back, she shoved him away, using more power than she did earlier.

As expected, he was thrown back with little difficulty. What was not expected, however, was how he turned his impromptu flight into a roll. And for the third time since the fight began less than a minute ago, she stopped to stare at her brother's unexpected actions just a little too long. Already, he was on his feet and was running towards her. It was only thanks to the distance he had flown that she was able to prepare a proper defense.

But still, even as she locked blades with Jaune once more, the question that she had been asking since the start of the fight continued to run through her mind. How did he become so capable in such a short time?

* * *

Unbeknownst to Hazel, the rest of her family were, unsurprisingly, asking themselves the same question. Aurelian and Sephiria were now watching with raised eyebrows, intrigued by their son's sudden burst of ability. Gwen and Sable could only stare in shock, both having difficulty coming to terms with the fact that Jaune was actually fighting Hazel and managing to hold his own. The twins were speaking excitedly, wondering whether Jaune's unexpected ability would be enough. Arianna, while surprised as well, was mostly worried about the two siblings closest to her in age and, thus, the two she shared the strongest bonds with.

But there was one who was far more confused by the sudden change than the others. Scarlett, who had seen first-hand Jaune's skills less than a week ago, was having trouble believing that Jaune had gone from 'can't swing a sword properly' to 'barely passable' in just a few days. His movements weren't as sharp as they should be at his age, but it was a significant, almost miraculous, improvement over what she saw the last time.

And then there was his defensive skills. Hazel was undoubtedly faster than Jaune. Even with the weight of her weapon far surpassing his, she was strong enough that her swings were faster than his despite using only one hand to wield the massive weapon, never mind just being plain stronger. And yet Jaune had successfully, even if not skillfully, defended against all her attacks so far. He had even deflected several attacks in a way that opened up Hazel's defenses for a counterattack.

Not that he could take advantage of those openings of course. Even with his improvements, he still lacked the combat experience that Hazel had. She recovered from each failed attack with ease born of experience and practice, putting a stop to any counterattack he attempted to make. She hadn't landed a hit on anything other than his sword or shield, but despite Jaune's mindless offensive, Hazel held the upper hand. Even falling to the ground was enough to drain one's Aura.

But still, there was no way he could have improved this much in the five days since she last saw him. Not with his poor aptitude for combat.

Left with no other option, she turned to someone who might have the answers.

Looking at the other group standing to her family's left, Scarlett noted that, much like her family, many of them were surprised by her only brother's improvements. Only a handful, however, were not. A red-haired girl standing near the back looked on impassively, while the teal-haired girl and the silver-haired boy whom Jaune had turned to earlier were also unsurprised, though the latter had a small grin on his face.

And of course, Jaune's team.

The red-haired girl, Chidori, had a blank expression on her face so Scarlett couldn't be certain what she was thinking. Pyrrha was, like the others, unsurprised but was clearly worried. Junpei, on the other hand, looked a bit excited and… relieved? That was certainly a strange expression to have considering how confident he was earlier that Jaune would convince her just by showing off his skills.

"Junpei." Hearing his name being called, he, as well as the rest of the group, turned to her. Her family would no doubt be listening as well while watching the fight. "What kind of training did you give Jaune?" she asked, not in the mood to beat around the bush.

But rather than answer the question, he grinned and said, "Maybe we should watch first. I'm pretty excited to see how Jaune does."

The grin hadn't been entirely real. She could see a sliver of worry in his eyes as he turned back to the fight. "You're worried about something." It wasn't a question. And her accusation proved true when he flinched just a little bit. "Not confident about your training anymore?"

"Well…" he began, facing her with a sheepish grin. "I wasn't exactly expecting him to fight someone else. I actually thought you'd fight him yourself."

"Oh?" That was interesting. It wasn't hard to put together the pieces. "It sounds as if you were training him specifically to fight me." She shook her head in amusement when he grimaced at her words. "You do know how unfair that would have been, right? For me to fight him, I mean."

"Yeah, well…"

"Junpei was counting on the fact that you would want to personally prove to Jaune why he wasn't fit to stay at Beacon." The silver-haired boy stepped closer as he spoke, turning to face her and bowing his head slightly in greeting. "I'm Akihiko Sanada. I was one of those who helped Junpei train Jaune over the week."

"Really? And what stake do you have in this?" she asked him. "I can understand Junpei wanting to help a teammate and friend, but what about you? Is Jaune that close a friend to you?"

Akihiko shook his head in response. "We're friends, but not that close. As for why I helped, it's mainly because the training method we used is the same one I put Junpei through several months ago. I knew the training better than Junpei so at the very least, I had to be present to make sure it was being done right."

"And what _was_ the training?" Scarlett asked again, blonde eyebrows furrowing slightly. "As I said, Junpei made it sound as if the training Jaune went through was specifically tailored to prepare him for fighting me, which would be impossible since neither of you know how I fight."

"It's not so much your style as it was your weapon." He nodded down at the weapon at her hip. "Weapons, regardless of style or length, will always have similarities in how they are used. The way Junpei described your weapon, it was clearly meant to cut rather than to stab."

"And so you trained him to fight against a sword-user. Specifically, swords meant to cut using slashing motions." That certainly made more sense than being trained to fight her, specifically. And glancing back to the fight, she could see the fruits of her brother's training.

Now that she knew what to look for, she could see how Jaune watched Hazel's Rugitus Leo, angling his shield properly to prepare for the coming blow. He didn't always see the attack coming or react the proper way, either overcompensating or undercompensating for something. Most likely, that 'something' was the length of Rugitus Leo. And perhaps the weight as well.

As Akihiko had said, they were used similarly but not exactly the same. Pyrrha's xiphos was shorter than Hazel's blade-rifle and significantly lighter as well, and even the katana she had seen Junpei holding the other day in class was shorter than Rugitus Leo.

So not only the length, but even the weight of the weapon was most likely throwing off Jaune's timing and more. Had it been her, then perhaps Jaune's defenses would seem more impressive since her Fang was between Junpei and Pyrrha's blades in length. That didn't account for the sheer difference in skill, of course. But she could appreciate just how far his skills have improved.

She had other questions for her brother's two trainers, of course, but seeing Hazel switch her grip on her weapon, she knew that the fight was about to get even more interesting.

* * *

Jaune leapt back and to the side to avoid the upward vertical slash from Hazel, knowing that he wouldn't have been able to defend against it properly with his weapons and his current level of strength. Pyrrha had shown him that. Despite weighing more than her, she had sent him flying with the same attack when he had tried to block it one time.

He dashed back in, attacking with Crocea Mors once he got within range. The fight was far different from when he was training with Junpei or Pyrrha.

Junpei's attacks were simple and straight forward, similar enough to Hazel's style, but he could be quite cunning when he needed to be. But Junpei also lacked Hazel's strength. His attacks were weaker and slower. Even if they weren't, his weapon wasn't as heavy either. Jaune could feel Rugitus Leo's weight whenever he blocked an attack, or whenever his younger sister blocked one of his own attacks.

Pyrrha was faster and stronger than Junpei, than even Hazel. But her xiphos was shorter, making her attacks faster, and her shield allowed her to defend while also attacking, much like him. She was also far more experienced. Combat tactics came naturally to her as she outmaneuvered him each and every time they fought. Hazel hadn't done anything of the sort yet, resorting to simple and basic attacks.

But as simple as they were, they were fast and powerful. Frankly, he was surprised he was able to react quickly enough to defend himself most of the time. But even so, he didn't have any opportunity to plan a counterattack since she pushed on before he could come up with one. And even when he somehow managed to push her back, he still didn't have time to think of his next move before she was attacking again, closing the gap far too fast for comfort.

It was those moments of indecision that cost him as they also marked the times when he could get knocked around as her blade struck his hastily raised defenses. After that, it would take a while before he could solidify his defenses enough that he could lash out with Crocea Mors once or twice. As curious as he was as to how he was defending himself so well, he didn't really have time to stop and think. The moment he did, Hazel always came in to take advantage of his distraction.

For now, he was holding his own, just barely maintaining a stalemate. He was on the losing end, but it was better than losing outright. But that wouldn't last long. And seeing Hazel transfer her grip from the sword hilt to the rifle grip, he knew the game had changed.

He raised his shield and hid behind it just as Hazel began to fire. Yet as expected of her, each and every shot struck his shield head-on. After as he could tell, not a single bullet had missed, even if they didn't hit him directly.

He could still remember her explaining the concept of her weapon to their older siblings and, later on after its creation and subsequent testing, explaining how she had modified it beyond the initial planning stages.

Having both blade and barrel deployed at the same time meant she would not have to switch between two separate forms when the combat range changed. The barrel length, the overall design, and choice of rifle parts took advantage of her skill in marksmanship, maximizing her effective range and her weapon's accuracy.

The length was a problem in some ways since she was, is, and most likely will be the shortest of all eight siblings. But she more than made up for it by training with Gwen whenever the latter was home to build up her own strength, allowing her to wield a weapon that was nearly as tall as she was with just one hand. Without that disadvantage, the length of the weapon allowed her to keep her opponents at a proper distance. Since few melee weapons had an effective engagement range as long as, or longer than, hers.

And that included Crocea Mors.

But the main problem was simply the fact that her weapon doubled as a rifle. Not only did he lack a ranged combat option, but Hazel's rate of fire was quite high despite it being a semi-automatic rifle, if he remembered the term right. He might not remember or even understand how Rugitus Leo worked, but he knew that she could fire a lot of bullets in a short amount of time, and was the best marksman in the family.

And right now, that was preventing him from getting too close. He didn't know why she didn't try shooting his legs, Dust knows she could have hit him dozens of times where his shield couldn't protect him, but he was grateful for that. He wasn't entirely certain but he knew his Aura was down a bit from getting knocked around earlier. He didn't need her draining the rest of it just by shooting at his legs.

Hopefully she wouldn't change her mind anytime soon.

Getting his sword ready, he charged forward, staying behind his shield the entire time. He peeked out from behind the shield as he ran, having learned the hard way that not seeing your opponent was a good way to get outmaneuvered and blindsided.

It turned out to be a good thing that he did since he was closer than he had expected. And almost as soon as he closed the distance, the shooting stopped and Hazel leapt to the side with a spin. Despite still holding the rifle's grip, the spin added enough momentum to her swing that the impact when the blade crashed into Jaune's shield was heavy enough to knock him down.

Just as he was rising to his feet, Hazel switched her grip and swung at his undefended flank. The massive blade landed the first real blow of the fight, smashing into his right side and sending him flying. Hazel was quick to follow up, aiming at him once more and firing off one bullet after another.

Even mid-flight, he felt each and every shot hit his torso. And even when he hit the ground and tumbled away, the shots kept coming and struck his back and front, further draining his Aura. She must have landed over a dozen shots by the time he regained control and got to his knees, his shield braced in front of him.

Then all of a sudden, she was right there next to him, Rugitus Leo already singing through the air towards his unprotected back. There was a grim look on her face, telling him that she didn't really want to do this, but she was just as determined to win the fight, to prove that he should just return home with them.

But he had something to prove as well.

He spun to the left, towards the blade, raising his shield and angling it up. He saw the surprise cross Hazel's face when he did. She probably hadn't expected him to react so quickly. And to be honest, he hadn't either. His body had already begun to move long before he even considered it. The blade was already sliding off the shield and his arm had already begun to swing Crocea Mors by the time the thought crossed his mind.

Again, his blow failed to land. Hazel fired once, using the recoil to aid her leap. The tip of his blade caught her shirt, making a small cut just below her sternum. If she noticed, she didn't care about it nor did she pay it any mind. But while he was considering his next move, she came around again and smashed her blade into his sternum.

The blow hadn't been strong, but it was enough to knock him off-balance. She followed-up with a vicious kick to his chin that sent him stumbling back, then a leg sweep that took his out from under him. Before he could roll away, her blade came down on him hard.

His right arm reacted first, bringing his weapon up to block the blow with the flat side of the blade. His left hand quickly followed to reinforce his defense. But with his back on the ground and Hazel literally bearing down on him, his arms quickly began to tremble from the effort of holding her off while Hazel barely looked like she was trying.

He could hear Pyrrha shouting at him, trying to encourage him. Ruby and Yang as well. He was grateful for that. Unfortunately it didn't really help his current situation.

"Please Jaune," Hazel pleaded, her hesitant blue eyes meeting his. "Just give up. Let's just go home. Barely any of your old classmates are even in town anymore. You don't… You don't have to be afraid or ashamed of what happened. You don't have to-"

One moment she was facing her brother on the ground. Next, blue skies and lazily drifting clouds filled her vision and her back had a dull ache that felt like she had just fallen down. _'What…?'_

"My classmates?" She couldn't see Jaune, but she could hear the rustling of grass and clothing nearby. "You think this is about them?"

She pushed herself up to her feet, seeing Jaune doing the same in front of her. But something about him was different now. He was… angry. The small spark of anger she had seen earlier had grown. Not an ember, not a blaze, not even an inferno. No. That tiny, insignificant spark had now become the very flames of hell.

To Hazel, the Jaune, her kind, caring, and admittedly wimpy older brother, looked like a demon, a monster like the Grimm but of a different vein. Never before had she seen anyone so angry, so completely and utterly enraged. To make things worse, not only was she somehow the cause, but she was also the recipient of his anger.

"A-Aren't th-they-" she began to stutter out before she was interrupted.

"The people at school pushed me around and bullied me!" His tone was harsh, and his gestures were wild as he continued to shout. "But nobody cared after the first year that it went on. Sure they bullied me and made fun of me, but if I kept my head down they didn't bother coming after me anymore unless they were bored! Graduation was the last day I would have had to go through any of that! AND YOU MADE IT WORSE"

"M-Me?" Hazel's blue eyes shot open at the accusation. Not in indignation, but in disbelief. "B-but… I…"

"You what?! Saved me?!" Hazel, along with nearly all the spectators, flinched at the raw anger in his tone and in his expression. The look on his face, so filled with rage, was unlike any they had ever seen on the normally timid and goofy boy. "Getting bombed by paint balloons during my graduation wouldn't have been embarrassing for long. People would only laugh for a day or two and maybe, JUST MAYBE, feel sorry for me if that happened. But what _you_ did?"

"Do you have any idea what people were saying after that?! 'Look, there he is. The boy who was saved by his little sister.' My LITTLE sister. Even the three people I thought were my friends wouldn't stop laughing at me! They didn't even want to be seen with me after that!" Hazel hunched down and looked away, starting to realize just why Jaune was so angry. "Bad enough that I'm the only one in the family who can't fight. Bad enough that Arianna had to stand up to my bullies in my place and that she could fight better than I ever could. Bad enough that I had to go through six years of all that and not be able to do anything about it. But being saved by my little sister? How humiliating is that?!"

"Jaune I… I didn't mean…" Hazel tried to explain, tried to calm him down, but he was too far gone. He was barely even looking at her anymore and was simply ranting, raving, and raging, carelessly waving his arms around with every statement. But it was the next words that came from his lips that truly struck her.

"I hated you, you know that?" He was panting, getting his breath back from his furious tirade. "If it had been Scarlett, Gwen, Sable, the twins, or even Arianna, I wouldn't have cared. It'd be just another day where the 'weakling Arc' needed to be saved by his big sisters. But being saved by you? I couldn't show my face in town without people pointing at me, laughing at me, _judging_ me. Even the people who weren't there when it happened had heard about it by the next day."

"And you? People congratulated you for doing a good job. For 'saving' me. ME! Like I'm some Dust damned princess in a fairy tale who can't do anything but cry for help! And you expect me to go back to that life?! You even got on my case complaining about how I didn't even thank you for your help! Well forget it. I didn't ask you for your help back then and I'm not asking for it now. And I'm definitely not asking for permission to stay."

Jaune dropped into a stance once more. His shield in front, blade at the ready, body angled forward.

"And if I have to fight you, if I have to fight my entire family for this, then I'll gladly fight."

Before Hazel could process Jaune's words, her beloved older brother ran towards her, shield raised, sword ready to strike, and a heart-stopping battle cry roaring past his lips.

* * *

It was, as the old saying goes, like watching a train wreck.

Nobody was close enough to hear what Hazel had said to her downed brother as their blades were locked, but everyone had seen the effect on Jaune. In a surprising show of strength, he had shoved Hazel away from him, hard enough to send her flying back several feet to land on her back.

And then came his words.

His friends hadn't known that he was bullied in the past. His family had known, but only after the aforementioned graduation event. Arianna had known the longest, having attended the same school as Jaune and discovering the truth during her fifth year, Jaune's fourth, but had kept it from their parents after Jaune had convinced her not to tell them, convinced her that it was better to let it fade than to make a big fuss over it. But all of them were surprised to learn of his feelings towards his sole younger sister and her actions.

After Jaune's angry rant in the training room that night, Junpei had suspected that there was something more to his desire to be a Huntsman. It had always been his dream, that much was certain. But the desire to achieve that dream hadn't been able to overcome his lack of ability, nor had it been strong enough to make him fight against what most would call fate.

Clearly something had happened that changed his mind, something that gave him a stronger reason to want to be a Huntsman. And now Junpei knew what it was. Now they all knew what it was.

And with Scarlett's decision to let Hazel fight in her place, they had just handed Jaune the opportunity to vent his frustration, his anger, his hatred, on the very person that been the catalyst that drove him to Beacon in the first place.

"Fuck!" cursed Scarlett, not even caring that her parents were there not five feet from her. "I'm stopping this."

"Don't."

She barely took a step forward when someone intervened. Two someone's to be exact. Turning to her left, she found Junpei facing her, several of his friends looking at him with confused expressions. Then turning to her right, she met her mother's crystal blue eyes gazing back at her.

"I can't let this go on," she argued, her words aimed at both her brother's team leader, and her mother. "Jaune's not thinking clearly anymore."

"That what you think?" Scarlett turned around, surprised that Junpei had been the one to speak up first rather than her mother. "Dude, I don't think I've ever seen Jaune more focused than this."

"Focused?" The blonde's words were hissed between clenched teeth as she glared at Junpei. She pointed a finger in the direction of the fight as she began to speak and followed with her eyes a second later. "You call that foc-"

She froze as she took in the sight before her. It was… surreal. There was no way it was happening. There was simply no way that Jaune was beating Hazel.

And yet, it was true.

Hazel was running backwards, trying to widen the gap between her and Jaune. And yet her brother was easily keeping pace, keeping her within striking range at all times. And whether he was doing it on purpose or not, he was too close for Hazel to properly engage in a fight.

One notable weakness that Rugitus Leo had was that the blade made up half the length of the entire weapon. And that meant that her melee range only began where her blade began, and ended where the blade ended. Anything beyond that was outside her attack range. And anything too close was also, effectively, outside her range.

Jaune, due to Crocea Mors's shorter blade, needed to be close in order to reach Hazel. As it was, he stood just at the inner edge of Rugitus Leo's attack zone. It didn't mean much considering getting hit would still hurt, regardless of whether the opponent was hit with the blade or not, but getting that close made it harder for Hazel to fight due to the size of her weapon.

As though to prove a point, Hazel swung her blade, trying to push Jaune away. But Jaune angled his shield down and redirected Rugitus Leo into the ground. Having her weapon suddenly partially buried into the ground brought her retreat to a halt. And Jaune viciously capitalized on the opening.

"GOOOOOOO JAUNE!" Nora's cheering was gently silenced by Ren. While it was good of her to support him, the situation really wasn't the right time for such levity.

But Nora wasn't the only one treating the fight with less seriousness than the majority. Junpei whistled lowly as he watched Jaune land several blows on Hazel before she could pry her weapon loose and resume her retreat. "Damn, I haven't seen him fight this hard before." He turned to the tall redhead standing next to him. "Hey Pyrrha, what do you think? Think he could actually beat you if he fought you like this?"

"I… I doubt it," she replied, looking thoroughly dumbfounded at the sight like most of the spectators. "He's fighting better, yes, but his movements are all based on the training he received. I would simply have to use Miló's spear form and he'd be unable to react properly."

"I thought so."

At the unfamiliar voice, Junpei and Pyrrha turned around and came face-to-face – or face-to-neck in Junpei's case – with the muscular form of Gwen. Looking up at her face – and Junpei had to resist the urge to snicker at how out of place her glasses looked on her – he tilted his head in askance.

"That training you put Jaune through," she began, her normal tone surprisingly soft given her size and stature, "It was more than just training him how to fight against a sword-user, wasn't it?" Narrow eyes glanced at Akihiko as well, who she remembered mentioning having overseen the same training for Junpei. "You didn't train Jaune how to fight. You trained his body how to do it for him, didn't you?"

"His body?" echoed the twins, Melanie and Viola, looking up at their literally big sister.

"She means his muscle memory," answered Sable, narrowing her eyes at the fight. "But I don't really see how that kind of training would result in this."

"But what does that mean?" This time the question came from Arianna. This time, everyone literally looked up to face the speaker. The tall girl fidgeted for some reason before speaking. "What did they do?"

"You're actually wrong, Sable," said Gwen, shaking her head. "Muscle memory is just that, memory. Your body becomes familiar with repeated actions and requires less conscious thought to perform after enough time. But muscle memory doesn't tell you when to dodge, when to block, or when something is coming at you from somewhere you can't see. If it was simply muscle memory training, Jaune would have been stumbling around more and reacting only at the last second. Even if his muscles knew the movements, if his mind can't keep up with the fight then the memory is next to useless. But instead, he's actually been reacting at just the right times, though he's sometimes off by a bit because Hazel's weapon is much larger and heavier than the ones he's used to fighting."

"As for what they did," she then said in response to Arianna's question. "They put Jaune through a very harsh and painful form of training. And for someone like him, it would have been downright brutal especially since he only had a few days to prepare," was Gwen's response as she turned to face Akihiko, making the tallest of her siblings worry even more. "Am I right?"

The silver-haired boxer nodded, seeing no reason to keep it hidden now. "Yeah, you're right." Then seeing the questioning look on the twins' faces, as well as Arianna's worried expression, he decided to explain. "If you do something enough times, the muscles in your body will become familiar with the movements, making it easier to perform the more you do it."

"Like when we-"

"-Practiced punches and kicks-"

"-Again and again."

Akihiko nodded at the twins' combined response, not the least bit disturbed by it. "Exactly. That's muscle memory. But just getting your body used to the movements isn't enough. Practicing the forms is different from sparring. And sparring is different from actually fighting. Your body may know how to throw a punch, but while sparring you won't just be throwing punches while standing still."

He gestured to the fight where both fighters were constantly in motion despite attacking and defending furiously. "And even if you've sparred before, an actual fight where there's something at stake, perhaps even your life, has a different feel to it. A lot of the time it's different enough that even the most well-trained person can sometimes forget what they've learned if the pressure gets too much, freezing up at a crucial moment."

"I just have one more question," said Gwen, narrowing her already narrow eyes. "How far did you take it?"

Akihiko didn't hesitate to respond. "As far as we could."

Gwen's fists clenched tightly at that response, but she refrained from doing anything. She could understand why they did it, but that didn't mean she had to be happy. Sable, ever observant, caught the movement. "What does that mean?"

"It means they pushed him to his limit, then pushed him some more, and then probably pushed again until he was a hair away from his breaking point," half-growled the second Arc sibling. "Even if Jaune doesn't consciously learn, his body and his subconscious mind will start to pick up on the lessons on its own. But for this kind of training to succeed, they have to go at Jaune like it's a real fight and not just practice. You could almost say that they have to go at him aiming to kill."

That last word caused several faces to pale, including some who were standing behind Akihiko. "Is… Is that true?"

Akihiko glanced over his shoulder to face Ruby, who had been the one to ask the question, and nodded, not looking the least bit sorry. "That's right."

"But why?" This time, the question came from Blake, who still remembered the sight she witnessed on her way to her Stealth class. "How does beating him into the ground and attacking him while he's down help? I thought the training was to teach his muscle memory."

"When did I ever say that?" Akihiko asked with a scoff and a smug grin. "The only time I actually answered was when Gwendolyn asked if-"

"Just Gwen is fine," interrupted the muscular young woman.

The boxer nodded then repeated his statement. "Was when Gwen asked if her assumption was right."

"But she said before that that you were training Jaune's body, right?"

Again, Akihiko grinned. "Remember what I just said, training his muscles to remember the moves isn't the same as training his whole body. Even if we trained his muscles to remember the moves, it's won't be enough if specific conditions aren't met. For example, even if we teach him how to block a certain attack, it's useless if he doesn't realize the attack is coming in the first place. And even if he sees it coming, muscle memory will only make it easier to perform the move, not necessarily make it easier to react to USE that move. No, I didn't train his muscles. What we trained-"

Gwen cut in at that point, finishing Akihiko's sentence for him. "Was his instinct. Right?"

"Exactly."

A sudden snort caught their attention. "Regardless of what training he's been through, it won't matter." All eyes turned to Scarlett at her declaration. And following her line of sight, they saw Jaune and Hazel's blades deadlocked once more. "Hazel!" Scarlett called out. "Stop holding back!"

A brief expression of hesitation appeared on the youngest sibling's face before she nodded. Her expression hardened and she pushed Jaune away from her.

Knowing he was at a disadvantage at a distance, Jaune closed the distance as quickly as he could. But even as he did, Hazel obeyed her eldest sister's command. She placed both hands on Rugitus Leo's hilt, much to the surprise of the students as they realized she had been fighting the entire time with just one hand.

Realizing the danger, Junpei made to call out to his teammate. "Jaune! Look o-"

But his warning came too late. Hazel had charged towards her brother and swung her blade-rifle with both hands. His shield came up to block the blade, just as he did dozens of times before. This time, however, his defense was useless.

As soon as the blade struck, he was sent flying away a considerable distance, farther than any other time he had been struck. He recovered quickly, angry eyes seeking out his younger sister, only to widen when he found Hazel already mid-swing right in front of him. Again he raised his shield, his movements less sharp as his mind panicked slightly at the sudden increase in speed. And again, he was simply launched off his feet.

This time he recovered faster. And the next time Hazel approached, he was ready. Again, he raised his shield. But this time, he angled it to deflect the blow rather than just blocking it outright. But even so, the sheer power behind the blow sent him stumbling, opening him up to a powerful side kick that, again, lifted him off his feet. Only this time, the force wasn't cushioned by his shield.

Back with the spectators, a loud, urgent beeping was heard from three sources as the kick made contact with Jaune. Pulling out his Scroll, Junpei opened it up and saw the reason for the sound. Beside him, Pyrrha and Chidori did the same. The team's Aura monitor had just alerted them that Jaune's Aura had dropped below 25% as shown by the blinking, partially filled, red bar on the screen, right below the blonde's portrait.

"That's the end then," said Scarlett, noticing the image on Junpei's Scroll. "That's enough Hazel! His Aura's too low to continue," she called out to the girl before she decided to continue her offensive. Then she turned to Junpei. "I'll admit, it was a good try bu-"

"RAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

She was cut off by a loud yell coming from in front of her. When she turned back, she found Jaune charging straight for the dumbstruck Hazel. But the distance he had to run had been too great, and the youngest sibling managed to dodge the attack.

The unexpected move from Jaune unnerved Hazel, and she glanced back to Scarlett, wondering what to do, before returning her attention to her brother as he attacked once more. She couldn't forget that his Aura had already dropped into the red zone - at least, that was what Scarlett had said - so she was hesitant to attack and remained on the defensive lest she seriously injured her brother by accident.

"Jaune! That's enough!" Scarlett shouted out loud, a stern expression settling on her face. "You've lost. Accept your defeat!"

But Jaune paid no attention to her and continued to attack Hazel, who, in turn, continued to defend herself. And all the while, she sent confused, pleading looks to her family, not knowing how to deal with the current situation.

The eldest sibling growled, angry that her brother was ignoring her and insisting on fighting. She was about to step forward when, again, someone stopped her from interfering. This time, however it was just one person.

"The fight's not over yet." She turned to Junpei just in time to see him pocket his Scroll with an unconcerned look on his face.

"What are you talking about?" she question with a snarl. "His Aura has dropped below the acceptable level. If this continues he could very well get hurt. Moreover, he agreed to return home if he lost the fight."

In response, Junpei snorted and grinned. "Yeah, but all _he_ said was that he'd go back 'if he lost'. Nobody ever said the fight stopped when someone's Aura got too low. As far as I can see, he's still going strong. So that means the fight is still on." Then his grin grew as he saw Jaune break through Hazel's guard, her divided attention and lack of focus allowing him to do so. "Besides. It looks like round two is just beginning."

* * *

 ***SIGH*I really, really have to stop writing scenes that have so many characters on screen. But I just couldn't justify not having everyone else there to witness whether Jaune manages to stay or not. Weiss not attending would be understandable, but everyone else sees him as a friend so it would be out of character for them not to attend. *SIGH x1000***

 **For some reason this chapter felt longer than usual. Minus the extremely long AN at the start and below, this chapter is just over 24k words. Not my highest word count, but the scenes certainly made me feel like I've written a lot more.**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone's enjoying the ride so far.**

 **Now we've met the entire Arc family. And to anyone who's noticed, yes Jaune's mother is based off Sephiria Arks from the manga/anime Black Cat. I just couldn't resist when I was thinking her up back during the planning period. Her last name is practically the same after all. Her first name fits the color naming scheme (Sephiria sounds close to Sapphire). And she's blonde. Though I did decide to give some of them brown hair just for a bit of variety as well as the twins' dyed hair.**

 **The other members of the family, however, are completely original. And believe me, it was a pain coming up with all of them and trying to make them unique in some way. And that included names, appearances, weapons, AND Semblances. Yes, all of that will be revealed in time but for the most part they will remain minor/supporting characters with scattered appearances in the story, some more than others.**

 **Anyone who's read my other story will undoubtedly notice that Jaune's reason for running away and going to Beacon, or rather the event that pushed him into doing it, is the same here. On that note, I hope I portrayed Jaune realistically enough. True, he's no longer the same as canon Jaune, but I hope this fleshed out his character more by providing his motives for some of his decisions and insecurities while maintaining his core personality.**

 **We've also got the start of the fight to determine Jaune's future as well as a partial explanation into his special training. The fight will conclude next chapter (obviously) along with the final explanation into the training.**

 **I'm sure nobody missed that little Jaune/Pyrrha bonding moment. Though I doubt they'll be taking up Junpei's offer to have the room to themselves anytime soon.**

 **And there's also some development with the Weiss/Aigis situation. And is that little anomaly that Fuuka spotted something they should be worried about? Who knows? Well, I do, of course, but I guess the rest of you will just have to keep guessing or wait it out. XD**

 **The next chapter may take a while since I will be busy with a few things. First, the holidays coming up next week will be keeping me busy both at work and at home with my family, so I won't be doing any writing for most of the next week.**

 **Second, I'll be finishing up on rewriting the existing chapters of my other story and cleaning up the story planning mess I turned it into when I decided to edit the overall plot AFTER I had decided on one and planned it all out already. So yeah, big mess because of an impulsive decision that I now have to fix. Oh well.**

 **Anyway, fairly quick discussion on Volume 4 Episode 1 since I really wanna share what I thought.**

 **POSSIBLE MILD CANON SPOILER WARNING!**

 **I like the reveal of the antagonists as well as a peek into where the Grimm come from (not that we understand how it works). Still, a lot of that actually works out in favor of my own plans for Messiah's Legacy and can easily be incorporated with very little changes on my end but obviously the roles may be different in the long run as will be their motivations and such.**

 **I'm feeling a little sorry for Cinder though I do have to say I like her new hairstyle. I know, she killed Pyrrha, but I'm the kind of person who can never truly hate a character. After all, some of you like that you can hate Weiss at the moment, so it shouldn't be a much of a stretch to like a murderous antagonist who killed one of your favorite characters, right? … Right?**

 **Ren's new design is really pushing him into his Mulan role. Seriously, all that's left is to have him outright dress up as a girl to sneak into some place. I'm pretty certain he could pull it off with a little help to get the right curves, or to hide the lack of them. Not sure if we just saw a hint of his Semblance, I mean, he stopped in mid-air and shot forward in a different direction after all.**

 **Nora's got an upgrade to her weapon, though I'm not exactly sure what the heck that was that propelled her to the trees (Magnhild was trailing smoke the entire time so it definitely wasn't a grenade. Or maybe it was? A highly pressurized smoke grenade maybe? Jetpack hammer?) I'm curious about the electricity running through Magnhild too. In Volume 1, we saw sparks erupt from the back of the Ursa she rode during the Initiation. And yet this time it's mentioned as a new upgrade to Magnhild. Since she can turn electricity into raw power, could she be able to release some of what she absorbed?**

 **Ruby's Semblance seems to have taken on a whole new level. That's way, waaaaaaaaay more rose petals then she used to leave behind to say the least. XD**

 **Not much has changed for Jaune but I do like what they did with his weapons. But… Pumpkin Pete? Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha… hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! As Ruby would say anyway.**

 **But seriously, 50 box tops? I wonder how long it took him to save all that up. Then again, with 7 sisters, even if say… only half of them ate the cereal with him, they'd probably go through at least two boxes a week. More if they snack on it in the middle of the day and not just have it for breakfast.**

 **Though I can't see any proper parent letting their kid eat a lot of that. Even Pyrrha admits it wasn't very healthy.**

 **But hey, at least he has something ELSE to remember Pyrrha by asides from his weapon upgrade. Not that he needs the weapons. He's the strategist after all XD.**

 **The new opening scene also revealed quite a bit more. We've also gotten sneak peeks of where Weiss, Yang, and Blake are. Asides from the butler, we've got another white-haired player on the board, asides from Mr. Schnee of course. Episode 2 revealed his identity but, as I've said above, I'll avoid revealing even hints on that episode since I'm sure a lot of people haven't seen it yet.**

 **Yang seems to be… recovering for lack of better word. And I'm a little surprised by Blake's companion and intrigued by who the other two people she was with could be and also where they're headed and why. Though if the opening was any indication, we actually do know where everyone is. The red light (most likely and obviously representing Ruby) flew towards Mistral. The white light flew north to Atlas. The Yellow light just looped around to land on Patch. The black light headed south-east to Menagerie.**

 **Just speculation, but since Menagerie was where the faunus were confined, I'm guessing that they still maintain a faunus-dominant society there for those who would rather not be around humans and other such kinds of faunus. Given her history and what she did at the end of Volume 3, I'm guessing this is Blake thinking something like 'Let's just run away for good this time.' Or maybe she has friends or family there? The latter is a bit of a stretch but I don't recall her ever mentioning being an orphan so it's possible.**

 **Damn, RT really is a tease. We get answers only to end up with a dozen more questions for every answer we get. Oh well, that just means we won't be bored.**

 **End Volume 4 Ep. 1 spoilers.**

 **Anyway, not much left to say so I'll end it here with the usual.**

 **As always, please don't be shy and feel free to let me know what you think of the story. Good? Bad? Like it? Dislike it? Love it? Despise it? Anything at all, even the strictest of criticisms, is welcome provided it is worded nicely and is not made up of 99% cursing, 1% nonsense, and 0% politeness.**


	13. Ch 11 - The Hero's Resolve

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

* * *

 **Sorry this one took a while everyone. Work kept me busy and I picked up a bad cough from somewhere, bad enough that I had trouble sleeping most nights. Still, work is slowly going down to normal levels and my throat is feeling much better but still a little irritated.**

 **As expected, there were a few people who were turned off by what I did with Jaune, much like how some were turned off by what I did with Weiss. But such is the risk of doing something different from the norm. Just as there are those who enjoy seeing something new, there are and always will be people who don't. Or at the very least, they're selective as to how much characters and plots are changed from canon and/or how they are changed.**

 **It's a risk that is always there when writers on this site try to step beyond the norm, but, from my perspective, it is incredibly rewarding when things go well. Not only do we get to deliver something fresh and new to a site that has seen thousands of stories with similar premises but with different executions, but we also get that personal sense of satisfaction of doing something new, of being the first to do it and, more importantly, the first to do it well.**

 **So I'm proud to say that I don't regret the path I've taken this story, both the characters and the plot. There's no way to please everybody, we're all well aware of that, so all I can do is to keep walking even if only the minority is willing to walk with me. Which is thankfully not the case here. XD**

 **Or is it? XP**

 **Seriously, thank you, everyone, for sticking with me so far. This story is far from over and I promise I will bring this journey to a proper end and not a premature death like the majority of stories on this site.**

 **On a different note, I resent the fact that I was accused of bashing on Jaune. -_-***

 **I mean, really, bashing implies that I hate Jaune, which I don't. I'm not too fond of his shallow desire to be a hero in canon (which is, as many have noted, similar to Junpei's original feelings when he first joined SEES) but that hardly means I don't like him as a character. In fact, he is the closest character we have to a blank slate. Mostly unknown past, an undeveloped fighting style, no solid goal asides from 'become a hero', all this just tells me, screams at me, to 'Make me into a character you can call yours.'**

 **So I took that challenge to develop him beyond what was shown in canon while still doing my best to retain his core personality. And I have to say, I'm loving where his character is going as well as all the other characters'… characters. You guys will just have to wait and see what more I have in store but I'm hopeful yet confident that most of you will like it.**

 **(SLIGHTLY) IMPORTANT NOTE:** **I went back to all the previous chapter and cleaned them up a bit – which is part of why this chapter took so long (reading each and every single one of a quarter-million words tends to take a bit of time) – and changed a few things but nothing major except for one thing. I added a scene to Chapter 9, right after the scene where Junpei speaks with Akihiko and Fuuka in Combat class. I had planned on putting that there but it slipped my mind. It's not a major scene but it does set things up for an important event coming in a chapter or two. So check it out if you want. Or not. Whatever you feel like doing.**

 **Also, a little warning before we get on with the chapter. This chapter ISN'T about the fight itself. It will drag on for quite a while, enough that any excitement you might feel may fade away long before the end of the fight. In fact, it's best to go on reading WITHOUT expecting the fight to be overly exciting or anything of the sort. Suspenseful? Perhaps. Exciting? Not so much. And while I am, personally, not completely satisfied by how the chapter came out, I have no intention of making it exciting. Again, the fight itself is not the focus of the chapter.**

 **You have been warned.**

 **Jaune Arc VS Hazel Arc**

 **Round 2**

 **FIGHT!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – The Hero's Resolve**

 **October 18, XX13**

"You're insane! Do you really expect me to let this go on?"

Scarlett punctuated her words by practically throwing her arm to the side, gesturing to where Jaune was furiously chasing after the slightly panicky Hazel, the latter still unsure of what to do and constantly casting pleading looks towards her family. And yet her attention could not remain there for very long since, in a reversal of their previous situation, Jaune was now the one pressing her and giving her little time to think, let alone ask for advice.

"Are you even aware of why a fight ends when someone's Aura gets too low?" Surely he knew. The boy wasn't the most academically gifted from what she had heard from Glynda last time she visited, but surely her brother's team leader wasn't unaware of such things. Moreover, Glynda was not one to let such knowledge be unknown. She would have mentioned it in her class before letting the students fight. Multiple times.

"Somethin' about how you could get hurt even if you still have Aura, right?" Scarlett nearly sighed in relief but at the same time, the fact that Junpei knew confused her even more. If he knew that, then why would he insist that the fight continued? She was about to ask when his next words caught her off guard. "So what? We've trained him even when his Aura was completely gone. This shouldn't be any different."

"What?!"

Junpei jumped when several voices cried out in unison from both sides. The only people to not vocally react were Pyrrha, Chidori, Akihiko, Fuuka, Mitsuru, and Jaune's parents – though they were understandably frowning at Junpei's surprising revelation of that particular aspect of Jaune's training.

"Explain," Scarlett ground out through clenched teeth, her fists similarly clenched tight as she resisted the urge to throttle the young man before her.

"W-Well, I-I mean…" Junpei trailed off as he looked around, seeing himself surrounded by a various gazes. Some questioning, others accusing, and a few disappointed ones as well. He took a deep breath and let it out quickly, visibly calming down. "It's not like the Grimm are gonna care, right? Aura or not, they're gonna come at us either way. 'Sides, it's not like I used my sword for that part of the training."

"That's hardly the point!" roared Scarlett, startling Junpei as well as those standing behind him. "Who are YOU to train him in such a way? You're not a teacher here and I highly doubt you're a certified private trainer. And yet you would go and do something as dangerous as training him without his Aura? I have half a mind to report you to the Headmaster for-"

"Scarlett."

Her name, spoken softly yet firmly, cut through the air, contrasting greatly with her own harsh tone. More than the tone, it was the voice that spoke that caused her to stop and turn around. "Mother?"

Sephiria had a neutral expression on her face as she approached. But her pale blue eyes weren't focused on her daughter. Rather, they were aimed at the young man her daughter had been berating. "When you trained Jaune," she began as she stopped next to her daughter, her eyes never once leaving Junpei's gray ones, "Was he aware of why you trained him in such a manner?"

Junpei stared at his teammate's mother just a few seconds too long, still unable to believe that she was his mother and not one of his sisters. "Uh… n-no, actually. We just-"

The blonde woman interrupted him before he could explain, though her voice remained relatively soft. "But was he made aware of how demanding the training would be before you began?"

Taken aback by the interruption, it took Junpei another moment or two to regather his wits. "Y-yeah, I told him that-"

"Did he," she interrupted once more, nearly causing Junpei to pout, "At any point during the training, once ask you to stop?"

This time, the cap-wearing teen was able to answer immediately. "No, but-"

"Then that is all I need to hear."

"Mother?" The unspoken question was clear in Scarlett's tone as she turned to face her mother as she turned around, ready to walk away. "What do you-"

"Let the fight continue until a clear victor is decided. Interfere only if absolutely necessary," said Sephiria. Her tone was neutral, but Scarlett knew better than to argue against her own mother. "Mr. Iori did not hesitate to suggest that you and your brother fight, and he was quite confident it would work in their favor. And your brother somehow found the courage to challenge you of his own volition, despite knowing of the difference in power. The very least we can do, is allow them to show us their resolve."

Without another word, she returned to her husband's side, who had continued to watch his son chase after his youngest daughter, who had growing more and more worried when no aid whatsoever was forthcoming from her family.

"Does she uh… do that a lot?" Scarlett heard Junpei ask her. "Interrupting people I mean."

"More than you can imagine," she responded in that tone of voice that let those within earshot know that she was quite familiar with her mother's proclivities. "Since she's allowed the fight to go on then there is little I can do." She allowed the brief look of victory to appear on Junpei's face before she continued. "But that just means Hazel can stop running."

Before Junpei could process her words, Scarlett turned back to the battle and called out to her sister. "Hazel! Finish the fight! Do whatever it take to knock him out!" The look of relief on Hazel's face was clear as day at those words, just as the worry she felt from Jaune's classmates grew palpable. But when she glanced at them, she saw two grins among the sea of faces.

"Don't count your brother out just yet," said Akihiko, watching the fight with a confident gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah," agreed Junpei, grinning just as confidently. "He's definitely a lot tougher than he looks."

* * *

Hazel sighed in relief when she heard her sister's words, raising Rugitus Leo to block Jaune's attack and locking their weapons together. The sudden shift in her behavior must have caught her brother off guard as his eyes widened slightly in surprise. Taking advantage of this, Hazel gripped her weapon with both hands and swung, sending Jaune flying back with ease.

She briefly considered shooting him once more but the fact that his Aura was already below a quarter meant that powerful attacks might pierce through his Aura before it was completely depleted. And at this range, her rifle would punch a hole straight through him if his Aura failed to stop the bullet. She didn't want to hurt him any more than necessary so she would have to rely on fighting up close.

She adjusted her grip slightly just as Jaune rolled to his feet dozens of feet away. This way she would be striking with the broad side of Rugitus Leo rather than the blade. It would certainly hurt if he got hit, but at least there was little risk of drawing blood, or cutting him or a limb, if she broke through his Aura at the wrong moment.

With another roar, Jaune charged at her, shield slightly raised and Crocea Mors ready to strike. The look of anger on his face caused her to hesitate just a little bit, making her wish that they could talk things through instead of fighting like this, but she couldn't entertain that thought for very long. She swung Rugitus Leo to his left with her left hand, knowing he would have to defend himself in some way to avoid being hit.

As predicted, he raised shield, angled upwards to redirect the blow. But she had been counting on that. She allowed the momentum of her swing to guide her body, twisting to the left, then kicking back with her foot when her back was facing him. Her foot struck his shield, hastily raised by the way he stumbled back at the impact. Quickly readjusting her grip and her footing, she swung her blade-rifle once more, the flat side connecting with his left arm as he was unable to readjust his own defense.

Much to her surprise, he recovered far more quickly than expected. He rolled to his feet not too far away, pushing off the ground towards her. She swung once more, repeating the same tactic she had just used. With Jaune no longer thinking clearly she should be able to-

She froze when her kick missed completely. And before she could think of the possible reasons, Jaune's sword struck her other leg, sending her crashing down to the ground. She rolled away, not wanting to know how else he would follow-up. She managed to push herself to her knees but he was on her once more, lashing out with Crocea Mors before she could rise.

She raised Rugitus Leo diagonally, using its size to fend off his initial attacks. But then, he surprised her by circling around after a few hits, coming up to her exposed flank. Before she realized it, her Aura was further drained by half a dozen blows that landed before she could recover from her mistake.

' _When did he get so good?'_ she found herself asking in her head, rising to her feet quickly then locking blades once more. She tried pushing him away again but Crocea Mors slid off Rugitus Leo as Jaune rolled to the side before charging at her shield-first.

Again, she was caught off-guard and knocked off balance by her brother's unexpected actions. But this time, she managed to retreat before he could do any damage. Her Aura was waning. At best, it was only down by half. Her brother's was most likely close to being completely depleted. If she could just drain what little he had left then the fight would end. Surely he would not fight without his Aura, even as enraged as he was. Even if he did, the others wouldn't let the fight continue if it reached that point.

But as she returned to defending herself, she found her thoughts wandering to Jaune's newly acquired abilities. There was something strange about it all. The way Scarlett had described it two days ago, Jaune had barely been on the level of a second-year student of Remorra when she watched his fight earlier this week. But now, he was keeping up with her well enough that he may as well be an up-coming graduate in Remorra. Perhaps even a recent graduate.

Had he been hiding his skills? No, that couldn't be. He had nothing to gain by losing so badly on purpose. Even if his goal was to somehow make people underestimate him in the long-run, there were better ways to feign weakness than to let your opponent beat you without landing a single blow of your own.

And then, there were those random bursts of skill he would suddenly display. _'Like now,'_ she noted, her blue eyes narrowing as he somehow blocked a kick aimed at his side. There was no way he could have seen that coming with the way she blocked his vision with Rugitus Leo.

It was as though he knew what she was going to do even without actually seeing it. But that was impossible. Combat instinct like that took years to develop. She been training for a few years before entering Remorra but she hadn't developed such sharp, accurate instincts until nearly her third year. Even Gwen had told her that was normal, but the more gifted fighters could develop in in less time.

But a week? They had already eliminated the possibility that Jaune was gifted at combat. It simply wasn't something he was suited for. It's why they all tried hard to get him to aim for a different goal. So unless Jaune had secretly been training for years, not just by himself but with someone else, then there was simply no way such accurate instincts could be developed. There had to be something she was missing.

As she knocked him back once more, she could see that his breathing was heavy and ragged as he dropped down to one knee. Understandable since he hadn't been training as long. His stamina wouldn't be at the level of his fellow classmates. This was punctuated by him planting his sword into the ground blade first even as he remained on his knee. This was her chance.

"Jaune," she called out, hoping that his exhaustion would allow her words to cut through his rage. "Please, let's talk about this." Her heart grew hopeful when Jaune's eyes rolled up to look at her from beneath sweat-laden hair, still filled with anger but with much more rationality behind them.

* * *

"What's there… to talk about?" Jaune asked between pants, gazing up at his sister as the red haze that had overtaken him slowly diminished. But it did not fade. No. His anger was not something that would fade in such a short span of time. "If I win… I stay... If I lose… I go. It's as… simple as that."

"It doesn't have to be that way," Hazel pleaded, taking a step closer to him with Rugitus Leo held loosely at her side. "You've shown everyone what you can do. You don't have to push yourself any more than this. I'm sure mom and dad will listen if you talk to them."

"Like how they listened before?" He saw her freeze at his sharp words, words born from the memories of the previous times he had spoken to their parents about becoming a Huntsman. "Do you know how much it hurt… that nobody believed in me?" He could still remember the feeling of his heart cracking and crumbling away with every denial, with every time he was forced to look away from his dream. "Not just my classmates… or the townspeople… but even my own family? Even _you_ told me… to stop chasing my dream… to just choose something safer."

"I just wanted you to-"

"To be safe, I get it!" he cut in harshly, before calming down to take a few deep breaths. There was no point getting mad over that particular subject. "But what's the point of all that… if I can't be happy? Being a hero has always been my dream. You know that. Everyone knows that. So why?" Why did life have to be so unfair? "Why do all of you get to chase your dreams… while I'm kept back like some storybook princess?" Why was he the only one to not have any talent at fighting? "It's not like you were all born strong. And it's not like everyone is a genius at fighting."

"Gwen worked ten times as much as everyone else to get where she is. Sable's the smartest in the family but even she didn't have to work as hard as her classmates to be strong. The twins got to go to Atlas without a single complaint from anyone. Nobody ever tried forcing Arianna to be a Huntress. But what about me? Why me?" He raised his head to look directly at her. There was a shimmer in the corner of his vision even as he felt the heat build up behind his eyes. "Why am I the only one who doesn't get a fair chance? Why am I the only one being held back?!"

"Jaune, you…"

As Hazel struggle to find her words, Jaune turned his focus inwards and started to consider his situation. His Aura was incredibly low, well past the point where Professor Goodwitch would have called an end to the fight. At first he had only kept fighting because he was too enraged to stop. But now that exhaustion had begun to set in, his rational mind slowly regained control over his body.

He found it strange that he was able to fight so well against Hazel despite being so angry. Didn't people usually grow sloppy when fighting like that? At least that's what he recalled Professor Goodwitch saying one time when Yang had lost her cool while fighting Reuben Ashworth of Team LNNR, who ranked third in their year in terms of speed and agility. She had gotten so mad at her inability to hit him that he had tricked her into falling off the platform, losing by ring out without landing or receiving a single blow.

Still, that was a thought for later. Right now he needed to find a way to win. He didn't know why nobody had stopped the fight yet, but if they were letting it go on then that meant he still had a chance to win. He just needed to look for it.

First things first. He needed to know what he was working with. He quickly went over the fight, taking in every detail he could like he was taught. From the physical form of Rugitus Leo, to its capabilities, to Hazel's skills, and to her chosen strategy. And it was there that he noticed something odd.

' _She hasn't shot me recently.'_

He went over the fight again, trying to ascertain that he hadn't remember wrong. He hadn't. Even with anger clouding his judgment, he could still remember enough to know that she had stopped shooting at him not too long ago. There was no way she was out of bullets already. She wouldn't make such an amateurish mistake.

Another was how she had switched her grip on her weapon, using the broad side of Rugitus Leo as a bludgeon rather than the blade. It was a strange way to fight, especially since air resistance would slow down her swings. Not much, but enough to make a difference given the size and shape of Rugitus Leo.

It didn't take long before he realized why she would handicap herself like that.

It was a small advantage, given that she was still willing to bludgeon him, but it was still better than fighting her on, relatively speaking, even ground. But the more he thought about it all, the more an idea formed in the back of his mind, coming to the forefront as more and more details from the fight filtered from his memories into his conscious mind.

Suddenly, a voice coming from the spectating group cut in. "That's two minutes Jaune!" His plan wasn't complete yet but those words seemed to send a pulse of power through him, giving him a sudden boost of energy despite how ordinary the words were.

His body reacted in an instant, pushing off the ground and pulling Crocea More from the earth as he dashed towards Hazel, who had turned away at the shout to see what it was about. She couldn't have known what those words meant, of course. Only those involved in his training, plus Chidori, were aware that Jaune was only ever given two minutes to rest between matches. And even then, he was forced to remain on his feet. Being able to take that two-minute rest while down on one knee was heaven compared to staying on his feet.

Jaune felt a bit more rested now. He was still exhausted, yes, but he had trained in far worse conditions. He wasn't sure if it was one of the intended results of the training – he definitely needed to ask them exactly how the training was meant to help him – but training until he was practically a zombie certainly made his current state insignificant in comparison.

Either way, he reached Hazel just as she turned back in shock. Clearly, she hadn't expected him to charge at her then and there. His first strike caught her off-guard, Rugitus Leo only half-raised when a rising slash struck her left hip and knocked her back. She recovered quickly, however, and blocked the succeeding blows. She refrained from attacking, strangely content to stick to defense even as his clumsy attacks clearly gave her countless opportunities to strike back.

Jaune frowned a bit as he stumbled after Hazel dodged an overhead slash, quickly steadying himself and re-orienting to face his younger sister. It was strange. He was thinking clearly, but he could tell that his attacks weren't as controlled as when he had been angry.

Earlier, Hazel had to block his attacks. Now she was dodging them by a large margin. And when she did dodge his previous attacks, he was ready to defend or attack right after. Now he had to waste a few second to regain his balance after overextending himself. She hadn't attack him yet but he was certain that he wouldn't be able to defend himself as well as he had been doing earlier.

If he wasn't in the middle of a fight, he would have sat down to think about it some more. It made no sense to him at all that fighting while angry seemed to make him a better fighter while Yang, who was by far a better fighter, became worse when she was angry. But, again, this wasn't really the time and place. Besides, his lack of skill, at that very moment, just might be what he needs for his plan.

Moveover, Jaune could see the hesitance and indecision in Hazel's blue eyes as she repeatedly turned towards the spectators, most likely hoping for someone to tell her what to do. It was the same hesitance that had been there since the start of the fight. Only now, with his Aura most likely close to hitting zero, her hesitance carried over into her actions. Her movements were still swift and decisive when it came to defense, but he could see the way her sword arm twitched every now and then as though about to do something only to be held back a split-second later.

She wanted to fight back. She wanted to hit him, to end the fight with her as the victor. She wanted to have him return home with them, to take her unskilled brother away from a dangerous profession.

But she couldn't. Not with the way things are at that exact moment.

She didn't want to hurt him. Her attacks earlier _had_ hurt, but none of it would leave any lasting damage. Rather, she didn't want to risk piercing through his Aura and hurting him, even by mistake. Especially by mistake.

And that's what he was counting on. That was the kind of mindset that would win the fight for him. Now, he just needed to be patient. It shouldn't be long before-

Suddenly, her eyes sharpened just before they turned from someone in the audience to him. He barely managed to brace himself and his shield to stop Rugitus Leo before the flat side of the blade could slam into his side. Still, the sheer power behind the attack threw him aside, the blade completing its motion as though he hadn't even been in the way. As he rolled to his feet, his arms raised his shield at an angle as he crouched lower, knocking the massive blade-rifle up and away from him.

He rose to his feet even as Hazel raised Rugitus Leo up then brought it down at an angle. Again, Jaune deflected the blow with his shield, cheering slightly as he saw the blade stab into the earth. It would take a little time, no more than a second or so, for her to pull it out, but his sword arm was already bringing Crocea Mors to bear to take advantage of the opening.

Crocea Mors was halfway to its target when a sharp pain in his side, just below his ribs, caused him to flinch and stagger back. He felt it again, in the exact same spot, before he could retreat. This time, he could see her pulling her left leg back, the obvious culprit for the pain he was experiencing. And before he could pull away, she leapt forward a bit, spinning around and landing on her left leg then thrusting her other leg straight into his abdomen. The unexpected blow landed true and knocked him back a short distance.

At that exact moment, he felt something familiar. A pulse coming from deep within him along with the feeling of warmth fading away slightly. There was no way he could mistake it for anything. Not when he had experienced the same feeling multiple times over the past few days. It the feeling of losing his innate defenses. It was the feeling of his Aura levels being knocked down to zero.

He had seen what it looked like to others once, when Junpei and Akihiko showed him the recording they had taken to point out his mistakes. In the middle of the video, one of Akihiko's punches struck him dead center, taking away the last bit of his Aura. When it did, a strange black and white sheen appeared all over his body, rippling outwards from where he was struck. It was brief, barely even a second, but he had seen it while watching the video and he was certain that everyone watching the fight had seen it happen to him now as well.

Hazel definitely would have seen it given the short distance between them. And even at that distance, Scarlett would have seen it. His father would have seen it. His mother would have seen it. Gwen, Sable, Viola, and Melanie would have seen it as well. His friends would have seen it too, even if there existed the possibility that not all of them knew was it was, SEES most likely. Even if some of them didn't see it, just having one person see it was enough.

That was it. The fight was over.

Or at least, it will be soon enough.

He rolled to his feet not too far away, and pushed off the ground towards Hazel once he regained his balance. The look of shock and panic on her face was absolutely priceless, with her eyes wide open and her jaw hanging open as she tried to process what her eyes were seeing.

This was it. This was what he had been waiting for. She was already hesitant to strike him when his Aura was low. What more if he fought _without_ Aura?

 _"The Grimm won't care just 'cuz your Aura's down and out. So you shouldn't either. Aura or not, you get up and fight."_

Those words, shouted right in his face in the middle of a training match with Junpei, stuck with him from the very moment he said it. It brought back memories of SEES's stand against the Grimm during the initiation. And it drove home the fact that fighting the Grimm was completely different from their training matches in Combat class.

 _"It's not fighting dirty if there aren't any rules!"_

One of the very first things Junpei had shouted at him not long into their very first training match. Junpei had kicked him while he was down and had, later, thrown a handful of dirt right at his face, causing him to stumble in the middle of a charge and ending with a knee in his gut. Jaune accused him of cheating but the other two teens just scoffed at his words and said, _"I dare ya to tell that to the Grimm next time you fight one."_

A lot of things they said were highly unconventional pieces of advice. At least, it had been to him. Prior to Beacon, his only experience in fighting were the few times he tried to stand up to those who had pushed him around when he transferred from Remorra. And those could hardly be called fights, given that he had done little more than flail about uselessly. And more recently, there were the fights in combat class, which were formed around tournament rules for the safety of the students.

Seeing and facing actual Grimm, on the other hand, had gone a long way to changing his mindset. The Grimm wouldn't be content just knocking a Huntsman's Aura down into the red. Nobody would stop the fight just because someone's Aura ran too low. Training was one thing, but in a real fight nobody, or nothing, would let him rest just because he got tired or because he was low on Aura. He would have to find some way to be able to rest without being disturbed, or he would most likely die at the hands of whatever foe he was facing at the time.

And if he had to fight dirty to get that chance? Well, after all his fights against Junpei, Akihiko, and Pyrrha, Jaune would be a fool to even consider that fighting rules existed outside of tournaments and the like.

And that difference in opinion was precisely what he had been counting on. It was doubtful that Hazel had ever fought someone after their Aura got too low. It was even more unlikely that she had fought someone without Aura. For that person to be her brother? Someone she didn't want to hurt? That just made things all the more advantageous for him.

Jaune grasped Crocea Mors with both hands, ready to channel all his strength into a single blow. If he could strike hard enough he could very well end the fight if he got her Aura low enough. He could hear loud cheering from his friends, but more than a few shouts of concern as well. But there was no turning back now.

His foot took the final step, closing the gap enough to bring him within striking range. His grip on the sword hilt tightened, his eyes locked onto her torso, his target. With a loud cry, he swung with all his might, Crocea Mors glinting in the late morning sun as it rose from his right side.

"HAZEL!"

The sudden shout, loud and sharp enough to cut through the other voices, brought his sister back to her senses. But already, Crocea Mors was rising up from his right, aiming for her left side, the farthest from Rugitus Leo which was held in her right. But years of training had honed her reflexes. She jumped to her right to buy time before the oncoming weapon struck, even if it was just another quarter of a second, and twirled around to bring Rugitus Leo up to defend her.

' _NO!'_ he screamed in his head and put just a little more power into his swing, giving as much as he could.

Crocea Mors smashed into Rugitus Leo with a deafening crash of steel on steel. The violent and powerful impact jarred his arms and he lost his grip on Crocea Mors. Disbelieving blue eyes watched as the Arc family heirloom spun through the air, landing on the ground many yards away with a dull clattering thud. Those same disbelieving eyes also watched as the larger form of Rugitus Leo descended from its own flight, falling to the ground with a louder, heavier, thud not too far from Crocea Mors.

Both pairs of blue eyes stared at their fallen weapons as though unable to believe that both had gone flying. Jaune recovered first. It might not have gone according to plan, but disarming her was just as good. Besides, he had another weapon.

He quickly stepped between Hazel and Rugitus Leo and collapsed his shield, returning it to its sheath form. Then, just as Junpei had done during their training, he took the sheath in his hands and held it like he would a sword. It was wider than Crocea Mors's hilt so holding it like a weapon felt strange, but this way he was armed while Hazel was not.

Seeing that she was still distracted, Jaune took the initiative and lunged forward, slashing with the sheath like he would a sword. Just as the sheath was about to strike Hazel's shoulder blade, she disappeared. "Wha… Guh!" He coughed when he felt the air being forced out of his lungs. He glanced down to see Hazel's knee buried in his abdomen. But before his mind could process and analyze the rapid change in the situation, Hazel's leg came around again, sweeping his own out from under him.

The fall transitioned into a roll. It wasn't very smooth, but it was fast enough that he avoided the fist that was aimed for his gut. He pushed himself up onto one knee then swiftly raised his left arm when he saw the kick coming. It was only when a grunt of pain escaped his lips, caused by Hazel's leg striking his left forearm, that he remembered that his shield was currently in his right hand in sheath form, being used for offense rather than defense.

He swiftly rose to his feet and scrambled to dodge as Hazel tried to punch him, her fist grazing his cheek as he leaned to the side and nearly lost his balance again. He lashed out blindly with Crocea Mors only for Hazel to step closer, her left forearm stopping his right before the sheath could get close to her. Her arm twisted around his as her left hand gripped him by the arm and kept him from running.

She threw a punch with her free hand and he raised his left arm to shield his face. But then her fist opened before it struck, and her now open hand grabbed his wrist. She pulled him closer only bury her knee in his stomach again. And again. And again. Each time the air was driven from him and when he tried to breathe, she took advantage of his distraction. She released his left arm and punched him in the jaw with her now free right hand. He wasn't sure if he as imagining it, but it almost sounded like she had apologized to him just before she did so.

He stumbled back from the blow. Or at least, he tried to. With his sword arm still in her grip, he couldn't really move away. Another punch landed on his jaw, followed by three more. The blows weren't powerful, considering how strong she must be to be able to wield Rugitus Leo with no visible effort, but each one rattle his brain and kept him from forming any proper thoughts.

Something about the way she was attacking him seemed familiar and had he been more lucid he would have remembered exactly when and where he had seen it happen. As well as the unexpected result of that particular fight. Sadly, he was in no state to remember. He felt Hazel's grip disappear from his forearm but it was followed by the feeling of her slim fingers wrapping around his neck and something hooking onto the back of his right leg. All of a sudden there was a sharp pain coming from his upper back and the back of his head as his vision was filled by the sight of the blue sky.

Realizing he was on his back, he attempted to rise only for his body to remain unresponsive. His limbs felt heavy and the throbbing pain coming from the back of his head distracted him whenever he tried to think. His ears heard a voice. Hazel's, a part of his mind supplied. He tried to make sense of her words but the impact with the ground had dazed him too much and he was having trouble understanding her.

But more than that, he was tired. His exhaustion had caught up to him and now, on his back and unable to rise, his body slowly began to enter a state of rest. His eyelids grew heavy even as his head lolled to the side, the view of the sky disappearing.

And as his vision began to fade, he realized that, coincidentally, he was now facing the direction where his family and friends were watching from. He couldn't make out the expressions on their faces, his vision too blurry even if his eyes weren't slowly closing, but he was relieved that he couldn't. He didn't want to risk seeing the looks of disappointment on their faces now that he had lost any chances of victory.

' _That's a laugh,'_ he thought derisively, a soft, bitter laugh coming from his lips as his vision grew even dimmer. ' _Did I actually think I stood a chance?'_

Yes, he did. But he shouldn't have. Hazel had been training for years, starting even before she entered Remorra Academy. There was no way he could he forget that day. It had been shortly after her eighth birthday, nearly a year after his own. Nearly a year after his parents and siblings decided that they could not train him. Nearly a year after his dream began to grow beyond his reach.

What could four days of training, no matter how intense or how 'special', do against eight years, going on nine? Not to mention the people training him were fellow students. They were more experienced that he was, that was for certain, but still, they were only a little older than he was. Hazel had their parents and siblings teaching her, passing on lessons born of years upon years of experience.

And in addition to her natural talent at marksmanship, she learned just as fast as Gwen, who was only slightly more talented than the average but worked hard to make up for it. Hazel also worked harder than Scarlett, who was naturally gifted at every aspect of combat and only needed a little effort to learn something. She was neither as smart as Sable nor as cunning as the twins, but she learned from them as best as she could. And soon, she was more than just a top class marksman.

As for himself? Not an ounce of talent had been passed down from either parent. No matter how hard he worked, he just couldn't seem to keep the lessons in mind. During every lesson, he would remind himself again and again what he had to do. He would recite all the steps in his mind, repeat each and every correction he was told.

Yet the sheer number of things he needed to remember always overwhelmed him. Soon he would confuse one with the other, and he would waste time correcting himself or being corrected by whoever was teaching him at the time. But the more they corrected him, the more he grew nervous, more afraid of disappointing his family. And the more nervous he grew, the more he repeated the lessons in his head in an effort to get the lesson right. And the more he did this, the more confusing it all became.

It became an endless, inescapable cycle.

At first, it simply drove home just how amazing his family was to be able to remember all those things and keep them in mind even in the middle of a fight. It made him want to try harder to be just like them. As time went on it became a sign of his incompetence, of his inability to live up to his family's expectations. Then one day, the day he dropped out of Remorra, those endless repetitions of trying and failing became nothing more than a reminder of an impossible dream.

For the next six years he lived a relatively normal life, going to a normal school, learning ordinary things that had little to do with fighting, and just being unremarkable as a whole. Several times he had tried to get his parents or one of his siblings to teach him. But none of them so much as tried, simply reminding him of what had happened in the past. He had even tried learning by himself, using nothing more than a large stick in place of a practice sword, but he often got caught and subsequently scolded.

He gave up not long after, surrendering to the mundane future that would one day be his present and past. Nothing could have been farther from his dream of becoming a hero, save for becoming a criminal. But even that would have been impossible as he had no skills of note that could help him survive such a path. Not that he wanted to go down that path of course.

Even running away and getting into Beacon did little to quiet the doubts in his heart. The events of the initiation only further emphasized how completely outclassed he was, how deep he had dived into an ocean, miles and miles away from land, with little more than a single breath of air to sustain him.

He tried as hard as he could, doing his best to keep up with the lessons, both academic and physical. He put up that false smile that he had spent years mastering to keep his family from learning of his situation in school, using it to feign only slight difficulty in class so as not to give away just how much trouble he was truly having. And whenever they noticed his abysmal work, he used that same smile to throw them off, to pretend that he hadn't been paying attention to the work he was doing.

He knew it couldn't possibly last. But it was his only chance. He had come this far, all for his dream. He couldn't turn back now after everything he had done.

And then, Scarlett's unexpected visit shattered what little hope he had. He knew he would be discovered sooner or later, but he had hoped that he would have had more time to learn enough to be a better fighter. Enough that he could plead with his family to let him stay, to show that he wasn't completely hopeless. Instead, she found him just when he did something supremely stupid.

That should have been the end of it. No matter what he said or did, it was all over. If his dream hadn't been completely beyond reach before he came to Beacon, it certainly was now. As much as it pained him, as much as it tore at his very soul to admit it, it was over. The path of a hero was forever closed to him.

But then, Junpei came along.

With only a few words he had rekindled that light of hope in his heart, lit a spark that created a blazing flame within him that yearned to devour all that stood between him and his dream.

Never before had he felt such hope.

The day they started training, right before their first fight, Junpei told him one thing. He could still remember it word for word. He would never forget it. _"As long as you're willing to do whatever it takes to reach your dream, then_ I'll _do whatever it takes to help you reach your dream. And that's a promise."_

And so he fought.

He fought against opponents better than him that he would never have challenged at any other time. He stood up whenever he fell despite the pain in his body, and the weakness of his limbs. He raised his shield to protect himself even knowing that his rapidly diminishing strength could not possibly withstand the attack, shield or no. He lashed out with his blade even knowing that he couldn't hope to break through their defense. He fought as hard as he could even knowing he had absolutely no chance of winning.

It was Junpei who defended him against Weiss and made sure his secret wasn't exposed to the other students. It was Junpei who pushed him to remember why he came to Beacon. It was Junpei who reached out to help him when nobody else did. It was Junpei who helped him stand on his feet, who showed him that his dream was still within reach.

And yet, in return for all his kindness, he failed.

He didn't want to open his eyes. Though he couldn't see their faces clearly, he could imagine the looks of sadness and disappointment present on the faces of his friends. He didn't dare risk opening his eyes just to see that. More importantly, he didn't want to risk seeing his team and his trainers, Junpei most of all, only to see that same disappointment.

His family was undoubtedly disappointed in him already. And he could take disappointing his friends with his failure. There was nothing new there. But he didn't want to disappoint the one person who had given him so much in such a short time. The one person who had tried to help someone like him.

Because if that one person, the one who truly believed that he could achieve his dream of becoming a hero despite his complete lack of talent, were to stop believing in him, then…

"GET THE HELL UP JAUNE!"

Blue eyes snapped open as a familiar voice reached his eyes, carrying an unbelievable and unreasonable demand. His eyes immediately locked onto the source. Or at least, he tried to. His vision was blurry and still filled with spots. Still, he recognized the owner of the voice.

"IS THAT REALLY ALL YOU CAN DO?" he heard Junpei's voice shouting from across the yard. Jaune could already imagine his face, set into that familiar stern expression he used when he was the one fighting Jaune during training. "YOU'VE TAKEN HARDER HITS THAN THAT DURING TRAINING! THERE'S NO WAY THIS FIGHT'S OVER YET! COME ON! GET UP!"

Scarlett's voice could be heard in the distance, but he couldn't care less about what she was saying. Junpei… wanted him to keep fighting? He... He still believed he could win? Even after seeing him getting knocked around like that?

The sound of more voices caught his attention, and his eyes sought out the source. When he found it, he almost couldn't believe his eyes. Ruby, Yang, and Nora – at least, he thought it was them since all he could really see were various colored blurs – were all yelling. But it wasn't the fact that they were yelling that surprised him. It was what they were saying.

"COME ON JAUNE! YOU CAN DO IT!"

"YEAH! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!"

"BREAK HER LEGS!"

The others weren't yelling, and with his vision the way it was, he couldn't really make out what kind of expressions they had on their faces. But if he went by what he had seen before the fight had begun, then he was fairly certain they were either cheering him on silently or simply waiting to see what he would do.

Hopefully, that was it. He didn't want to even consider that any of them were disappointed by his performance.

Then, his eyes locked onto a familiar red and brown blur. Pyrrha. Though he couldn't see her expression, he could imagine that it was the same look she gave him whenever he sparred with Junpei rather than her, ready to run to his side but, for whatever reason, restraining herself.

Looking back at those time, he remember the only thing she would say asides from combat advice. They were three simple words, nothing that would sound out of place in any conversation. And yet, thinking back on them, hearing them as though she was speaking with him directly, he couldn't help but feel empowered. More so now, given his situation.

Don't give up.

He felt his strength slowly returning to his limbs. Not much, but enough. He bent his arms and planted his palms on the ground. Idly, he noted that Crocea Mors's sheath was still in his right hand. And with one leg bent, foot planted on the ground, he pushed.

A soft, feminine gasp came from somewhere in front of him. He ignored it. His body was soon upright. He leaned forward, placing more weight on his foot, and pushed. He stumbled as he got to his feet, still too weak, but he ignored this as well as Hazel's pleas to surrender.

He took one step forward, his body swaying unsteadily and his breathing ragged. He focused on the blur in front of him, a familiar shade of brown at the top.

"Jaune… please…"

He took another step forward. The blur grew larger.

"No way…" he gasped out, taking another step forward. "Not… gonna give up…"

"You can't even stand up straight."

The blur grew larger still. "Doesn't matter…" Another step. "This is my… last chance… Not gonna… waste it…"

Was he close enough? It was hard to tell. The blur that was Hazel certainly looked big enough.

"Jaune…"

She certainly sounded close enough. Just another step closer, just to be sure. He steadied himself, waiting for the swaying to stop. Or at least lessen. He willed all the power he had left into his arm, raising the sheath high above his head. "Sorry, Hazel…" he whispered.

His arm and the sheath descended, just as his vision grew dark.

* * *

Sephiria Arc was not a very expressive woman. All her children, and even her husband, could attest to that. And were someone to walk into the hospital room – she will never refer to such a large building as an infirmary despite what the staff told her – that housed her unconscious son, they would only see a woman looking down at the slumbering boy with a neutral expression and her arms crossed beneath her breasts. No concern, no worry, not an ounce of emotion could be seen on her face or in her eyes.

Yet those with a better understanding of her character would be able to tell just what she was feeling at that moment. Not worry, not concern, but indecision.

From the hallway outside the room, the voices of Gwen and Akihiko carried into the room despite the closed door, her second daughter and her son's trainer discussing the details of Jaune's special training while the others listened in, her other daughters occasionally asking questions alongside a few of Jaune's friends.

She didn't need to be present for it. The brief explanation that he had given during the fight was more than enough for her to eventually deduce just what kind of training her son had received over the past few days and why. In truth, it was nothing special. The boy's earlier words had simply made it sound more special than it truly was. It was something that could turn the most talentless fighter into someone who was, at the very least, capable. All it was, was experience.

The gifted and talented learned faster. What normally took weeks to learn would take a talented person only as little as a few days depending on the level of talent they had. They advanced faster, advancing past their peers by leaps and bounds and are often hailed as prodigies and geniuses.

Yet talent did not determine one's potential.

Just as a room's ceiling was the limit of how tall an object could be while inside it, one's potential was the limit of their growth. Regardless of how fast one's skills grew, this ceiling, this limit, was not something that could be surpassed on a whim. At times it was possible to surpass those limits, to set a new limit by overcoming the previous one, but such occasions were rare, only a few capable of doing such.

Jaune was not likely to be one of those people. Nor was he one with an exceptionally high potential.

Both she and Aurelian had seen it not long after her husband began to train Jaune. Not only did he not possess any natural talent, but his overall potential was below the average. She was one of those few people who had an uncanny ability to determine one's level of talent as well as one's potential, an ability that served her well during her time as an instructor at Atlas Academy and even as a teacher to her children.

Her appraisal of Scarlett was spot on, as were her appraisals of Gwendolyn and Hazel. Sable and the twins were harder as their strengths lay in their intellect, but once more, her assessment of their physical abilities were accurate.

It had been disappointing when Arianna chose not to pursue the life of a Huntress. Both her level of talent and her potential were the highest among all her siblings. And if she were to surpass those limits in the future, then she would surpass even her parents. But both she and her husband respected her decision, insisting only that she at least learn the basics of combat for self-defense.

But Jaune…

The day she made the decision to keep him from pursuing the life of a Huntsman was one of the most painful for her. None of their children knew it, but both she and Aurelian had argued for days on that very topic. He wanted to keep training Jaune, believing that he should have the chance to pursue his dream regardless of his talent and potential. She wanted to forbid him from going down that path, deeming it too dangerous for someone who did not have sufficient potential or talent.

It was an age-long argument between them, beginning as far back as the first day they met, back during their first Vytal Festival as students of Haven and Beacon. She believed that one's talent and potential determined how strong someone could grow. Even back then, her ability to determine one's level of talent and potential was terrifyingly accurate. He believed otherwise. Without the proper determination and will to temper them, skills could only carry one so far. Only by having a reason to fight as well as the determination to achieve that goal, to protect one's beliefs, could one truly grow strong.

Her team had won the tournament, both that first one and the next one two years later. And both times, her team had encountered his and won. The first time, the two of them fought each other during the first of the singles round. She defeated him, but not without great difficulty. Still, she had proven that her beliefs were stronger.

During their second match two years later, however, he had single-handedly defeated her during the doubles match, losing only because he had been too exhausted to defeat her partner, who had defeated his.

And over the coming years, the two of them would encounter each other many more times, culminating in a long-standing rivalry that he had jokingly deemed 'talent vs heart'. It was not an argument she wanted any part in, but she did not want to admit that her beliefs were wrong.

The argument faded soon after their, admittedly unexpected, marriage, never to resurface again until that day. And in the end, after nearly half-a-month of arguing behind their children's backs, Aurelian had finally given in. All it had taken was pointing out the dangers of being a Huntsman, reminding him of just how many Huntsmen failed to return from their missions alive in that first decade after graduating.

It was a low blow, she knew, since two of his three teammates had died within four years after their graduation despite having gone on supposedly easy missions alongside equally skilled Huntsmen and Huntresses. Such tragic twists of fate were called unexpected for a reason after all. But even so, she would do anything if it meant keeping her son safe, if it meant she would not be sending him to a premature death.

But now…

That fight had been a surprise in more ways than one. Jaune's unexpected display of courage was the first. He had challenged Scarlett, the eldest and easily the strongest among the eight siblings, to a fight to determine whether he would remain at Beacon or not.

The second was the revelation of what had ultimately driven him to flee from Domremy, from their home.

The whole family had learned from Arianna just what Jaune had gone through over his six years at Rouen Academy. Pushed around, often literally, pranked on a regular basis, and even publicly belittled for his inability to fight in comparison to his siblings.

The worst had been during his first few months but, eventually, the bullying had, relatively speaking, died down. It was still a daily occurrence, but he was no longer subject to the cruelty of his classmates at every moment. Once, twice, or thrice a day, still, but no longer once or twice every hour. Rather than the subject of torment, he simply became a form of entertainment when his offenders grew bored with their day.

She had been ready to march to Domremy's residential area to seek out all those who dared to harm her son. Only her husband's calm words, that what's done is done, had held her back long enough to listen to Jaune's side of the story.

As he had told Arianna, who had relayed it to them, he had tried to stand up to the first few who had bullied him to no avail. That was when he decided that the best thing he could do, was to give in. He had realized early on that his protests and resistance had only spurned them on, making things even more entertaining for them. And so he stopped resisting. And when they thought him broken, unwilling to fight back any longer, the majority began to leave him alone.

With the bullying down to a minimum, Jaune was able to live a, relatively, normal school life. Most people kept their distance still, but a few had kept him company for one reason or another. He simply needed to keep that status quo until his graduation and he would be free of his tormentors.

But then, Hazel's actions, well-intentioned though they may have been, had made things worse. She had saved him from one final, very public, form of humiliation. And yet Hazel's careless words, spoken and proudly declared in public without proper forethought, was many times more humiliating for her brother.

Indeed, many people had spoken to her about that very incident. Those of the town's militia that she trained and those who knew her well showed their concern for her son. Yet those who had very little interaction with her spoke of their sympathies, pitying her, a powerful Huntress, for having a son who could not live up to their family's reputation, for having a weak son that needed to be defended by his younger sister.

Many times she had to restrain herself from showing her displeasure, having to remind herself that she was a Huntress while those people were simply civilians who did not know any better. Weak or not, Jaune was her son first and foremost and she would love him regardless of anything.

She hadn't thought, at that time, that such rumors would affect her son so poorly. Now, however, she could see just how much of an effect his experiences have had on him.

The third surprise was Jaune's display of skill during the fight itself.

His skills, erratic as they were, were easily explained by the training he received. If they had truly trained him to fight against a sword-user, then it certainly went a long way to explaining why he was unable to fight against Hazel when she had been unarmed.

Many times she had also seen the surprise on his face when he was able to defend against an attack. Her question to Junpei confirmed the reason why. Jaune had been unaware of the reason behind the specifics of his training. He was unaware that the training was meant to train his subconscious, his instincts, to react to even an unseen threat. Provided, of course, that it was the kind of attack he had been subjected to. So of course he would be surprised to find that his body was reacting without conscious thought.

But the fourth and biggest surprise was his determination. Even when faced with Scarlett, he had been firm in his decision to fight. When his Aura had dropped below what the school considered safe, which is still higher than actual tournament rules, she had expected him to end the fight. Instead, Jaune continued to fight despite the possible danger to himself.

He had even charged straight for Hazel the moment his Aura was depleted, taking advantage of her shock and hesitance in an attempt to win. The pragmatist inside her applauded his decision to use his sister's hesitance against her even as her motherly side wanted nothing more than to run in and stop the fight before Hazel's own combat instincts led to drawn blood, or worse. And when his plan was derailed by their mutual disarming, he resorted to using the sheath of Crocea Mors as a weapon.

It was only poor fortune for him that Hazel had trained with Gwen in unarmed combat. Had he paid more attention at home then he would have known that. Then again, given what he had been going through at that time, it was understandable that he did not. His lack of knowledge of his training also hindered him at that point as he was unaware that his instincts would not react as sharply or as accurately against unarmed attacks.

But despite the beating he received, he forced himself to fight, rising to his feet despite everything. His weakness was apparent in his inability to stand and walk upright, yet every step was filled with determination. Jaune's resolve reminded her so much of Aurelian. He had displayed a similar resolve during their past fights, rising to his feet and fighting until he could not continue.

Then again, she had been in the same situation many times considering she and Aurelian were equals in terms of overall combat ability. More than once, she had been the one to struggle to her feet, unwilling to let the fight end in his favor.

Their situations were different in that neither she nor Aurelian held back against one another the way that Hazel did against Jaune. But even so, Jaune stood despite being clearly outclassed. He pushed his body to its limits, fighting despite the pain he must have been feeling. He refused to surrender, refused to give up on his dream.

It drove a sharp spike of pain into her heart to see him that way.

Experience and instinct could only carry one so far. Without the proper skills to support him, he would not go far as a Huntsman. Hazel only needed to discard her weapon, to switch to an unarmed fighting style, in order to defeat Jaune. Had she done so sooner, or had she chosen to fight unarmed first before drawing Rugitus Leo, then the fight would have ended within the first five minutes. It was only chance that had allowed Jaune to last as long as he did.

She was not a cruel woman. Nor was she uncaring. She loved her children dearly, even if she did not show it the way that other parents did. All she wanted for them is to live a happy life.

Jaune's dream was to be a Huntsman, to follow in his family's footsteps. It was a path filled with danger, a path that walked alongside death. It was not a life she wanted for him given his poor aptitude for combat. Even after she had convinced Aurelian to see things her way, not a day went by that she did not despise herself for taking away her son's dream. But she would prefer to have him alive and well to seek out a new calling, a new dream, even if he hated her for it, rather than allow him a brief moment of happiness only to die long before his time.

Yet he did not find a new path nor did he show any signs of hatred directed towards her or Aurelian. He hated the fact that they would not allow him to pursue his dream, even if he eventually came to understand why, but he did not hate them for keeping him from that path.

In some ways, it would have been easier if he _did_ hate them. Hatred, despite the negative implications, meant that he felt strongly about something, that he still held something so dearly to him that he would hate even his own family for taking it away. Instead, having his dream taken away had broken his spirit, leaving nothing but an empty shell that mimicked the living. He resigned himself to a mundane life rather than seek out a new dream.

It pained her to see him like that, like an aged Huntsman retiring after having lost so much. But she kept telling herself that he would one day find a new path. That at least he would live long enough to find that new path.

Only, she hadn't expected that Hazel's actions would light a spark within him, igniting his desire to be a Huntsman once more. He had even timed his departure perfectly. Or perhaps, they had given him the opportunity to depart.

Aurelian had been called to eliminate a small gathering of Grimm approaching a nearby village. Similarly, Scarlett, Gwen, Sable, Viola, and Melanie had all gone on missions of their own. She had gone out that night to accompany the town's militia on patrol. Only Arianna and Hazel remained home with Jaune that night.

Since she rose early to train, Hazel had also gone to bed early. Arianna had done the same since taking over the household chores included making breakfast, meaning she would have to wake up early to prepare everything and cook. Nobody knew for certain whether Jaune had already been prepared to leave prior to that night or if he had simply taken that opportunity to do so, but by the time anyone realized he was gone, it was close to noon the next day.

She had gotten back at dawn and went straight to bed after the night patrol. And neither Arianna nor Hazel had entered his room when they had gone to wake him for breakfast. They had knocked on the door to his room, calling out to him, but then left him alone when he failed to respond. It hadn't been that strange since he had been more reclusive than normal since his graduation. But when he failed to appear for lunch, they had gotten worried and entered, only to discover his absence.

At that point, she felt both worry and hope. Worry for her missing son who had gone out into the world without any ability to defend himself, and hope that, somehow, he had found a new path to follow, one that he did not share perhaps out of fear that they would reject it once again. Discovering that Crocea Mors had been taken provided a little relief. Even if he was unskilled, at least he was armed.

And so she told her children not to worry. Not too much at least. Unsurprisingly, she hadn't needed to convince Aurelian of anything as he, too, felt that his departure was a good thing in some ways. She told her daughters to give him time before they contacted him. His Scroll was missing, meaning that he had taken it with him. None of them liked it, Scarlett and Arianna especially, but they accepted it since both their parents did.

After about a week without any contact, they decided to make contact first. And that was where things started to go wrong. The one who had answered the Scroll was a teenage girl. After she had vehemently denied Hazel's accusations that she was Jaune's girlfriend, she had explained that she bought the Scroll at a second-hand store in Treia, which happened to be the town closest to Domremy.

Traveling there yielded no new answers as the shop owner, despite having recognized Jaune's photo, said that he didn't know where he had gone. Jaune had sold his Scroll, claiming to have bought a newer one recently, and then left. With no clues as to his destination, the five older siblings spread out to search for him, taking missions in the nearby area to aid in their search while her two youngest daughters returned home with her and Aurelian, their duties to the town too important to abandon.

Never did she once consider that he had returned to his former dream, that he would somehow find a way to enter Beacon, or that his falsified transcripts – admittedly the only plausible method he could have used to enter – would pass the scrutiny of the prestigious academy's staff.

And now, nearly two months after his disappearance, they had found him. Even if only due to a whim of Scarlett's to visit her former school. She was glad to see her son doing well, even if he wasn't doing as well in terms of schoolwork. But that he was safe and healthy was enough for her as a mother.

The fight worried her, but at the same time she couldn't help but be intrigued by the change in her son. Gone was the boy who would cower whenever his eldest sister so much as glared in his direction. Gone was the false smile he had put up over the past six years whether in the presence of friends or family. Gone was the boy who had acquiesced to his family's decision to not allow him to become a Huntsman for his own safety.

Instead, her son had challenged Scarlett to a fight, placing his dream as the prize. Her son smiled as he reunited with his siblings, tearing down the wall that he had slowly built and strengthened for more than six years. Her son fought for his dream, refusing to lay down his arms regardless of what came his way.

And such was the source of her indecision. Her son was still an incapable fighter, capable only under specific circumstances, but he had certainly inherited her husband's drive and determination, the very thing that had drawn her to him in the first place. It was a beautiful thing to behold, and she did not want to see such resolve disappear. And yet allowing him to remain in Beacon would place in him on a difficult and dangerous path.

A part of her wanted to curse her husband. He was well aware of her inner turmoil but when she had asked for his opinion, he simply grinned and said, "You're the one who turned him down the first time. If anyone's going to overturn that decision, it's going to be you." While he had a point, she knew that he was simply getting back at her for managing to convince him to support her previous decision. If there was one thing he was extremely good at, it was getting under her skin and annoying her.

The sound of the door opening and closing pulled Sephiria from her thoughts but she didn't turn. She had long since grown familiar with the way her husband and children walked and, thus, the sound they made as they walked. Even purposely walking slower, faster, quieter or noisier did little to change things. There was simply something distinct in how they walked that helped her identify them without looking. Or hearing them approach whenever they, as children, tried to sneak up on her.

"Has anything changed?" Gwen asked as she stood beside her mother, her muscular form dwarfing Sephiria's slender frame.

In response, the older woman shook her head. "It's to be expected. Your brother not only exhausted his Aura but also continued to fight despite this. I'm surprised he didn't collapse of exhaustion sooner. Although we made him keep up with the exercises to remain fit, engaging in combat at full strength for an entire fight will tire out even the best of us." The taller, but younger woman nodded, her eyes locked onto her brother's steadily rising and falling chest, hidden beneath his shirt and the blanket. "What of his training? Did you learn anything new?"

"A few things, yes." Sephiria did not outwardly respond, but Gwen already knew what that meant. "I was right in thinking that the training they put him through was nothing more than giving Jaune as much experience fighting a sword-user as possible in a short amount of time. Much like the regular instinct training I learned about, they attacked him using the same tactics and attack over and over again until his body adapted. Then, they targeted another weakness or used another sword-based attack pattern and repeated it again. It only differed from the method I'm familiar in that they pushed him harder than others would have."

Sephiria had already surmised as much but it was always good to be certain of such things. Still, it was strange that two teenagers had been able to come up with such a training regimen. Or had someone taught it to them at some point? She would had to look into them regardless of how their business in Beacon concluded.

"They had also pushed him beyond what he is physically capable of, forcing him to fight nearly a full hour and only letting him rest for two minutes before beginning the next round. They also ensured that he took this rest period on his feet, never allowing him to truly rest." At least that explained why Junpei had shouted something about 'two minutes' earlier. If he had trained in that manner for days then it would have been enough time to ingrain such a habit into his mind. "Since he always rested on his feet, the moment Hazel forced him to lie down probably made his body think that it was alright to shut down and recover. It's nothing short of pure willpower that must have allowed him to stand at the end and even manage one final attack, as weakened as it might have been."

Yes, that certainly made sense. Even if he had fallen on his back multiple times over the course of the fight, the fact that he always stood up within the next second or two prevented his mind from thinking that the fight had ended. Suddenly lying on his back for an extended period, combined with his injuries, most likely 'tricked' his mind into thinking that it was time for him to rest.

"Akihiko also admitted that neither he nor Junpei had any intention of continuing this training after today." That certainly caught her attention. But again, her sharp mind came to the same conclusion that Gwen was most likely about to tell her. "All this was, was simply to show that Jaune could become a capable fighter, a preview of what he could one day be capable of if he was given the chance."

Sephiria nodded, her assumptions proven true once again. After all, there were simply too many different weapons, too many different fighting styles, for such a training method to be effective in the long-term. Against a specific opponent, it could be devastating as shown by how Jaune managed to hold his own against Hazel. But as a way of increasing overall skill? No. Such a path would only lead to a premature end.

Though she did wonder, if only for a moment, what the outcome would have been if Scarlett had fought Jaune just as they had intended at the beginning. Would she have seen through the ruse? Would she have underestimated Jaune far too much, giving him the opportunity to drain enough of her Aura? Or would she have dominated the fight from the very beginning?

Unaware of her mother's train of thought, Gwen continued to relay what she had discussed with the silver-haired teen. "When I asked how they planned to proceed should Jaune remain at Beacon, however, he merely responded that they would simply have to train him from the ground up. At the very least, he understands that nothing can come from training without a proper foundation, which Jaune currently lacks. Though he did mention that Junpei had only asked for his help for this particular training. From this point on, Junpei would ultimately be the one responsible for such training since Akihiko is not of their team and has his own team and studies to think about."

And that was how it should be. His aid at this time was understandable but one cannot be responsible for more than their own burdens nor was it good to shoulder another's burdens too often, even if only to help. It was also good to hear that her son's team leader was aware of such things. Still, it did not make her decision any easier.

"And what do you think?" Sephiria asked her daughter, turning her head and raising her gaze to meet Gwen's. "Taking into consideration my opinion as a former instructor at Atlas, do you, someone who has often been called to train other children due to your vast knowledge of various training methods, believe that Jaune can learn? To be more specific, do you believe he can one day reach the level of a Huntsman that will ease my worries as a mother?"

Gwen answered without hesitation. "Yes. My answer hasn't changed from years ago. If anything, that fight showed me that I was correct. That Jaune _does_ have potential."

"Everyone has potential," countered Sephiria, turning back to gaze down at her son's slumbering dorm. "It's simply how much, or how little, he has that worries me."

The muscular blonde shook her head in response despite her mother looking away. "Even if you could predict his potential, you can't honestly say that he can't surpass those initial limitations. Especially not if he's as determined as we've seen."

She had to concede that point to her daughter. As two people who were intimately familiar with training others, both were aware that one major factor in someone surpassing their limits was their determination. Only someone with the drive and resolve to work hard and surpass their natural limitations could grow beyond what they were initially capable of, could avoid that point where one's skill level would stagnate regardless of what they did. And while there was no guarantee that even the most determined, most driven person would succeed in their endeavors, they still stood a better chance than those who had little desire to grow further, who were content with what they have.

If Jaune was truly determined to become a Huntsman, his low potential would mean hitting that plateau sooner than most, perhaps even while he was still at Beacon. And if his dream was still fresh in his mind, if he does not feel that he has become a proper Huntsman yet, not yet enough to say that he has fulfilled his dream, then his determination would certainly serve him well.

The only question was, was she willing to risk it? Was she willing to risk her only son's life on the possibility that he would surprise her and reach a level of strength to satisfy her worries? Or would it be best if she were to take him home, and hope that he found a better, safer path that would still lead him to happiness?

As she gazed down at Jaune's peacefully slumbering face, she sighed, lamenting her indecision.

* * *

The four teams had gone to lunch first, leaving Jaune's family to watch over him. Now, it was their turn to depart for lunch while Team JACN watched over their teammate. And even though some like Yang, Ruby, and Nora, Jaune's most vocal supporters, had wanted to stay as well, Junpei was able to convince them to go about their day with the others.

Jaune was in no danger. All he needed was rest so there was little need for everyone to wait for him to wake up. They reluctantly agreed but they insisted that they be told the moment he woke up. Junpei agreed to that little stipulation.

The red-haired Mistralian was sitting by Jaune's bedside, leaning on her thighs as her eyes watched her partner with a hint of worry. Not for his physical condition, no, but for the uncertain future that lay ahead of him. "Do you think they'll let him stay?" she asked without turning away from the blonde.

Sitting at a small table behind her, Junpei and Chidori were going over the former's homework. Since he had spent the entirety of the two previous days training Jaune, in addition to his Leadership and Tactics class the previous morning and evening respectively, he had been unable to do so until now. She supposed it was also a way of keeping his mind off the possibility that Jaune would not be staying with them.

A heavy sigh filtered across the room, the distinctly male undertone identifying the source as her team leader. "Dunno, really. Like you heard earlier when Akihiko-senpai came clean about the training, it was just a… what'd he call it again?"

"A stopgap, Junpei-kun," provided Chidori.

"Right, that." Junpei paused for a moment, probably to thank Chidori. Pyrrha could just imagine him turning to smile appreciatively at his girlfriend. "We showed his family that he can learn. But like senpai said, we still gotta teach him the basics, something he should have learned years ago. I think we can do it. Well, more you than us anyway."

"That doesn't really answer her question, Junpei-kun."

Leave it to Chidori to point it out so bluntly. Still, Pyrrha could appreciate it. Both Junpei's attempts to avoid giving the answer she dreaded, as well as Chidori's attempt to have Junpei give a proper answer.

In response, the team's leader sighed and Pyrrha could just feel the positivity in the room decrease. "Guess not. But… I'm not really sure what they'll do. He put up a good show but that's all it is. No guarantees that he'll put up that good a fight in the future."

"But why _did_ Akihiko-san explain the training?" asked Chidori. "I understand that they asked, but wouldn't it have been better to keep certain parts secret?"

Surprisingly, it was Pyrrha who answered. "It wouldn't have worked." She felt, rather than saw, the two teens turn to her. "It took me a while to remember, but Gwendolyn Arc is well known for her knowledge of various training methods. I remember because my parents once considered hiring her as my private tutor when I was younger. In fact, the only reason my parents decided otherwise was because she does not accept long term contracts outside of a certain area, especially not as far as the other kingdoms. I assume it is because she does not wish to remain far from her family for too long."

"Makes sense. They seem like a pretty close family so they probably don't stay away from home very long," commented Junpei. "Not sure if senpai knew that about her but we actually talked about it yesterday. He told me that if someone asked that we would have to tell them the truth. It'd just make it harder for Jaune if we lied or hid stuff now and got caught later on."

That was certainly very true. Jaune was already in enough trouble with the actions he took to enter Beacon. It wouldn't have been a wise decision to lie to his family. That would have only made it more unlikely that Jaune would be allowed to remain in school. To remain with them.

"Not necessarily." The unexpected voice caused them all to turn to the door. Much to their collective surprise, the massive form of Gwen and the towering form of Arianna were now standing inside the room, the door closed behind them. Seeing the surprise on their faces, Gwen just chuckled. "Sorry. Didn't think we were that quiet. Guess you were too preoccupied to hear us come in."

Junpei just waved it off. "It's cool. Probably should have been paying attention anyway." Then a slightly uncomfortable look appeared on his face. "So, what was that about uh…"

Despite trailing off, Gwen seemed to have understood what JACN's team leader was getting at. "Nothing much, really," she said with a shrug of her massive shoulders, walked over to one side of the room and leaning against the wall even as Arianna took the empty seat on the side of the bed opposite Pyrrha, taking one of Jaune's hands in her larger, but slender, ones. "Even if you tried keeping the training's details a secret it wouldn't have mattered much. Scarlett might have bitched about it but nobody else would have cared."

"Uh… really?" Junpei's confusion as evident in his tone. "I mean, what about Jaune's parents? Well, your parents, actually."

There was a slight pause as a complicated look appeared on the muscular woman's face. "Given how his life has been, I can guess what Jaune must have thought of us back then. But believe it or not, only two people originally wanted to keep Jaune from being a Huntsman."

"Gwen." The soft, melodic voice took the three teens by surprise, causing them to turn to the other Arc sibling in the room. "Are you sure you should be telling them that?" There was no reproach in Arianna's tone, simply concern. Concern for whom, however, was unknown. "Won't mother…"

"She won't," preempted the older sibling, looking reassuringly at her younger, but taller, sister. "Besides, I think Jaune's friends deserve to hear both sides of the story." Hearing no more objections, she returned her attention to Junpei and Chidori, who were the only ones looking in her direction. She could tell, however, that Jaune's partner was paying attention just as closely. "When dad, Scarlett, and I failed to train Jaune as a kid, mom was the first to speak out against letting Jaune become a Huntsman."

"But as unlikely as it was, there was still the possibility that we just weren't the right kind of teachers for him. So dad convinced mom to let some friends of theirs try as well. And when that failed, he convinced her to let the instructors at Remorra try when Jaune was finally old enough to attend." She sighed and shut her eyes. "In hindsight, that was a very poor decision."

"So they shouldn't have given Jaune that final chance?" asked the cap-wearing teen. There was a hint of anger in his tone and Gwen could certainly understand where he was coming from.

"Dad shouldn't have given him false hope," she corrected. And before Junpei could say what was on his mind, which was quite obvious from her perspective, she continued to speak. "Instead, he should have kept training him even if Jaune wasn't picking up on the lessons. Slow learners just need time. Time, and patience. Jaune didn't get either one."

"This is just my opinion, mind you, and I'd rather you not repeat it to anyone else but… I think that mom and dad had gotten too used to having talented kids by that point." Again, the teenage boy was giving her a look of confusion. "Think about it. Scarlett was in her second year at Beacon by that point, me in my first. Sable in her fifth year at Remorra and the twins in their second. Even at that age, we'd all pretty much established a small reputation for ourselves. Arianna had been training in self-defense for a year by that point. And even if she doesn't like fighting, she was picking up the lessons faster than any of us at that age."

"So Jaune was expected to continue that trend." The conclusion came from Chidori, her passive expression looking up at Gwen with a fair amount of certainty in her eyes. "And his inability to do so had a greater impact than it normally would have had otherwise."

The girl was sharp, Gwen would give her that. "Exactly. Not to say that they're lazy, but when things come easy to you, you forget that you are the exception rather than the rule. Our family is just one of thousands after all, even if many in the family, past and present, were unnaturally gifted. Scarlett was actually a little mad that Jaune wasn't learning at what she felt was the proper pace."

"So… what?" Junpei looked at her with a skepticism. "They thought Jaune was some kind of idiot?"

"Not exactly how I'd put it," Gwen replied with a wry grin. "But more or less, yes. Didn't help that Sable was the smartest or that the twins, at that age, just loved to poke fun at every little thing without realizing just how much their words could actually hurt someone. I'm pretty sure Jaune felt that everyone was looking down at him for his failures."

"But not you?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly blameless in this." She could see that her open admission had surprised him. "I think a part of me knew that Jaune just needed to work at it more, just needed a little more patience from us. Considering that I was the least talented among us back then, I probably… no, I _definitely_ should have spoken up. But I looked up to our parents and to Scarlett so much that I just went with it. It might not have made a difference, or it could have changed things entirely. We'll never know."

"But what I regret the most was those three years before he entered Remorra. Jaune was always asking dad to train him. But since dad always turned him down he eventually gave up. Instead, whenever we came home from Beacon, Jaune would ask me and Scarlett." Her face took on a softer expression as she remembered the times when young Jaune would run up to her before she even reached the door, asking her to train him since their father wouldn't.

Then she frowned. "But mom and dad had expected it and told us not to long before Jaune first asked us. Told us that training him then would give him false hope, make him think that he would be able to be a Huntsman." She scoffed. "As if telling him to wait until he entered Remorra, a combat school, hadn't already made him hopeful. Knowing he would one day attend Remorra but not receiving any training to prepare him for it must have confused the hell out of him."

"I wanted to train him. But like I said, I looked up to them, and in my eyes they couldn't do wrong. If they said it was better to wait, then it was better. That's what I told myself back then." Again, Gwen sighed and shut her eyes, remembering those times as well as the time when she realized they had all been wrong. "It wasn't until he entered and dropped out of Remorra that I began to see how badly we screwed up."

Nobody urged her to continue even as the silence stretched on. Simply waiting for her to continue her tale. There was no doubt in their minds that she would. For that Gwen was grateful. This wasn't really something she had expected to do when she came to Beacon. But seeing the lengths that her brother's teammates had gone through in an effort to help him had brought up the memories of her failings.

Was she sharing the story in hopes that they would do what she failed to do? What she should have done? Or was it as she had told Arianna just now? Was she sharing her story because she felt that Jaune's teammates and friends deserved to hear it?

Then again, did it really matter at this point? Jaune's team, as well as his friends from other teams, clearly supported him and were willing to do what they felt was necessary to help him. Her chance to help him had come and gone. Nothing would change that. _'Then again,'_ she thought, opening her eyes and gazing down at her brother's team leader. _'There is still something that only I can do at this point.'_

When she resumed her tale, her voice was noticeably lighter, though still tinged with regret. "Allowing him to enter Remorra without any training made things worse. It's true that his lack of talent made training him harder, but it's precisely for that reason that we should have trained him before he went to a combat school. Either that, or tell him straight up that he couldn't become a Huntsman."

"You would have preferred to have broken his dreams even as a child?" asked Pyrrha, turning to look away from her partner. She was surprised that Gwen, regretful as she was, would suggest such a thing.

"In all honesty, it would have been better than giving him false hope for three years but not preparing him," the muscular blonde replied with a nod. "We let him continue to think he could still become a Huntsman, but at the same time we did nothing to help him reach his dream. If anything, we most likely knew that we were only prolonging things but we held on to that shred of hope that the school could do what we thought we failed to do. If we were going to do that, better to give it to him straight than to give him false hope. But like I said, we screwed up."

"So when the instructors told us that they couldn't teach him either, dad gave in to mom, pulled him out of Remorra and sent him to Rouen instead. But he couldn't let go of his dream. All because we had given Jaune hope by telling him to wait. He asked for training a few times after that but always got turned down. Sometimes he was caught trying to train on his own and got scolded for it. After a few months, he gave up. And we thought that was the end of it." She sighed. "You probably know the rest from there."

"What about your mom?" The question surprised Gwen. Glancing around, she could see that Junpei's question had surprised everyone in the room. "I mean, I don't think I heard anything about her trying to train Jaune back then but she still got a say in things. Where was she back then?"

"No offense to her but mom couldn't train a beginner even if our lives depended on it." Gwen shook her head with a small smile on her face, probably thinking of such a time when Sephiria had done something like that. "Letting the Atlesian army torture Jaune for information would have been kinder than letting mom train him as a kid."

"G-Gwen!" Arianna looked almost afraid at those words, eyes glancing towards the door as though afraid their mother would walk in at that very moment.

In turn, Gwen just laughed, a loud boisterous laughter that probably would have gotten her kicked out of the infirmary. "Calm down Ari," she said after her laughter settled a bit. "You know it's true. Besides, mom would be the first to admit that I'm right." She then turned back to Junpei. "So yeah, mom leaves the basic training to dad and only started training us when we graduated from Remorra."

"So that bit about only two people wanting to not train him…"

"Those two were Scarlett and mom. Mom got dad to agree with her and the rest of us pretty much just went along. At least at first," she added soon after. "I can't speak for everyone else, but by my third year here at Beacon I began to see that the life of a Huntress was much more dangerous than I had realized. What more after graduation? What more for Jaune?"

"So you were simply concerned for him?" asked Pyrrha.

"All of us were," corrected Gwen. "But as I said, I can't speak for everyone. At some point, after Jaune transferred to Rouen, I tried to bring up his training again with my parents. Got into quite a few arguments here and there actually. I kept pushing but I never let Jaune know. I didn't want him to get this hopes up for nothing if I couldn't convince them. Maybe I should have. Just to let him know I had his back. Just another thing to regret now I guess."

"But you're here now aren't you?" asked Chidori. Rare were the times that the redhead spoke during a serious conversation that involved strangers, not that Gwen was aware of that, so even Junpei and Pyrrha, Pyrrha especially, gave the white-clad girl their full attention. "You've made mistakes in the past but doesn't that simply mean that you should take advantage of this opportunity?"

Across the table from the redhead, Junpei nodded in agreement. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Arianna doing the same. Disappointingly, Gwen shook her head without much thought. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. Not for her. "My chance came years ago and I wasted it." They all looked confused, wondering if she had heard what Chidori had said about a second chance.

That was fine with Gwen. She didn't really think it was important that she explain. They were all still young – compared to her at least – so they were unlikely to understand just why it was that what they saw as a second chance wasn't really one. "At best, all I can do now is try to convince mom to let him stay, to give him the chance he deserves. She's the one who'll be making the final decision by the way," she said to Junpei, almost as an afterthought.

A second chance implies that doing things right this time around would achieve the results she failed to attain the first time. But things were different now. Rather than a second chance, this was her first, and possibly only, chance to do something new. What happens afterwards was no longer up to her.

"Just her?"

Gwen nodded with a thoughtful look on her face. "Scarlett obviously wants him back home so she and I are at odds here. Sable couldn't really care less whether he goes or stays so long as he's safe. The twins are pretty much the same. Arianna wants him home but wants him to be happy, which would mean staying here. Hazel's conflicted and could go either way, especially after that bomb he dropped on her. Dad left the decision to mom. Not really sure why. So no matter what we think, it's all up to her. Even if all of us wanted him to stay, if she wants him home then there isn't much we can do about it."

There wasn't much left to say at that point. Though unexpected, she had managed to share her own perspective on things. Hopefully she managed to fill in any blanks left by Jaune's side of the story. While the possibility existed that Jaune would be returning home to Domremy, it would be best for his team to be aware of the full story should he remain.

If their mother allowed him to stay, it would be his friends who would be around to help him heal, to help him grow. And for that, they needed to be aware of the underlying problem. Not to say that Jaune's perspective was wrong, but even he only knew so much about the situation. There were always three sides to a story. At least, that's what Gwen believed. In this case it was Jaune's, her family's, and the cold, hard truth.

And now, it would be up to Jaune's team to decide for themselves what to believe in. Were they partial to Jaune's tale? Or the family's? Or would they perhaps cobble together another perspective born of the two? Gwen sighed. This really wasn't something she needed to consider. She had already decided to place her trust in them with regards to Jaune's continued future at Beacon.

Just then, the door opened to admit several more people. The first to enter was Hazel, dashing to Jaune's bedside and questioning Arianna on their brother's status. The twins followed after, their distinctive red and blue hair and somewhat bizarre clothing making them stand out in so many ways. Sable followed, carefully maneuvering through the doorway to keep her still bundled weapons from catching on the doorframe. And finally, Aurelian and Sephiria, the former bearing a calm yet pleasant demeanor while the latter maintained a stoic expression.

"Calm down Hazel," spoke Aurelian, his amused voice soft and deep, yet firm. "Jaune's still resting so it wouldn't do to wake him before he's fully recovered."

That quieted the youngest sibling but did little to ease her worries, evidenced by how her eyes remained locked onto her brother. The others took their own positions around the room. The twins stood on opposite sides of the bed by Jaune's head, speaking in a loud whisper that did little to hide their plans to 'play' with Jaune's sleeping face. Sable went to stand by the window, setting her massive weapons down in the corner of the room while leaning against the window frame with her book held up by one hand. It was worth noting, however, that not once did she turn the page.

"Where's Scarlett?" asked Gwen, taking note of the only absentee from their family.

"She met an acquaintance on the way back who wished to speak with her," responded Sephiria. Gwen knew, however, that could have meant a lot of things when it came to their mother. She could have meant exactly what she said. Or she could be trying to say that someone came and literally dragged Scarlett away and only assumed it was someone Scarlett knew because she didn't attack them outright.

But before she could try to pry more information out of the young-looking mother, the woman with ash-blonde hair glanced around the room until her eyes found her target. "Pardon me," she began, waiting until she had their attention before continuing. "If it's no trouble, I would like to speak with you for a moment."

The target of her attention looked back dumbly, as though unable to comprehend her words. He looked around, as though making sure there was nobody else who she could have been speaking with. Failing to find any, he turned back, the same look on his face, and raised his finger up to point at himself, as though to be absolutely certain that he was, indeed, the one the Arc matriarch was speaking with.

Sephiria nodded wordlessly then turned to leave without waiting for a response from Junpei. When the door shut behind her, a soft laugh escaped Aurelian's lips. "You'd best catch up with her," he said to Junpei, looking quite amused by the situation. "I know it sounded like a request but my wife rarely makes an actual request."

Junpei rose from his seat, still struggling with the fact that his friend's mother wanted to speak with him. When Chidori and Pyrrha made to rise, however, he waved them down. "It's fine, I think. I'll be back soon."

Chidori sat back down, finding no reason to argue. Pyrrha, however, looked like she wanted to insist on joining him. Most likely, she wanted to try to convince Sephiria to let Jaune remain at Beacon with them. Eventually, she settled back down into her seat, trusting that Junpei would say what needed to be said. He had, after all, done what he could to help Jaune thus far. He wouldn't turn his back on him now.

When he exited the room, Junpei looked down both directions and saw Sephiria's distinctive light purple jacket just as she turned a corner. It didn't take him long to catch up with her, and match her pace, following slightly behind her as she entered another room.

It was very much like the one they left, only without all the people. The bed was neatly made and the only furniture asides from the bed were two chairs and a small, square table, much like the one he and Chidori had been using. The curtains were pulled open, letting the early afternoon sunlight filter in through the closed windows.

Junpei shut the door behind him even as Sephiria walked over to the window, standing before it to gaze at the world beyond the glass. He approached but remained behind her, unsure of what to do next. The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours, Junpei constantly shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Eventually, the Arc matriarch broke the silence. "Tell me. Do you know what Jaune's dream is?"

Jaune's… dream? He briefly wondered why she was asking such an obvious question but put those thoughts out of his head and gave his answer.

Sephiria gave no visible or audible response for a while. "If you were to ask any of my daughters," she said after a moment of silence, "All of them would give you the same answer. And they would be wrong." She paused again. "How would you define the word 'hero'?"

It barely took Junpei any time to gather his thoughts to response, but before he could answer, he let out an involuntary gasp as he came to realize why his friend's mother was following that line of questioning.

"You understand." It wasn't a question. The sound of his gasp most likely told her more than words could. "Heroes, true heroes and not merely hunters of fame and fortune, are a selfless existence. They give and expect little, sometimes nothing, in return. They fight for a cause not theirs simply because they believe it to be just and right. They will fight to protect even the most insignificant life because, to them, all life is precious. Even the lives of ill-reputed men. And if it means saving even one life, they would gladly give theirs."

"That is what the ideal hero is like." She spoke without any particular tone, simply stating a fact rather than an opinion. But when she spoke next, Junpei could hear the weariness in her voice. "And that is what Jaune aspires to become."

It made more sense now why she was so adamant about preventing Jaune from becoming a Huntsman. It wasn't necessarily because he was weak or because he would never become as strong as his sisters. It was simply because his dream was, in her mind at least, the same as dying prematurely.

It was as she said. Heroes were a selfless existence. They existed for the sake of others. And they died for the sake of others. Heroes were practically expected to be self-sacrificing. The moment a hero chose to preserve his own life over another's was the moment he ceased to be a hero. And yet…

Junpei clenched his fist. He couldn't accept that sort of definition. Not when he knew three, no… that was wrong. He knew four people who could qualify for the title of hero. And while it was true that they all died to save another, it was a lie to say that they were selfless. No, they weren't all that selfless at all.

Shinjiro Aragaki died protecting Ken. Many would call that selfless. But once Ken relayed the truth, it spoke of Shinjiro's selfish side. A dying man who wanted to erase his sins, to make right that which he had wronged. Protecting Ken was selfless, in a way, but it was also selfish. If Ken died, then there would be no way for him to absolve himself of his guilt before his own passing.

Takeharu Kirijo wanted nothing more than to right the wrongs that his father had wrought upon the world. And even if nobody would ever know of his struggle, he pushed on regardless. But his greatest desire of all, was to see his own daughter safe and happy, like any good father would. All his actions, all his decisions, everything he had sacrificed, his own life included, was so that his daughter could live a happier life. A life free of the burdens of the past. Mitsuru may have chosen to bear that burden, but he wanted nothing more than to take it from her. It was only misfortune that he was powerless to bear it.

Minato Arisato died to protect the humans of the world from themselves. It was the most selfless act one could ever ask for. And yet... And yet his actions after his semi-failure spoke of his selfishness. Rather than let SEES fight, he had sealed them away. As his final message, deliver through Ryoji, stated, he hoped they would awaken in a time of peace. He gave his life not for the world, but for his friends. Saving the world was the bonus, not the goal. His friends, and not the countless billions of strangers, was what gave him the strength to stand and fight against the undefeatable.

And finally, Chidori Yoshino, Junpei's own personal hero. The girl who once wanted nothing more than to live a life without attachments, an empty life so as not to feel the pain of loss or the fear of death. That same girl literally gave her life for him, saving him after he was severely wounded by her own comrades. It was selfless in that she willingly gave her life to him, accepting that her death was the resulting consequence of such an act. And yet, to him, it was selfish. She might have been happy that he lived, but how could he possibly be happy that she would die instead? It was selfish in that, the rest of SEES asides, only she was made happy by her sacrifice.

No, Junpei could not accept that heroes were selfless. It was precisely _because_ they were selfish, because they wanted something so badly, because they believed in their own cause so strongly, that they were willing to die for it. None of them were completely selfless. None of them could be said to be completely good people in that they each had their failings that the ideal hero should not have. But despite all of that, all four of them were heroes in their own way.

In his eyes, they were the true heroes. Not the ones who gave their lives fighting for something they, themselves, did not truly believe in.

Oblivious to the thoughts of the young man behind her, Sephiria continued to speak. "And so I find myself confused by your actions. You know of my son's dream yet, earlier, you admitted to training Jaune even when his Aura was no longer protecting him, essentially teaching him to fight to the very last. You do not strike me as someone who would willing lead someone down the road to death. So I would like to know exactly what your intentions are."

He almost didn't hear her request. No, that was no request. It was a demand. Softly worded, but a demand nonetheless. Aurelian, himself, had said it earlier. She rarely made requests.

It didn't take him long to answer. "It's what he wanted." He wasn't sure whether Sephiria's silence was an invitation to explain or if she was considering his words. Hopefully, it was the former. "Look I… I'm not really the best as this kind of stuff. I'm not that strong or that smart. And you probably heard me say it earlier, but I've never been a leader before. So I'm pretty much just doing what I think is right."

"And you believe that your actions thus far are correct?"

He shrugged. "Dunno." If his answer surprised her, she didn't show it. Her entire body remained steady and unmoving even as she continued to gaze out the window. "I just know that it's what Jaune wanted. But I know that I'm not wrong with helping him. Even if he wasn't on my team, I would have helped him if he asked. I mean, he is my friend."

"I see."

Junpei wasn't really sure if he had said the right things. All he knew for certain was that he had spoken the truth. Lying to his friend's mother would not get him anywhere in his. Not when the final decision regarding said friend's future was in her hands. An experienced Huntress like her, a mother at that, probably had no difficulty telling truth from lies.

His heart hammered in his chest when she turned around, her pale blue eyes looking into him. For once, he could understand what people mean when they say 'Like they were looking straight into my soul'. There and then, he felt like she was looking at him, but not at him. Like she was searching for something deeper, something that did not exist on the physical plane.

As she took a breath and made to speak, he could only hope that he could weather the storm that was right in front of him.

* * *

"Hey Weiss, do you think Jaune's awake yet?"

It was the fifth, possibly the sixth, time Ruby had asked that question and it had grated on her nerves since the second time she had asked. Especially since it was only a little over an hour since they had left the group had split up with a promise from Junpei to let them all know when he woke.

"I wouldn't know," replied Weiss, taking a deep breath to prevent herself from lashing out verbally. Doing so had never really worked on Ruby so all it would do was waste precious energy.

The entirety of Team ASYR was in their dorm room, having returned after lunch. Aigis was, once again, connected to her maintenance station while Fuuka was running a scan. Ruby was sitting on a chair not far from them, watching Fuuka work while occasionally asking questions about Aigis's inner workings.

Weiss sat at her desk, reading one of the books on programming that had been recommended to her. She had, of course, purchased a book cover to prevent the others from seeing the title. She had the basic makings of a plan in order to get closer to Fuuka, which would eventually lead to her offering to help the smaller teen with Aigis's maintenance. But before that, she would need to increase her knowledge otherwise she would not have enough to offer.

While Ruby was more interested in the hardware, she still had a small hint of interest when it came to Aigis's programming. Or rather, she was curious. Weiss doubted that Ruby would truly become interested in the blonde android's programming. Not when her questions were limited to 'What does that part mean?' or 'What does that part do?' Clearly she had little interest in how such things worked beyond their function.

Still, she kept an ear open as Fuuka explained a few minor things to Ruby, a small notebook on the table allowing her to write down any details she overheard. It wasn't much since she couldn't see the code itself, but it did help her know just what kind of things were programmed into Aigis.

Unfortunately, she was far too distracted, causing her to miss half of what they were talking about. And whenever she tried to read the book, she would pause after a paragraph or two as her mind drifted elsewhere. That 'elsewhere' just so happened to be her memory of the earlier fight between Jaune and her younger sister, Hazel.

Her mind kept replaying the latter half of the fight. Specifically, when Jaune continued to fight despite his Aura dropping below the safe zone, when he charged in despite his Aura hitting zero, and when he rose up again at the end despite his body clearly unable to do so, beaten down by his sister without his Aura to protect him.

The fight shouldn't have mattered to her. The only reason she had been there in the first place was because she hadn't been able to find a decent opportunity to slip away. Her best opportunity had been during breakfast. Nobody would have stopped her then if she claimed to have something important to take care of. The moment they rose to meet Jaune's family, however, she had lost all chances of leaving.

Oh sure, she could have said something then, but it would sound too much like an excuse to not be there. Her image had already taken enough hits in front of her peers. She had no desire to add to it. And so she waited for another opportunity. Whatever it was that Junpei had planned, surely it was something best kept to the family and not something to display in public.

And yet she had been wrong. The fight that ensued had taken place on school grounds, off to the side of campus where few people went. It hadn't made sense to her at that time why Junpei had asked Jaune to have his family meet him in a specific place. A secluded one at that. Now it did.

The training rooms were often in use on Sundays so a large group gathering would have drawn attention. Not to mention it might have hinted at what he was planning, which he obviously wanted to keep a secret even from the Arc family. The next best thing was outdoors. And a secluded outdoor area still close to the school was the perfect choice.

By then, she realized that she wouldn't be able to leave. She could, actually, but doing so for any reason short of an emergency would not look good for her. She hadn't really connected Jaune Arc with THE Arc family. Not with how he had behaved the day they first met and certainly not with his abysmal combat ability. But the moment she found out who his family was, she knew that she couldn't behave poorly in front of them.

But that aside, Weiss could admit, though only to herself, that there was a part of her that was drawn to the battle for some reason. The fight shouldn't have mattered to her. But it did. For some inexplicable reason, it did. Even now she could barely keep the fight out of her mind. More importantly, her memories of the fight were focused on, of all things, Jaune's actions.

Why? Why would she be focusing on him? Despite his sudden burst of skill, his sister was far more skilled. Observing the youngest of the Arc siblings would have yielded a better learning experience for her. Their weapons were complete opposites, but surely she could have learned one or two things that she could use.

So why Jaune? What was it about him that-

"WEISS!"

"UAGH!" Her hands shot up into the air, her book flying from her hands, as she jerked back in her seat, the chair leaning back and almost tipping over. Only her frantic waving and kicking saved her from the fall as her weight repeatedly shifted forward. Once both feet were once more on the ground, she turned to her right and glared at the person responsible for her near fall. "RUBY! What-"

But before she could even ask, her widely grinning partner grabbed her hands in her own. "Pyrrha just sent me a message saying that Jaune's awake!" The words flew out of the silver-eyed girl's mouth so fast that Weiss had to take a moment to replay them in her head. Unfortunately, her partner wasn't going to give her the chance to do so. "Come on, come on, let's go, let's go."

Her chair toppled over as Ruby pulled her to her feet in the direction of the door, her mouth still spewing words by the dozen. "R-Ruby!" Weiss barely managed to keep her face from meeting the floor as her black and red-haired partner pulled her out the door. "Will you let-"

"Hold on tight Weiss!"

"Hold on? Hold on to whAAAAAaaaaaa!"

Fuuka winced and giggled nervously even as a flurry of rose petals filled her vision, the only sign that Ruby and Weiss had been in the room literally just a second ago. Even now, Weiss's screaming could be heard through the open door. Fuuka could only hope that Weiss didn't get too mad at Ruby. She made a mental note to speak with Ruby about that later on.

"Are you ready Aigis?" she asked, turning to the blonde as she rose from her maintenance station.

Aigis ran through her internal scans and nodded after a brief pause. "I believe so."

Grabbing her Scroll from her desk, Fuuka made to leave the room when her foot hit something. Looking down, she saw that it was the book that Weiss had been reading. She picked it up, glancing briefly at the contents as she went towards her white-haired teammate's desk. But when her mind caught up to what she was reading, her feet stopped in place while her eyes moved rapidly over the textbook, a small gasp slipping past her lips as she realized just what it was that Weiss had been studying.

* * *

By the time that Junpei and Sephiria returned to Jaune's room, the sound of laughter could be heard from the hallway. A sound that grew in volume as soon as the door was opened.

The very first thing they noticed was a blonde boy sitting up on the bed, his face bright red while those around him roared in laughter. The only exceptions were Pyrrha and Chidori. Chidori looked amused, lips hidden behind a half-closed fist as she laughed softly. Pyrrha, on the other hand, was just as red as her hair as she looked down to her lap, trying to hide her face.

"Looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up." Junpei's comment, spoken just as the laughter died down, drew all attention to his grinning face. "So what'd I miss?" A quick glance at his two teammates' blushing face provided more than enough ammunition. "Did the princess wake up her prince with true love's kiss?"

Unexpectedly, the only source of laughter came from Chidori, who had to completely cover her mouth to stifle the increased volume of her laughter. Everyone else, however, was looking at Junpei with confusion. It didn't take him long to realize why. "Oh right, guess you guys wouldn't know a fairy tale from where I'm from."

"A fairy tale?" asked the twins in unison.

"What's it-" Began one twin, the one with messy red hair and neat blue hair.

"About?" And finished by the other, the one with messy blue hair and neat red hair.

Junpei knew their names were Viola and Melanie. Asides from that, however, he had no real way to telling which twin was who. Jaune hadn't exactly given him any defining features he could use to tell the two apart. "You interested?" he asked, a little surprised that they would want to hear about it given that they were about three or four years older than him. Then again, the way they acted made it seem the other way around. Not that he was going to say that out loud.

In response to his question, the two of them walked to either side of him, took one arm each, and practically frog marched him to one side of the room to hear the tale.

This, however, gave Sephiria the opportunity to approach her son. "How are you feeling?" she asked without delay.

"I-I'm fine, I guess." Jaune replied, trying and failing to meet his mother's eyes. He had already asked earlier, and his father told him that the decision of whether or not he would stay at Beacon fell to his mother and not the outcome of his fight. Now that she was here, his heart began making repeated attempts to escape from its bony cage, beating repeatedly beneath his chest.

"You're nervous." It was a statement of a fact, spoken in that tone that meant she was absolutely certain of what she was saying. "You want to know whether you'll be staying."

He swallowed the lump in his throat even as he nodded minutely and shakily. Leave it to her to pick up a single piece of the puzzle and declare exactly what the picture was with barely a single glance. At one time, it had been something he had admired. Something he wanted to be able to do. He still did actually. That didn't mean he liked being the puzzle.

His anxiety grew worse when she remained silent, simply gazing at him passively. Looking around with just his eyes, he could see that both Pyrrha and Junpei were equally nervous, though Junpei was somehow able to keep speaking with the twins despite glancing in his direction now and then. Arianna looked worried, though he couldn't be certain whether it was because she wanted him to come home or to stay like he wanted. Sable was, like with most things, uninterested. Gwen…

Gwen looked surprisingly calm. Was it because she already knew the outcome? If so, then was it because it was going in her favor? Or had she made peace with it going the other way? Her eyes briefly met his and he could have sworn that she gave him a very small, very brief grin. But it had disappeared so fast that it could have just been his eyes playing tricks on him.

"Before I tell you my decision," his mother's voice drew him away from his thoughts and, due to his anxiety, he had actually jumped a bit, his heart skipping a beat, "I want you to answer three questions for me." As with everything with her, it wasn't a request nor was she giving him the choice to turn her down. His nod, though given, was a foregone conclusion. "First, is this what you truly want?"

Before he could answer that, yes, it is, she continued speaking. "And I do not ask this lightly." Her tone, and even her expression, was a hint more serious than it normally was. Something he rarely saw as she took everything seriously despite her normally stern tone. "Consider all that it would mean for you now and in the future. Having experienced several weeks at Beacon, and provided you have not ignored the lessons you teachers are providing, can you say with absolute confidence and certainty that the life of a Huntsman is that which you truly desire?"

As much as Jaune wanted to respond positively, something in his mother's tone froze his voice in his throat as though forbidding him from speaking until he did as she asked and seriously considered the matter. Was it really what he wanted?

It was, wasn't it? The life of a Huntsman would lead him closer to his dream of becoming a hero much like his parents were, much like his great-great-grandfather, Jacques Arc, who fought in the Great War.

But then, such a life meant fighting, didn't it? Not just other people like his classmates, but also the Grimm. Mostly the Grimm in fact. At that line of thought, his mind brought up the memory of the initiation. It seemed almost a lifetime ago despite it being less than two months since that day. Regardless, however, he would never forget that terror he felt at seeing so many Grimm all in one place. Even with all sixteen of them, he hadn't felt confident in their chances. Not when faced with so many of the elder variety.

Yet that same memory had given him a glimpse of what kind of person he wanted to be. Junpei, who had, on more than one occasion, admitted that he was far from the strongest amongst SEES or their group as a whole. Or even his own team for that matter. Despite his lack of Aura for protection, despite his physical inferiority compared to the rest of their year, despite knowing that he could have died in that fight, despite all that, he stood tall and proud against the Grimm, never once choosing to run. He had turned his back on them to perform a tactical retreat, yes, but he never turned away in order to run and hide like Jaune had considered doing.

The life of a Huntsman would mean facing similar situations in the future. In fact, such a scene would probably become the norm for him if he chose such a life. He would walk alongside death, wondering at every turn whether that was the day that death would reach up from the abyss to claim him.

As a child, he had not truly understood the dangers. As an adolescent, he gained that understanding. And with that understanding came doubt. But that doubt was always pushed away when he imagined himself being as skilled as his sisters or his parents. Now?

Now, for some reason, he felt none of the nervousness, none of the fear, not even a sliver of the doubt that would normally accompany such a thought. He wasn't excited about living such a life, but for once he did not feel as apprehensive at the thought of that kind of life becoming normal for him.

Now he didn't even need to imagine himself being strong in order to quell his doubts and fears. For some reason, he could see himself, his weak and untalented self, standing amidst a horde of Grimm, easily as many as he had seen during the initiation. And though he stood alone, he didn't feel a sliver of fear.

No, that was wrong. He wasn't alone. What once was the image of his ideal self, strong and powerful, the ideal hero, was replaced by his current self, weak and untalented, but standing amongst friends. And that, made all the difference.

He opened his eyes – when had he even closed them – and, for the first time in many years, his blue eyes met his mother's blue eyes, a shade of pale blue that was almost cold, and didn't look away. He could feel a tightness on his face, briefly wondering what sort of expression he was making right at that moment. His mother's unmoving expression gave nothing away and yet, for the first time, he felt that she was approving of him in some way.

"Yes."

Just that single word was all he said. He hadn't felt the need to explain anything, hadn't felt the need to defend himself. Just that one word felt right to him.

"Then my second question." Again, his mother gave nothing away. No indication whatsoever of whether she truly approved of his answer or if he was simply being hopeful. "Are you willing to do anything, and everything, to achieve your goals?"

"Yes."

In a way, he had already shown that he would by the way that he had gained entrance to Beacon. That aside, he knew his mother didn't literally mean 'everything'. If he so much as thought of committing a crime, beyond what he had already done, she would most likely hunt him down herself.

"Third." She wasted no time between his answer and her next question. "Will you be coming home during the breaks?"

"Ye- whuh?"

"Was I not clear?" asked Sephiria, ignoring the dumbfounded look that now adorned Jaune's face even as both Gwen and Aurelian broke into laughter while Sable's book quivered lightly along with her shoulders. That same look of stupefaction had appeared on Pyrrha's face as she stared at the Arc matriarch as well. "I asked whether we can expect you to be home during your school breaks or if you will be spending it here."

"Um… I… well uh… That's…"

Gwen's laughter roared even louder, her arm lashing out lightly and playfully to tap Jaune's shoulder with the back of her hand. Though by the way he twitched, it was clear she hadn't held back enough. "Come on, where's all that confidence you showed when you challenged Scarlett earlier?"

"I… wasn't exactly thinking straight," he admitted, rubbing his shoulder.

This time it was Aurelian whose laughter increased in volume. "Well, just don't let her hear you say that," he said to his son, stepping closer to place his hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Regardless, however, if you are still intent on walking this path then know that you'll have our full support."

"Thanks dad, but…" As happy as he was to hear that, there was still one question lingering in the back of Jaune's mind. "But why now? Why… why couldn't you have done this before?"

And just like that, the heaviness in the air returned. The twins and Junpei, having finished their own conversation, came a little closer to hear the answer, the former more than the latter.

Surprisingly, the first to speak was not Aurelian, but Sephiria. "I am not the most expressive of people. Not even to you, my own children. And perhaps this contributed to our situation now, but… Jaune, I did not make the decision to forbid you from becoming a Huntsman simply because of your weakness. I did it because, rather than prioritize my feelings as a Huntress, my belief that you could still be trained, I prioritized my feelings as your mother."

"As my…"

"I love you Jaune, just as much as I love your sisters. And I am sorry if I ever gave you any reason to think otherwise." Her words were spoken in the same tone as she always used, cold and stern. And yet… And yet, Jaune felt a stirring beneath his chest at his mother's words just as he felt something behind his eyes. "And it was that love for you that made me stand in your way, that made me stand between you and what I felt was an early grave."

"When you were a child, all you dreamed about was being a hero. I could see the admiration in your eyes whenever your father told you tales of his adventures and missions, as well as those told to him by his father before him, and his grandfather as told by his father. But at that time, you were blind to the realities of what it meant to walk the path of a Huntsman. That innocence, that naiveté, combined with your lack of talent, made your dream an incredibly dangerous path. A danger that you were yet unaware of as a child."

"So what changed?" he asked, interrupting his mother. "I mean, I know I'm not strong. It's not that much different from before to be honest. So why now?"

Rather than answer the question, Sephiria continued her short tale. "Years ago you yearned only to be a hero, believing that the ability to fight was the only tool you needed in order to succeed. Though we were unable to teach you, you still trained diligently and gave your all whenever we tried. But even as we warned you of the dangers of the path you had chosen, you only ever said that you didn't need to worry because you were a hero, that, as long as you trained and learned how to fight, you would be able to beat anything that stood before you. Do remember that?"

No. He honestly didn't. But he knew that it was something he would have said as a child. And looking back, with the experiences he now had, that had been an incredibly foolish line of thought. If the ability to fight was all that mattered, then there wouldn't be a need to form teams, both as trainees and as actual Huntsmen. Far and few were those who truly worked alone and managed to live long.

"I did not want you to learn otherwise only when death has come to claim you." His mother paused and came over to his side, sitting next to him on the bed and twisting her torso around to face him. "Regardless of anything else, you are my son before you are a Huntsman or a hero. It may not be ideal, but I would rather bar you from pursuing your dreams if it meant allowing you to live longer, long enough to find a new dream to pursure."

"Now…" She shut her eyes, taking a slow, deep breath. It almost seemed longer to Jaune as he waited for what she would say next. "Now, however, you are much more aware, much more knowledgeable of what awaits you should you continue this path. A part of me had hoped that you would still have those childish notions of being a hero. At least that way I would have a reason to take you home, by force if need be."

"But rather than ignoring the dangers, you've acknowledged them, along with your own weakness, and still chose to walk your path. It pains me greatly knowing you would still choose such a dangerous path, but…" She leaned in, eliciting a soft gasp of surprise as her arms wrapped around him and pulled him close. "But as your mother, I couldn't be more proud of how you've grown. I still fear for your life and I always will, just as I still fear for your sisters' despite their skills and abilities. Yet knowing what I know now, I can be at ease."

Still shocked by his mother's surprising show of affection, Jaune was unable to ask just what it was she knew now that helped change her mind. He wasn't even aware of when his arms had wrapped around her body just as hers did with his. Eventually, he recovered his wits and was about to ask but the sound of sniffling caught his attention.

Following the sound, his eyes shot open in surprise when he found a familiar pair of silver eyes peering through the partially opened door. "R-R-Ruby?!" His startled exclamation elicited a gasp from beyond the door. There were some sounds of alarm and what sounded a bit like a struggle before the door was pushed open. By three familiar girls falling atop one another in the direction of the door. "Y-Yang? Nora? Wh-what…"

At the sight of three girls trying to untangle themselves from one another, Gwen's laughter returned, as loud as ever. In fact, everyone in the room save for the mother-son pair showed some level of amusement as the three girls stood in line, the sibling pair looking sheepish and more than a bit embarrassed while Ren came in and gently chastised Nora. Yang and Ruby's partners could be seen through the open door, obviously opting to remain outside.

"Your friends are quite… interesting." Jaune could only sigh at his mother's comment. It was quite the understatement, all things considered, but, as he watched the twins run up to Ruby asking about her clothing and her hair coloring, Gwen approaching Yang for one reason or another, and even Sable moving from her spot, her eyes trained on Blake and her own book, he couldn't help but smile a bit.

Even if not all of them were there for him, namely Weiss and, possibly, Blake, those who had come to see him were still friends that he had not expected to make when he first came to Beacon. Given the shallow nature of his past friendships, he hadn't even expected to become as close as he was now with his own team, never mind other teams. And so he was happy, ecstatic even, to have made so many friends in such a short time.

Only time would tell just how strong those bonds were but the fact that they had stayed by his side, figuratively speaking of course, throughout this entire ordeal was enough for him.

"Yeah," he whispered with that same soft smile. "They are."

The anxieties of the day aside, his day couldn't possibly get any better. Not only was his family allowing him to stay, but they were openly supportive as well, and his friends' actions over the course of the day showed that their friendship was far more genuine that what he had with the few friends he made in Rouen prior to graduation.

Nothing short of a natural disaster could possibly ruin his day.

* * *

"Allow me to repeat what you've just told me." Jaune swallowed and stood a little straighter and stiffer. Part of him wondered why he was doing this. But when he caught sight of his mother's distinctive jacket to his right, and his father's carefree stance to his left, he remembered.

Despite allowing him to continue his studies, his mother had given him two, non-negotiable conditions that he needed to fulfill. If he chose not to fulfill either one, then he would be forced to return home. After hearing the conditions, despite not understanding the need for the second one, he agreed. Compared to everything else, it was a small price to pay for the chance to pursue his dream.

"You ran away from home, even going as far as stealing your great-great-grandfather's sword, a family heirloom in fact, and came to Beacon, using falsified transcripts to apply nonetheless. And now, you are here to admit to your crime while, at the same time, wishing to remain a student, is that correct?"

Jaune gulped audibly at that word 'crime' and nodded shakily, trying to ignore the smoldering glare that Professor Goodwitch was giving him while giving his full attention to Headmaster Ozpin. The Headmaster's attention, however, was on the transcripts in question, which he was holding in one hand even as the other raised his coffee mug to his lips. As he set down his mug with a sound that seemed to echo throughout the entire office, he placed the transcripts on the desk and slid it towards the other end of the desk.

And that was the first condition he had to fulfill. His family had agreed that he could not continue to attend under false pretenses, not when his own family was now aware of his deceit. If he was to continue to be a student at Beacon, he would have to come clean to the Headmaster. How he would convince the Headmaster to keep him as a student, however, was solely up to him.

"Frankly, I am shocked and appalled, Mr. Arc."

Again, he swallowed, trying to relieve the tightening of his throat and mentally preparing himself for how he would convince the esteemed Headmaster to allow him continued attendance. He told himself that he would beg if he had to, but Goodwitch's glare as well as Ozpin's indifference made him feel like nothing he said or did would change whatever decision they made.

"Did you honestly think such shoddily made forgeries would go unnoticed?"

Jaune blinked, part of the tension in his body melting away into confusion. "I uh… what? You… you knew?" A glance at his parents showed a similar surprise at the Headmaster's admission. Well, his father at least. His mother looked just as unflappable as ever.

One of the Headmaster's fingers tapped on the transcripts on the table, drawing their attention to it. "The color of the transcripts were off by a shade, the entire document was printed at a slight angle, three of the classes listed haven't been part of Remorra's curriculum for years now, the overall format is over five years out-of-date, and a few words here and there have been misspelled, an error that no school would make as it would invalidate the entire document even if it were real."

"Comparing it with our records, I surmised you somehow procured a copy of your sister's own transcripts, Gwendolyn's unless I'm mistaken. You might have changed the grades a bit, but all the classes listed for all six years are exactly the same, including the optional classes. In addition, the school itself is responsible for sending a copy of the transcripts to the Huntsman Academy once the student has made their choice of which one to attend, something you would have known had you truly been a student of Remorra. That yours arrived in an ordinary envelope was telling enough even before we saw the actual document."

Ozpin once more brought his mug to his lips, taking a sip of his coffee as though he had not just revealed his knowledge of Jaune's deceit. "All in all," he continued with a casual shrug once he replaced the mug on his desk, "There were so many signs, so many errors, that it could not have been an imposter. If it was then it was an extremely poor attempt. A quick background check prior to your arrival, and comparisons of photographs with surveillance the day before the initiation showed that you were, indeed, Jaune Arc and not someone attempting to impersonate you in an attempt to use the Arc family name for one purpose or another."

"So… you knew?" His voice was breathy with disbelief as he continued to stare at the gray-haired man sitting before him. "You knew this entire time?" A nod. "And you still let me attend?" Another nod. "But… why?"

Jaune watched as Ozpin took a deep breath, releasing it slowly and meeting his gaze. "Have you ever met someone who wished for one thing, but had no one to give it to them, or no means to obtain it under their own power?" This time, it was the young blonde who nodded, feeling something in him resonate with the Headmaster's words. "In this world, we are beset by foes on all sides, even if they are not always present. It should come as no surprise to you, then, that there will always be a demand for Huntsmen and Huntresses, for protectors, against such foes."

There was a strange glint in the man's eyes as he continue to speak, a strange feeling that he seemed to be trying to make known to Jaune through eye contact alone. "Just as there are those who wish to be protected, there are those who wish to be able to protect. And yet, not all of them have the means or the ability to do so. And that is what a school is for. A school, of any sort, is a place where one goes when they wish to learn, where they can obtain the means by which they can obtain what they desire. A Huntsman Academy is no different. It is simply what we teach that differs."

"You would not have come here if you did not desire such learnings," he said, finally giving Jaune his answer to his question. "And the strength of your desire is reflected in the lengths you have gone through in order to come here. While deceitful, your actions did not strike me as malicious. It is because of that lack of malice that I gave you that chance to show me why you desperately wished to come here."

Desperate. That was certainly an apt term to describe his situation at that time. The transcripts themselves aside, he hadn't realized that his actions had given away his intent, even if Ozpin had not pieced everything together, such as what had driven him to such desperate acts.

"Besides, you are hardly the first to make such an attempt." The questioning look he gave the Headmaster prompted the man to explain. "Do not forget that we also accept applicants who have not attended a combat school. Others who were unaware of this have also attempted to use deceit in some manner. Your attempt was simply so…" Ozpin paused, a small grin appearing on his face as he found the word he was searching for. "Atrocious, that it was brought directly to my attention rather than simply being discarded."

The grin remained on the Headmaster's lips as he continued to speak. "Had your forgeries been properly done, it would have been thrown away without further consideration. That it was so blatantly obvious made the staff so concerned that it was brought to my attention, which, as you know by now, led to me allowing you to attempt the initiation. In that regard, I suppose you were successful."

"And as you passed the initiation and have not failed your classes just yet, I believe that there is no reason for me to terminate your attendance here at Beacon."

Jaune almost collapsed in relief at those words. While Ozpin's explanation had already hinted that he was not averse to allowing Jaune to stay, hearing it directly had relieved him of all the tension in his body, save for those that kept him standing.

"Now, as to the other matter you brought up. Glynda?"

And the tension was back in an instant. Just as his continued presence in Beacon after his confession had fallen to Ozpin, the second condition he needed to fulfill was now in the blonde professor's hands. And if he had to judge the chances that things would fall in his favor by her glare, then he just might have to get down on his knees and beg.

"Normally," she began, her voice just as stern as it usually was when she was correcting someone's mistakes in Combat class, "Such a thing would not be done, more so now since over a month has passed since the beginning of classes. Your recent… confession, certainly hasn't helped."

She seemed to be trying to kill him with just her eyes. If she was able to use laser vision like one of the heroes in his comics then she might have succeeded in not only killing him, but also most students that came to Beacon. "However," the glare lessened just a tiny bit but her lips tightened, as though not allowing her to show less displeasure over the situation. "Since the Headmaster has already allowed your continued education here, I suppose it would be counterproductive if I were to reject your request now."

Slender fingers tapped and slid rapidly across the large black Scroll in her hands. Jaune noticed that a headshot of him appeared briefly. Most likely when she accessed his school records. "And done. I'm sure you're aware, given that both Mr. Iori and Ms. Nikos are your teammates, but allow me to refresh your memory. The Combat Tactics class takes place every Saturday, at six to ten in the evening."

And that was his mother's second condition, not that it made any sense to him. For some reason, she, along with his father and Gwen, insisted that he join the Combat Tactics elective class. His parents had even said that they would be the ones to convince the Headmaster should it become necessary.

Why they were willing to go that far to get him into the class – which was just going to add to his already considerable academic load – was completely unknown to him. Still, much like his confession to Ozpin, it was a small price to pay. He could only hope it didn't add too much of a burden that his training and the rest of his studies suffered to the point that he would end up failing altogether.

"I suggest you use this coming week to consult your teammates on past lessons as well as the assigned scenario for the next lesson. I'd also recommend speaking with the other Professors if you need further instruction to help you catch up with the class." Glynda looked up from her Scroll once she finished, giving Jaune a lighter glare than she did earlier but with a harder expression. "Do not expect any leniency, whether for that class or mine, simply because of your circumstances."

Jaune could only nod, cowed by the disciplinarian's stern expression. Not that he had expected any different. From her or the other teachers. Even the child-like Professor Peach was rumored to be quite strict when she deemed it necessary, not that they had seen that side of her just yet in their Geography class.

Still, he was grateful. With both conditions fulfilled, he could now properly attend Beacon Academy just as he had always dreamed of doing.

* * *

After that meeting with the Headmaster, Jaune accompanied his family to Vale where they went to check into a hotel for the night. Since he would be staying, they decided to spend the rest of the day with him, with plans to go to dinner later tonight with his friends, if they were willing and able to join. He had forwarded the request to them all via Scroll and had, surprisingly, received a 'yes' from everyone. Weiss included.

He wasn't sure why she accepted considering what she thought of him, not to mention his attempts at flirting with her the day of the initiation, but he didn't let it bother him too much. He wasn't a mind-reader and asking was, most likely, not going to result in any answers. Best to just accept it and let it happen.

He spent several hours telling his family about his team as well as the other teams. He had even explained SEES's lack of Aura – after getting permission from Junpei, who mentioned he got permission from Mitsuru – to his family when they asked him what Semblance his teammates had.

Of course, this led to another discussion as to how they had gotten into the school, whether they were actually capable in a fight, and all manner of similar questions. Jaune explained as best he could, mostly repeating what Mitsuru had said nearly two months ago in the Headmaster's office during a similar conversation.

Thankfully, the discussion had been interesting enough that his siblings had forgotten the question that sparked the entire topic, that of his teammates' Semblance. He wasn't really sure how much he was allowed to say, so he left out certain things like Aigis being an android and SEES's Personas. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain either one even _if_ he was allowed to mention them.

Then again, his family was one of many who respected someone's desire to keep their Semblance to themselves. Even if they asked, he could simply say that SEES did not want others to know of their Semblance. His family would have respected that request without any complaints. Still, he would rather avoid the topic altogether.

The conversation soon turned to lighter things, such as what kind of people his friends were and how he was doing in class. The topic of the Schnee heiress, however, somehow led to him mentioning having tried flirting with her at one point, to which everyone had a great laugh at his expense. His mother only had a faint, teasing smile, but for her that may as well mean uncontrollable, gut-busting laughter for everyone else.

Scarlett might not have been happy that he was staying, but she was mature enough to let it go without any complaints. And without such a serious topic between them, she was back to being the eldest sister. Unfortunately for him, that included laughter and teasing at his expense.

He downplayed the heiress's scathing remarks the day after Scarlett's impromptu visit. Despite the manner which she said it, she still did have a point. Not that he would ever side with that belief should a similar event happen to someone else. So he just mentioned that she didn't like the fact that he cheated his way into Beacon and left it at that. Hopefully no one would bring it up at dinner later that night.

The topic of Pyrrha brought about more laughter at his expense. The twins, cunning and mischievous as ever, somehow got him to slip up and blurt out what had happened that morning, namely seeing her come out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. The blush that bloomed on his face might as well have burned him from the inside out with its intensity.

It didn't help that his mother chose that moment to exercise her right as his mother to tease him, something she had only done three times in their family as far as he was aware. "Did you wish you only roomed with your partner rather than your team?" It wasn't a particularly funny line, nor was her tone and expression suited for humor. But she had asked her question right after he mentioned Junpei and Chidori waking up not long after Pyrrha's second, less embarrassing exit from the bathroom, leading to renewed laughter even as the twins pestered him for an answer.

He couldn't remember a time when he was more embarrassed. Another spectacular loss in combat class would be far less embarrassing. Still, looking at his sisters' smiling faces, he knew he would always choose to spend time with his family, even if it meant he would one day blush himself to death due to their teasing. He loved them. Just as surely as they loved him.

Dinner that night was, as expected, a lively affair.

His father had reserved a section of a restaurant called 'Wok Your Way', a Mistralian stir-fry restaurant where each guest got to choose what ingredients went into their meal, starting with a base of either noodles or rice, followed by whatever combination of meats and/or vegetables they wanted, and ending with the a sauce along with a large variety of toppings and seasonings for added flavor.

The restaurant wasn't particularly fancy or expensive. In fact, other than its size, the place was quite ordinary. Scarlett questioned their father on his choice and his response was a bit of a surprise. It turns out that the restaurant had been there even when he had attended Beacon, though it was much smaller at that time. He had looked it up earlier and, when he saw that it was still present, decided to take them there for the evening.

Though the newer size also took him by surprise. He had expected that they would either fill up more than half the seats inside, sitting in groups of two or four, or they would have to buy the food to go and go elsewhere to eat, like a park or perhaps even the hotel room at worst. So the larger space was definitely on the pleasant side of the surprise scale.

Still, they had to use four separate tables to seat everyone given that there were twenty-five of them. Jaune and his parents sat at one, joined by his team and Scarlett. Unfortunately, that meant more than a little more teasing with Jaune on the receiving end. Still, all in all, Jaune felt that his parents and eldest sibling approved of his team more and more as the night went on.

Team ANKR was joined by Gwen and Arianna. The former of the two found a kindred spirit in Akihiko after hearing about how he had not only designed Jaune's training regimen, but had also recently finished one for his team and his friends. Gwen had asked to see Jaune's new training regimen after hearing that, which Akihiko was more than happy to share. Moreover, she was quite interested in properly meeting Ken, whom she heard about earlier that day, as she hadn't expected someone as young as he was to be attending Beacon as a full-time student.

Arianna mostly wanted to thank Akihiko for his role in helping Jaune get closer to his dream, having already thanked Jaune's teammates earlier, but eventually got drawn into a conversation about cooking with Ren. Though that meant dealing with Nora's vibrant personality as well as questions on how she got so big. Though given where Nora's eyes were aimed at, she got the feeling the diminutive girl wasn't entirely talking about her height.

Team ASYR found themselves joined by Hazel, mostly at the request of Ruby who wanted to learn more about Rugitus Leo. In turn, Hazel found herself interested in learning more about a girl who was one year her junior yet was already at Beacon. While she spoke the most with Ruby, she found Aigis an interesting conversationalist as well, especially when the earlier fight was brought up and Aigis gave her quite a detailed analysis of the fight and where she could improve.

Weiss was quiet, for the most part, but was polite whenever Hazel asked her things, mostly about Dust and how she felt that were best used as bullets. Fuuka was equally quiet but mostly because they held little in common. Still, a part of her felt bad for leaving out one person when she was able to converse with the rest of the team. So she did her best to include the older, but surprisingly shorter, girl.

And finally, Team KYBT was joined by Sable and the twins, Viola and Melanie. Sable not only found a fellow book-lover in Blake, but had met a fellow intellectual in Mitsuru. Not that Blake was any less intelligent, of course, simply that Mitsuru was, by far, one of the most intellectual people Sable had met in that particular age group.

The twins got along well with Yang, their easygoing and playful personalities meshing well. Especially when their discussion turned to Jaune and the more embarrassing tales of his childhood. Yukari wasn't as interested in those stories, but she did find some common ground in that the twins were quite knowledgeable about fashion and trends. They simply chose to be different from the norm whenever possible.

A little later, Jaune was returning from the restroom when he caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see Weiss walking out the restaurant's front doors. A quick glance at the tables showed nothing amiss. Nobody was looking in Weiss's direction with concern nor had the conversations stopped abruptly.

' _She probably just wanted to get some air,'_ he thought, turning to return to his family. But still, the thought going to see if something really _did_ happen, remained with him. There was still the possibility that something had upset the girl – it honestly wasn't that hard given what he knew of her – and the others were simply unaware that it had upset her.

' _Is this what Scarlett meant by what she said?'_ She mentioned being worried that his tendency to 'play the hero' might get him into more trouble than he could handle one day.

It was probably nothing. He should just return to his seat. After all the two of them were hardly friends, merely acquaintances at best, and they weren't exactly on the best of terms at the moment. So why did he just walk out the front doors? And why was he now walking towards the white-haired heiress sitting on a bench placed against the outer walls of the restaurant?

"Why are you here?" a frosty voice asked him, its owner not even deigning to look at him.

' _That's what I want to know,'_ Jaune replied in his head. Now that she had seen him approaching, he could exactly turn and leave. Well, he could but then he'd probably look like an idiot or a coward. Seeing the sharp look in her ice blue eyes, he amended his previous though. He _definitely_ would look like an idiot or coward.

"I uh…" He began trying to stall for time as he thought of what to say. Still, most often it was best to just stick with the truth. Especially when one isn't particularly good at lying. "I just… wanted to make sure nothing was wrong."

He had expected some scathing words to shoot back after he spoke, perhaps even before he could finish his statement. Instead, she was watching him with a single raised eyebrow. "I mean… You're probably used to fancier places than this where everyone's a lot more behaved and-"

"It's fine."

Had he misheard? He blinked, staring at the white-haired girl who was sitting on the far end of a wooden bench with her arms crossed and her face set into a scowl. Surely he misheard her.

"No, you didn't." His confusion must have showed at her ground out words since she scoffed, still looking directly ahead of her. "You talk too loud." He hadn't actually meant to say that out loud but didn't bother mentioned that. "And as I said, it's fine." She turned her head away, muttering under her breath. "It's not as if I've eaten at many restaurants in the past."

"Huh?" Jaune cocked his head to the side, wondering what she had said after repeating her previous statement. "What was-"

"Nothing." Weiss interrupted him before he could ask. "Now that you know that nothing is wrong, you can go back."

Again, that feeling came over him, wanting him to remain and make sure that there truly was nothing wrong. Even though it was possible she had simply stepped out for some air, experience with his sisters told him that something was wrong. The two of them weren't on good terms but she wouldn't be insisting on being alone if she was truly alright. And so, against his better judgment, he stepped forward and took a seat on the opposite end of the bench.

Any excuse he might have made died in his head as her glare burned into his skull and drilled right through his thoughts. He tried his best to look like he just wanted to relax a bit but he was sure that his tense posture gave him away. Still, she eventually turned away with a huff, taking away the heat of her gaze.

For the next few minutes they sat there in silence, neither one so much as glancing at the other but more than aware of their continued presence. Jaune, for his part, desperately wanted to say something, anything to break the ice. Except for puns. He had seen her rail at Yang when she made a pun, especially ones that included some variation of Weiss's name or namesake, and he didn't want to ruin his mostly positive day with a stern scolding from her.

Just as he was about to give up and return inside – the others must be wondering why he was taking so long to return from the restroom – when Weiss chose to speak up. "Jaune."

For the second time within several minutes, he wondered if he was hearing things. In the six weeks they had known each other, not once did she ever call him by name. She never even referred to him by his name. It was usually 'that idiot' or 'the other blonde' or even 'the other blonde idiot' whenever she referred to him during a conversation. And even then, such times were rare as she seemed to want to limit their interactions, even indirectly.

"I believe that I… that I owe you an apology."

And that was three things he was sure he had misheard that night. That single goblet of wine he drank, allowed by his parents despite his age only because they were partly belatedly celebrating his entrance to Beacon, must have hit him harder than he thought. For all he knew he was already drunk off his ass and was simply too drunk to realize it.

Turning to Weiss, he could see the tightness in her face. And the way her lips were pursed made her look like someone had forced her to bite and suck on a lemon wedge. Or a dozen of them.

"I still believe that your actions that led to your entry to Beacon should be punished rather than rewarded by allowing to you remain in school. That you confessed your guilt does little to change what you did, and the lack of punishment is not something I can agree with."

Wasn't getting beaten up by his little sister punishment enough? What about being just a tiny little scare away from pissing his pants, or dying of sheer terror, while facing either his mother, eldest sister, the Headmaster, the Deputy Headmistress, or some combination thereof? Was that not enough? Or was she just a sadist behind that pretty face of hers?

"But…" He watched as she took a deep breath, her facial expression softening ever so slightly as she slowly let it out. "At the very least, I can admire your efforts, your determination, to achieve your dreams. While it is hardly the most ambitious of goals, few among our year, excluding the members of SEES, have shown to be as driven as you."

Driven? More like desperate.

"You not only risked your very future by attempting, and somehow succeeding, to cheat your way into Beacon, the most prestigious of all Huntsman academies, but you also openly defied your family, wagering your dream on an all-or-nothing gamble that you had very little chances of winning."

That was an optimistic view given that he hadn't actually stood a chance against Hazel despite his training. He hadn't even knocked her Aura down to the red zone before his own Aura hit zero and he was subsequently beaten up and knocked out. He had actually thought his literal last stand during that fight had been a dream his hopeful mind had conjured up after he had been knocked out.

"So even though I still think you are nothing more than a nearly worthless, cheating weakling on whom Pyrrha's time and talents are wasted on, at the very least you have my respect."

Was that supposed to be a compliment? Or an insult? Both? Didn't the twins come up with a word for that? Complisult, or something like that?

"Are you even listening to me?!"

He blinked at the sudden exclamation, confused by the mixed expression of disbelief and anger on the pale-skinned girl's face. Skin that was rapidly turning red. "H-Huh? Wh-what…"

"Ugh, unbelievable!" He flinched back as though she had struck him, hands rising in front of him in reflex when she threw her own hands up. "Here I am, trying to apologize and letting you know that I don't think you're completely worthless, and you don't even have the decency to properly pay attention!"

"S-S-Sorry," he stammered out, completely thrown off by her sudden tirade as well as the finger suddenly thrust in front of him, the tip of which stopped just a hair's width away from the bridge of his nose.

Weiss looked like she had more to say, however. But, as he steeled himself for another verbal blasting, the heiress huffed and crossed her arms once more, settling back down on her end of the bench even as she looked away. "Whatever. I'll let it go this time but don't expect me to let such disrespect slide a second time."

Jaune lowered his raised hands, slowly as though afraid she would go back on her word and come back with another verbal assault. When none came, he eventually settled down as well on his end, casting furtive glances at the white-haired girl while replaying her, still, unbelievable words through his head. After a while, he mustered up his courage and called out to her. "Uh… Weiss?"

"What?" Her response was harsh, but tinged with a tone that conveyed what she thought of him, that of someone far beneath her that he should be glad she was even aware of his existence.

Still, he didn't let that deter him for very long. With another calming breath, he delivered his message. "Thanks."

He hadn't really expected a response from her. He just didn't want to make her feel like her words were wasted and unappreciated. Simply because of how unbelievable her words were, he knew that it must have taken a bit of effort for her to admit such a thing. Both her mistake and her respect.

And so, the response he received was completely unexpected. "… You're welcome."

Since she wasn't even looking in his direction, he allowed a smile to grace his face as he allowed the tension in his body to slowly melt away after her acceptance of his gratitude. As his gaze looked up to the half-formed, half-broken crescent moon above him, he could now truly say that, all things considered, today had been a wonderful day.

And, unaware of nearly two dozen pairs of eyes watching him and the heiress through the restaurant's windows behind him, he leaned back onto the bench with a contented smile. _"Tomorrow, I start my new life as a_ real _student of Beacon. I can tell that this week is gonna be great."_

* * *

 **October 19, XX13**

"The winners of this match are Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos."

"Are you alright Jaune?"

Ignoring his partner's question, Jaune continued to lie on the ground, wishing the platform would swallow him up to hide him from his classmates after his disastrous match against Ken and his spear, Akihiko holding off Pyrrha long enough for Ken to knock his Aura down to the red zone without receiving the single strike that would take him out of the fight.

" _I take it back,"_ he thought as Ken rushed over, throwing the metaphorical salt onto his wounds by asking if he was alright and even offering to help him to his feet. _"This week is gonna suck."_

* * *

 **And that's the end of the Arc Arc as well as the end of the most difficult chapter I have written to date. This chapter, excluding the author notes, has close to 28k words. And in the process of writing it, which took nearly a full month, I've probably erased nearly twice as many words. I think the most I erased in one go was 10k words when my instincts started screaming at me to redo the fight scene.**

 **Speaking of instincts, I hope Jaune's 'extreme' training makes more sense now. As stated in the chapter, the way his training was described was nothing more than a way to glorify something simple, to make it sound to Jaune as though it were some miraculous training method when, in fact, they were simply giving him experience with fighting a sword-user. And as stated, his base skills have only increased slightly since his fighting style during that fight revolved around his experience and his honed instincts against a sword.**

 **That little question by Junpei to Pyrrha as well as the closing scene were simply to point that out. Though, admittedly, the final scene was meant to be part of this chapter's omake. I just found that I had a better use for it. I'll still include the original omake for anyone who wants to see how it was originally going to be used.**

 **I hope that my warning that the chapter would drag on and feel tedious was taken well. Unfortunately, these just wasn't any way that I could make the chapter, the fight specifically, more exciting. Jaune was slated to lose that fight from the very beginning. Hazel had both talent and proper training while Jaune had none/extremely little of the former and only an emergency stopgap for the latter.**

 **The chapter title says it all. "The Hero's Resolve"**

 **The one thing I liked about how the 'Jaundice' episodes went in canon was how it showcased Jaune's resolve. He wanted to achieve his dream to badly that he cheated his way into Beacon. While not something I would recommend in real life, that kind of act speaks volumes of Jaune's determination and resolve. Though here I call that desperation. XD**

 **There was honestly going to be at least three more scenes in this chapter, featuring various non-Arc characters to help progress their own storylines for future chapters, but I felt like this had already gone long enough and just scheduled it for the next chapter or two. I like long chapters but even I felt that hitting 35K+, which it would have if I included those other three scenes, would be too much. And given my tendency to expound on the smallest things I might have even reached 40k. XP**

 **Now, a little info on plans going forward. The holidays are fast approaching and, unfortunately, my job is one of those that required me to work during holidays. That's right, no holiday break for me. And since I do want to spend time with my family as well, any days off I MIGHT have will be spent with them rather than this story.**

 **What's my job you ask? Sorry, not saying. Asides from mentioning things like this, I like to keep my personal life separate from my online life unless absolutely necessary. In this case, I'm just providing a little background to explain why I'm not likely to update this coming month once, especially during a week or two leading up to Christmas, the week itself, and a week or two after that.**

 **All in all, possibly five weeks with no updates.**

 **This will, however, give me a chance to go over my story planning once more to refresh my memory on what needs to be done as well as to fix a couple of things. Some things in this Arc jumped out at me while writing and will affect the overall plan. Meaning that I need to double-check my original story plan, see what future events the changes will affect, change those future events to properly match the changes I made, and just generally make sure I haven't wrecked my story planning beyond repair.**

 **Yeah, loads of fun to be had. XP**

 **Note sarcasm please. XD**

 **Anyway, this chapter seriously drained my writing inspiration so I wouldn't hold out on more than one update between this one and the possible five weeks when I'll be busy with work and various family events/visits. I'm sure you all understand. If you don't, well… I guess you don't.**

 **Now, as I said at the Author Note at the top, I was and am well aware that my plans for Jaune would draw negative comments and reactions. And while I won't ask, or even expect, naysayers to keep their opinions to themselves, all I ask is that your reviews or PMs be stated politely or at least neutrally, preferably with no cursing.**

 **Hopefully you all enjoyed the Arc Arc. We'll be seeing more of Jaune's family in the future, though that won't be for a long, long time, so I hope you liked them.**

 **MINOR VOLUME 4 SPOILERS**

 **So we finally see what all four members of Team RWBY are up to. Blake's reason for going to her destination was a bit of a surprise but then again, she never mentioned not having them. After all, the only hint to her past, asides from her being in the White Fang, was that she was "practically born into the White Fang". That statement could have gone either way.**

 **We also get to see more of Yang who has finally begun to step onto the road to recovery. I think everyone expected her to go the path of Edward Elric long before that episode came out. Still, nice to see she's doing well enough. It was fun hearing those stories by Taiyang, Peter, and Bart though. Hehe, I could almost imagine Qrow.**

 **Speaking of which, it's no surprise to see what Qrow's been up to. Though more interesting is his conversation at the end of Episode 4. That little tidbit brings up so many questions. Questions that most likely won't be answered until much, much later, much to my dismay. Makes me wonder if I should try working it into my story but it's not very likely unless it doesn't contradict too much of my established story plan.**

 **SPOILER END**

* * *

 **And now, to end this long awaited chapter. Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, let's give a warm round of applause to…**

 **OMAKE-SAN!**

"Good luck Jaune," said Junpei, patting his blonde teammate on the back as he departed for the combat area with his partner, the opponents chosen by their Professor having been called down just seconds before them.

"Think Jaune will actually win this time Stupei?" Yukari asked with a teasing grin once Jaune was out of earshot. "I mean, he did do all that training with you, senpai, and Pyrrha to fight his sister so this should be easy for him, right?"

"Not really." Junpei's admission surprised Yukari, who thought he would be boasting about how he had managed to train Jaune to be quite the formidable fighter in just a few days. "We trained him to fight against someone using a sword, maybe even a little against a boxer like senpai. But if you put him up against something else he probably won't last long."

"Soooo, anyone _not_ using a sword is pretty much fighting the old Jaune, right?"

"Yup, pretty much."

The pair settled into silence as the quartet of fighters got into position, listening to Professor Goodwitch's pre-fight warnings. While she was doing so, Chidori spoke up from beside her boyfriend.

"Junpei-kun," she began, drawing the swordsman's attention. "You _did_ remember to tell Jaune that, right?"

"…"

At his silence, everyone in their group turned to stare at Junpei, who was blankly staring down at the combat area where Glynda was getting ready to start the match. When he remained silent, everyone's heads slowly turned to the combat area just as Glynda began the match.

Two minutes later, the match was called in favor of Jaune and Pyrrha. Instead of celebrating their victory, Pyrrha had gone over to where her partner was lying on the ground, looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.

"So… you let Jaune go down there believing he's ready for a fight, when all it would take to beat him is to _not_ use a sword?"

"…" After a brief pause, Junpei nodded.

"…"

Everyone continued to watch as Jaune's opponent, who had knocked him out of the fight by dropping his Aura into the red zone while his partner kept Pyrrha busy, walked over to the fallen teen to check on him and offered to help him up.

"So…" began Junpei, looking around the room and watching the faces of their classmates as many of them laughed at Jaune's misfortune. "How long do you think before people forget that he lost to Ken-kun?"


	14. Ch 12 - The More Things Change

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning 1:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

 **Warning 2:** **With the ongoing status of RWBY Volume 4, it's to be expected that many of my ideas will go against what is canon, such as when more of each character's respective pasts are revealed. I will do my best to incorporate what I can, but expect that many will be blended with my own ideas or perhaps even ignored completely if incorporating it will be detrimental to my story plans.**

* * *

 **A little disappointed by the lack of feedback on the conclusion of the Arc Arc, but then again I suppose I got enough of that from the chapter before that. But who cares about that when we have a-**

 **NEW CHAPTER!**

 **I'm glad I found time to finish this. My estimate was off and work picked up sooner than expected. Still, I got this out and that's the important bit. Though given how this chapter ends, and the fact that I won't be writing at all until the first week of January, some of you might just hate me after this. XP**

 **Anyway, with the end of Jaune's Arc-**

 **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

 **We can move on to other developments in the story. We'll be seeing the start of another character arc here since most of the RWBY canon arcs won't be taking place for quite a while yet. Not all the character arcs will take place before the Volume 2 canon events, so don't worry about that. After this one, I might, MIGHT, have one more before we start blending in some more canon arcs.**

 **We'll also be seeing a few technical issues surrounding Persona, Aura, and Semblance here in this chapter. Some might be wondering why but if isn't clear by now, I'm doing this to set a proper, or at least a semi-proper, power scale. Also, best to do this now so that later chapters can focus more on the story itself rather than world-building.**

 **Anyway, I'm sure you're tired of my rambling by now and just want to get to the story itself. And so, without further ado…**

* * *

 **Chapter 12 – The More Things Change**

 **October 25, XX13**

"Is everyone ready?"

Nods and verbal confirmations came from all around, even the five people down in the combat area. Sitting behind him, several students watched with varying levels of anxiety and excitement. It was understandable, he supposed. Even he felt an equal amount of both as he watched the three people in the combat area get into position, four people on one side, two male, one female, and one not-so-female, and one female the other side. And up above them, the Aura monitor showed a full Aura meter for the one standing by herself while the other four registered as empty.

"Very well," said the man to his right, his entire countenance the picture of calm as his eyes watched from behind his spectacles. "You may begin whenever you are ready."

Down below, the lone fighter nodded at the four across from her, showing that she was ready as well. The quartet glanced at one another, the three of them nodding and taking a half-step backwards to let their brown-haired companion go first as had been agreed upon prior to entering the combat area. And without delay or hesitation, the brunette drew her pistol – they called it an Evoker, if he remembered right – and raised it to her head.

Ruadh felt a twinge of panic and fear creep up on him despite knowing it was coming. And when the girl, Yukari, pulled the trigger, the sound of gunfire elicited a short, stifled scream from the tiny pinkette beside him, and some heavily restrained flinches from some of the other teachers. He, himself, felt himself twitch.

But no blood erupted from the other side of the girl's head. Instead, much like the video they had seen two weeks ago, shards of glass seemed to burst out in its place, swirling up above her head even as tiny motes of blue light appeared and rapidly grew, color filling in even as a solid form appeared.

The figure was that of a woman's upper body, black with golden lines in a vaguely V-shape all over. The head was bovine in appearance, with tall, massive horns jutting upwards, once again in a V-shape but with two wavy curves near the base, and making up roughly half the entire figure's height. Between its eyes, however, was a human head, pure white in contrast with its body, with a soft, almost serene, smile.

Set in between the horns, right where the curves were, was a large red disc made of a material that somehow looked to be made of both glass and metal. The human head was also part of a larger piece, one that almost resembled a helmet that, rather than protecting the head, protected the body. On that helm-like piece were two golden, concave disks, through which the arms extended out of, almost as though it were wearing a vest. The arms didn't extend out very far before it ended with two white wings in place of forearms and hands.

So intrigued was he with the unbelievable sight before him that he nearly missed Yukari's words. Nearly.

"Isis. Garu!"

The red-haired wolf faunus wasn't certain whether Isis Garu was the name of the construct that she had summoned – Persona, he reminded himself – or if it was the name of the attack. Regardless, his eyes narrowed as he examined the attack that blossomed around his lavender-haired colleague.

He had heard of people claiming to be able to hear the wind speaking to them, though a few people claim that they _literally_ speak with the wind. This was the first time he could say that he _saw_ the wind. It happened quickly, but years of experience have honed both his eyesight and his mind, allowing him to carefully replay the attack as it happened.

It began with faint wisps of pale green swirling around Khloe, all within a foot of her body and all close to the ground. They increased in number dramatically within the next second, forming a small, low cyclone with the upper-year combat teacher in the middle of it.

If he had to guess, the green light was most likely the girl's power, or the construct's power, much like how someone could concentrate their Aura into a small area, turning into a visible and tangible barrier like a shield. And with the power itself visible, it gave the illusion that it was the wind itself that could be seen. It was merely an aesthetic issue, however, as he could not deny the power behind the attack.

The center of the storm was normally calm, safe. This time, however, the center was clearly the most dangerous spot. The winds spun briefly but rapidly before suddenly converging on the center, delivering a powerful concussive blow from every direction, aimed mostly at the legs. Khloe, however, was no trainee. She easily withstood the blow, flinching a bit but not hurt or even moved from where she stood. A glance at the monitor, however, showed the extent of the damage.

Five percent of her Aura had been drained away by the attack. It wasn't much. Experience showed him, provided the opponent did not have a strength-boosting Semblance, that a well-placed and properly executed punch could take out as much as ten percent of one's Aura. And it took less time to execute too, compared to summoning a Persona and using one of their attacks.

' _But still…'_ he glanced to the side, where a red-haired girl nodded when the brunette looked up at her.

For the second time, Yukari raised her Evoker and summoned her Persona. He hadn't even noticed that it disappeared, having been too busy focusing on the attack. Again, it formed from motes of bluish-white light, slowly in his mind's eye as he tried to make sense of it, but barely a second in real time. "Garula!" Judging by the words, Isis must have been the Persona's name while Garu was the name of the first attack.

Pale green wisps swirled around Khloe's legs a second time. Only this time, there were more of them from the start and were spread out farther. Already he could tell that it was more powerful than the last as more air would be forced to the center, compressing around a central point for a brief moment. Brief, but possibly painful for whoever or whatever was at the center.

Unlike with the first attack, the force from the blow caused Khloe to stumble around briefly as her legs were struck, unable to completely maintain her footing from the force of the attack. Looking up at the monitor, however, showed that the attack took out a mere eight percent, only slightly higher than the previous attack. To him, the fact that it had caused Khloe to stumble was more significant. Any number of things could happen in that brief moment that she took to regain her balance.

Sharp ears caught the brief conversation between Yukari and Khloe.

"Are you alright?" he heard Yukari ask.

Khloe waved her off with a grin. "I'm fine. That just hit me a bit harder than I was expecting."

Nodding in acceptance, Yukari turned her gaze up to their general direction once more, receiving another nod from Mitsuru.

Ruadh had to admire how cautious Mitsuru was about everything given the sheer number of unknowns. In this case, since those in the combat area couldn't see the Aura monitors, anyone who was demonstrating the power of their Persona had to check with her and the Headmaster if they could proceed with the next attack.

For the third time, Yukari raised her Evoker up to her temple. He had to suppress a shiver at the sight. Three times now he had seen it, yet all three times he could feel a part of him crying out, wanting to stop the girl from shooting the gun. The feeling reinforced the thought that something must be mentally broken or outright wrong with them to be able perform an act that resembled suicide without even flinching.

' _Or perhaps they've just gotten used to it after so long.'_

Still, getting used to putting what was pretty much a gun to your head and shooting it? Ruadh wouldn't say it out loud, but, to him, something was definitely wrong with those kids, the people who came up with the Evoker, or both. No matter what they said, he couldn't, wouldn't believe that simulating a near-death experience like this was the only way to draw out one's power.

"Garudyne!"

This time, the vortex was significantly wider than the previous one, enough that he felt his eyes open wide in surprise at the sheer difference in size compared to the first two. It was enough that several people standing around the center might have even been drawn in when the attack finally hit, their legs pulled out from underneath them as the air rushed towards the center.

Having felt the previous two attacks, Khloe must have underestimated the third attack a little too much. A fact that Ruadh believed to be true when the sheer force of the attack not only caused her eyes to widen in shock, but also knocked her off her feet, sending her spinning around and then flying upwards and slightly to the side, landing in a crouch just a little off to the side from where she had been standing.

Yukari and the other three immediately ran towards the fallen teacher, eyes wide at seeing the result of the attack. There were quiet murmurs behind him as their teammates and friends also showed some concern. Their concerns were quieted when Mitsuru pointed out that Khloe still had her Aura and that the monitors also registered her as still being conscious. This, in turn, turned those concerned murmurs into excited exchanges, shared by both Peter and Bart, while Rosalyn looked worried for their colleague despite the reassurances.

But rather than worry about Khloe, it was her Aura meter that drew Ruadh's interest more at that moment. Garu had taken off five percent. Garula had taken off eight percent. Garudyne, on the other hand, knocked off a solid nineteen percent, nearly a fifth of her total.

People did not have an equal amount of Aura. Some had more and some had less. There have been many theories over the centuries as to why this was.

Some speculated it had to do with the physical body being healthier, or some unknown factor that made certain bodies better suited for channeling Aura. But this was proven false as studies showed that Aura levels remained fairly steady even when one grew old and, thus, physically weaker. There was a slight drop, yes, but not enough to prove that theory since even the physically weak and malnourished proved that they could have high Aura levels as well.

Some believed it was hereditary, that having two people with higher than average Aura levels for parents meant a similar potential for the child of such a union. But there have been many instances of cases where such a thing proved false. High-Aura parents with low-Aura children or even the opposite. And nothing in their genetics showed any sign of Aura levels being genetic.

Others claimed that, since Aura was the physical manifestation of one's soul, it was one's spiritual health that was important. That particular belief had spawned cults all over Remnant for a period of time. None of them lasted more than a year before the lack of progress in their goal to increase their Aura reserves led to a sharp drop in followers until only the most fanatic or most stubborn remained. There were still a few of them here and there, but hardly worth paying attention to as they were mostly harmless.

These days, people simply believed that, just as talented people could be born from the untalented, and the talentless from the talented, whether one was born with high levels of Aura or not was something to be left for fate to decide upon.

Regardless, the difference between a high amount of Aura reserves and a low amount wasn't very significant. A popular, but supposedly accurate, theory that many researchers had agreed upon went as such. If one were to consider one hundred units of Aura to be the average, then the highest would only be roughly ten units more, fifteen at most. Thus the lowest would be roughly eighty-five to ninety units.

All that, of course, was still theoretical despite the large number of separate researchers performing test to prove it. There was simply no precise way of measuring one's Aura beyond seeing how much one's Aura was reduced by an attack compared to someone else. And even then, the Aura monitors could only measure one's Aura by percentage, not by precise units of measure.

Again, it was speculated that this was because Aura came from the soul, a metaphysical concept, and, thus, could not be properly measured by physical tools.

In any case, Khloe's Aura dropping nearly twenty percent of the total was quite significant. Even if her Aura levels were at the lowest end of the theoretical spectrum at eighty-five units, twenty percent of that was seventeen units. That seventeen would still account for fifteen percent of the hundred-fifteen units of someone on the opposite end of the spectrum.

But it wasn't only the damage that intrigued Ruadh. No. As an experienced Huntsman, his mind had already gone into the tactical issues of the attack. Summoning took roughly two seconds and the attack took just a little over a single second to form and a split second to strike.

Moreover, he realized his mistake in his earlier analysis. He was correct in that the attack converged on a single spot, but he had assumed that the attack was meant to target the legs and to knock the target off their feet. But he had forgotten to take one thing into account. After rushing to the center, where, then, would all that air go?

The answer, was up. The fact that Khloe was launched upwards only seemed to support this. The air was drawn in from every direction around her on a two dimensional plane. And since the attack spawned close to the ground, the air could only go upwards once they met at the target point.

An attack that combined sheer concussive force, force which was felt through one's Aura, and a powerful upward gust of air that could either throw the enemy off balance or lift them up entirely, all occurring in just a second if one did not count the summoning process. Unless one was aware of what the attack did, they would certainly be caught off-guard. And even if they instinctively moved away, the movement of the air just might draw them in slightly, enough to disorient them for a second attack.

There were still a lot of downsides, but that was why they were placed on a team. The attack could be used to set-up their foe for a follow-up by her teammates, or her teammates could draw attention away from her while she caught the opponent in the relatively slow but undoubtedly powerful attack. Either way, it was certainly a useful attack.

' _What's more,'_ he thought as he glanced at the redhead as she spoke with the Headmaster, _'Is that it wasn't the most powerful they had amongst them.'_

The reason why Yukari had gone first was because her attack was the least dangerous, at least from a testing standpoint according to Mitsuru. As they didn't know whether or not Aura would stop the attack, or how well Aura would stand up to the attack, Mitsuru didn't want to risk freezing, electrocuting, or burning someone. And so wind and concussive force it was.

There were other things that needed to be tested, such as the various support spells as well as how much damage the Personas themselves could do with raw, physical power. Most of those would take place at another time, so as to give everyone a chance to examine the data.

But some of the most important tests were, strangely enough, being kept for the end of the current session. Seeing whether the group of Persona-users could awaken Aura. And, afterwards, what would happen if an Aura-user were to use an Evoker.

Personally, Ruadh didn't care too much if they couldn't summon a Persona. To him, it was too much of a hindrance to need an Evoker to summon it in the first place, never mind the fact that he was literally shooting himself in the head with it. Others might like it though, especially the sheer variety of abilities one might gain.

It didn't take long for Khloe to get back up on her feet, but with her Aura down a third, it may be a little risky having her face one of the more dangerous attacks. After all, not only were the elements used different, but the Persona-user powering the attack was also different.

Three wind-based attacks from Yukari's had taken Khloe's Aura down to sixty-eight percent. There was no saying how much would be left from the same number of fire or lightning-based attacks.

Unfortunately, there was something that Ozpin had wanted to test. Something that needed Khloe to be the one to test. And that was exactly what Ruadh had been thinking of just then, whether or not another element from another user would deal the same amount of damage.

And so, while Yukari stepped back, the silver-haired boxer, Akihiko Sanada, stepped forward, drawing his Evoker in one swift motion and placing the barrel against the front of his forehead. Just like last time, Ruadh's faunus hearing caught the words he spoke. "Caesar!"

The figure that appeared was much more human-like in appearance as compared to Yukari's Isis. A tall, vaguely male figure wearing white armor of sorts. Its arms and legs, black in color much like Isis, were unarmored save for braces on the wrists and the lower calves. Around its shoulders was a white cape with a red interior lining.

Its face was also black, but its eyes and partially open mouth held a red glow, a combination that made Ruadh think of the Grimm for a brief moment. Atop its head was a crown made of silver leaves.

In its right hand was a sword, a gladius if he recognized it properly, and in its left was a globe. Looking closely, however, he didn't recognize any of the visible landmasses as any that could be found on a map of Remnant. Since they came from a single island, it made him wonder if the globe's features was significant in any way, given that a Persona came from one's soul.

What caught his attention the most, however, was that a large portion of its torso looks as though it had been carved out, creating an open space within that glowed red. And in that space, Ruadh's sharp eyes could make out what seemed to be a completely black, humanoid figure with a red mask on its face sitting with its legs crossed, leaning forward slightly in its seat as its chin rested on the back of its right hand, the elbow resting on the palm of its other hand.

Akihiko didn't call out the attack like Yukari did, nor did he give any visible orders, verbal or otherwise, but the Persona, presumably called Caesar, raised its sword up to the ceiling, the tip coming close to being level with the monitors. Was it truly unnecessary to verbally command it? Or was it an issue of control?

Before he could contemplate it further, a bolt of lightning came down and struck Khloe, coming from literally out of nowhere. Rosalyn let out a surprised yelp at the lightning's sudden appearance while Peter, Bart, and the students, once again, verbalized their excitement. He even spotted a brief look of shock on Khloe's face when the lightning struck.

"Well that was… shocking."

He resisted the urge to palm his face at the predictable pun that came from behind him, and ignored the students' boos and such despite the Xiao Long girl claiming it had been a good joke. Instead, he turned his thoughts to the lightning attack.

They knew Akihiko's Persona was capable of utilizing lightning as an attack. They had seen the video of the initiation after all. But Ruadh was certain he knew the biggest question on their minds at this very moment, one that some may have already been asking themselves since the viewing of the video. Where had the lightning come from?

He wasn't that well-versed in science, but he knew enough to know that lightning couldn't just form out of thin air like that. No, there was always a reason why natural lightning appeared, even on a clear, sunny day. Already, Bart was throwing out questions and theories left, right, center, and behind him, trying to figure out the mechanics behind the attack. Even Ozpin's eyes had narrowed slightly as he tried to make sense of the strange phenomenon.

If the Persona was manipulating lightning, then it would have to come from somewhere else. If it was creating it, then it would somehow have to fulfill the conditions for lightning to form. There had been no visible sign of either one. And yet, a single bolt of lightning had come from somewhere above Khloe, striking her the instant it appeared.

Her Aura meter had dropped by another four percent, drained by the attack only a tiny bit less than Yukari's Garu. Most likely, Akihiko was progressing in the same way, using the weakest form of his attacks and slowly moving up provided Khloe's Aura held up. Idly, he wondered what the attack was called.

Eventually, Khloe assured everyone that she was fine, though she jokingly mentioned that she now knew what it felt like to be struck by lightning. "I didn't feel like I'd been electrocuted, mainly because of my Aura, but I felt the power wash over me along with a blow to my shoulder where it hit me."

Once she was ready, Akihiko fired his Evoker once more. As Caesar raised his – it's? – sword, Ruadh wondered how the attack would differ from the first one. The response to his question came when, like last time, a bolt of lightning appeared from out of nowhere to strike Khloe, who remained standing this time though the look on her face showed that she had fought to remain standing.

The bolt of lightning had been thicker than the last one. Or rather, it looked thicker. Ruadh wasn't sure if anyone else saw it, but he did. Rather than one wide bolt, which he didn't really think was possible when it came to lightning, it had been three, maybe four, bolts of lightning that had struck Khloe, moving closely along a similar path that gave the illusion of a single, wider bolt.

Again, that brought up questions. Was it even possible for that many bolts of lightning to travel next to one another? Or be in close proximity to one another? Someone smarter than he was, one who was also well-versed in that particular branch of science, might be able to answer that question. He, however, was just a simple Huntsman whose knowledge allowed him to teach the next generation, hardly enough to understand the nature of something like lightning.

Judging by Bart's rapid-fire theories, even he didn't know the answer. Then again, the man specialized in historic knowledge rather than scientific, though that didn't mean he didn't understand a fair bit of the latter. Clearly, though, his knowledge on the current subject was insufficient to answer the question.

A bright flash of light drew his attention to the combat area and his attention shifted just quick enough to catch what almost looked like a veritable lightning storm as it struck his colleague head-on. The force of the attack powerful enough that a brief, but clearly visible wave of air could be seen billowing outwards from the impact of the attack. Just as she had done after the first lightning attack, Rosalyn let out a stifled scream at the sight.

She wasn't the only one. He heard several of the students behind him yelp at the sudden increase in power. _'Just like the wind attack earlier,'_ he noted, noticing the large jump in power between the second and third attacks. The attack had taken him off-guard as well, having been lost in his thoughts, so he hadn't been able to see just how many bolts of lightning had struck this time, or if it had any direct correlation with the attack's power.

At that thought, he glanced up and frowned at what he saw. Sixty-eight percent remained after Khloe bore the brunt of the wind attacks. But now, forty-one percent was all that remained after being on the receiving end of the lightning attacks. The recent round of attacks were slightly weaker than the first. But the question now was whether that difference in power was due to the element, the way the attack occurred, or the Persona-user.

Given the amount of damage that Khloe's Aura had taken, however, it would be too risky to test a third element on her. Not today at least. Instead, it would be his turn to test the other two, as had been agreed upon. Without waiting for any sign from the Headmaster, Ruadh rose from his seat and proceeded down the stairs which connected to the lower halls, which would lead him to the combat area.

Just before the heavy doors leading into the combat area, he found Doctors Mores and Blackthorne sitting on a bench, their Scrolls in hand which provided a live feed from the cameras in the combat area. On the bench between them was a larger than normal first-aid kit, with everything they deemed necessary should the worst come to pass during the testing.

The first-aid kit and their placement in the hallway was simply another of the many precautions they were taking. Should something happen, they would be the first to enter as soon as the door locks were disengaged, which had been set to go off automatically should one of two things come to pass. Someone's Aura dropping to zero, which only really applied to whoever the testing was being conducted on, or someone's vital signs showing that they had been injured regardless of Aura levels.

It just goes to show how seriously everyone was taking the safety of the participants. And while some might have said that it was better if the two doctors waiting inside the combat area, the possibility of a Persona attack reacting poorly to Aura was not something that could be ignored. Even the three Persona-users who were waiting on the sidelines were at some level of risk if something like an explosion had occurred due to such a reaction.

Now, though, they would accompany him into the combat area since they had seen that there were no such adverse reactions.

Soon enough, the loud clanking of the door locks disengaging echoed throughout the mostly empty hallways followed by the doors swinging open. As the three of them went into the combat area, Khloe walked out, looking none the worse for wear.

Just before she drew level with Ruadh, she paused, causing him to stop as well. "You're in for a bit of a rough time," she said, to which his eyes narrowed slightly as he sought to interpret her words. Thankfully, she decided to clarify them. "I'll be mentioning it later but something about their attacks are different from the norm. This wasn't the first time I was hit by a lightning-based Semblance, but there was just… something, about this one that felt different. Even that wind attack felt strange. You'll probably see what I mean."

He nodded wordlessly, thanking her for the warning, even as they walked away from one another, her up to the spectator area and he into the combat area. The doors swung shut and he heard the locks engage once again even as he took Khloe's place on the platform, opposite Junpei Iori.

More than the boy's possession of a Persona and his lack of Aura, the cap wearing teen stood out for one other reason. Of the fifty-seven students in the Combat Tactics class, he was one of twelve who regularly submitted unorthodox plans as an answer to the weekly scenario given out as homework. Though, from what he could see, that most likely stemmed from his lack of formal tactical knowledge, leading him to choose what he believed was the best course of action rather than what theoretical knowledge demanded be done.

"Ready?"

He nodded and braced himself, remembering from the video that the boy's Persona wielded fire as its element. He watched as the boy grinned and raised his Evoker up to the side of his head. When he did, however, Ruadh caught a strange glint in the boy's eyes for a very brief moment. If he had to describe it, he would say that it almost looked… manic.

"Come on, Trismegistus!"

As the Persona named Trismegistus materialized, Ruadh's first thought was that a Persona looked bigger up close. Being this close, however, meant he could see even the smaller details of its appearance.

Unlike the first two Personas, Trismegistus was mainly red with white and gold. Its torso looked like it was clothed in a wide shouldered red shirt with golden lines, the bottom of the shirt flaring outwards from the abdomen and ended roughly where its waist and hips met. Strangely enough, it looked to him as though it were wearing shorts of the same design, red with vertical golden lines, that ended just before its equivalent of the knee area.

Both legs from the knee down, and both hands up to the middle of its forearms were covered in red armor of a slightly darker shade that resembled boots and gauntlets respectively. The legs, however, were straight and did not end in what could be called feet. Rather, the ends of the legs, which were colored black, were almost like stumps, as though someone had amputated its feet. Its hands, however, seemed to be normal as he saw the Persona's fingers emerging from holes in the gauntlet.

Around its neck was a straight, high collar, separate from the 'shirt' portion of its body that also went around its underarms as though to hold it in place. Its neck was black. That is, what little of it he _could_ see since the rest of it and its head was hidden beneath a helm in the shape of a bird's head, a band of gold closest to the collar, then a band of red, then white where the 'beak' began, then gold at the tip of the beak, with a red gem held within. Where the eyes of the bird should be where two wing-shaped attachments, white and gold once more.

Attached to its shoulders were two large wings, almost as long as the Persona was tall from its shoulders to its feet, white where it connected to the main body while the 'feathers' were golden in color. What caught his eyes was the edge of the outermost 'feather' as well as the wingtips. There was no mistaking the shape and form of a blade.

And then there were the things attached to its hands and legs. Connected to its gauntlets, right at the back of each hand, were a row of 'feathers' that were more intricately designed than the ones on its shoulders. The ones closest to its hands were the longest with each one progressively becoming shorter until the last one, which was still at least a foot in length, that connected to the back of its shins. Much like the 'feathers' on its wings, these ones were, in reality, blades.

As supported by the video, this was clearly a Persona meant to fight in close range. There was simply no other explanation why it would have so many blades attached to it. And yet it was also capable of wielding fire-elemental attacks. Though having to summon them was a tactical issue, he could not deny that the versatility of the Personas was a significant asset in any fight.

"Alright!" Junpei's cheering drew his attention downwards from the Persona to the boy who had summoned. "Agi!"

Trismegistus responded to the command, spreading its arms and, thus, the feather blades attached to it. The gem in its beak glowed briefly and he braced himself. A split-second later he found himself in the middle of a large ball of fire, his eyes growing wide at its sudden appearance as well as the feel of heat on his skin. He leapt to the side out of reflex, tucking into a ball briefly as he hit the ground then rolling around to extinguish the flames.

It was only after the flames were gone – did it disappear on its own or was it because he had smothered it – that he remembered that his Aura would have protected him. Despite being a Huntsman for more than fifteen years now, the suddenness of the fire's appearance had caught him by surprise and caused him a brief moment of panic. _'Just goes to show how advantageous the element of surprise can be,'_ he thought to himself as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Hey professor, you alright?"

Glancing to the side, he found Junpei approaching him with a look of concern. Beyond him, he saw Doctor Blackthorne looking in their direction, a hand wrapped on the handle of the first-aid kit. They must have mistaken his actions, thinking that he tried to smother the flames because it had gotten through his Aura.

"I'm fine," he replied with a nod, his eyes meeting Junpei's. "I was just expecting the fire to come at me like a fireball, or perhaps a stream of fire like a flamethrower, and not to emerge right where I was. Thank you for your concern though." The boy with a buzz-cut sighed in relief, showing that he truly had worried that his attack had gotten through where the others hadn't.

Ruadh turned to the two doctors, nodding to show that he was fine, and did the same towards the Headmaster, noting that hint of worry on Glynda and Mitsuru's faces, as well as the other students watching. Junpei quickly returned to his previous position as Ruadh did the same, mentally preparing himself for the next attack.

Junpei summoned Trismegistus once more, the red construct materializing above his head. When the gem glowed a second time, Ruadh braced himself, preparing to be engulfed in a large ball of flame. And as expected, the flames appeared around him in the blink of an eye.

He ignored his instincts, tightening the muscles in his entire body to resist the urge to repeat his previous actions. Instead, he focused on what his body was telling him with regards to the flames. They were hot, obviously. Hot enough that nobody could call the flames fake or an illusion. Interestingly enough, the flames barely lasted two second before it disappeared.

Just like the lightning before, however, his observations only brought up more questions.

There had been no heat build-up at all. One moment there was nothing, and then the next, his entire body was surrounded by flames. He couldn't tell if it was as hot as real flames since his Aura would prevent any excess heat that would cause his skin to burn. As such, he merely felt an uncomfortable amount of heat, as though he were standing beneath the sun in the middle of Vacuo's desert. Given that lightning was supposedly hotter than the sun, Khloe must have felt something similar, that of the lightning washing over her but doing no harm.

Speaking of Khloe, he understood just what it was she was trying to tell him. The flames looked real and, despite his Aura, felt real enough. He was certain that it would burn objects just as any real fire would. And yet, something told him that the flames weren't real. It was like an illusion, real but not. This was most certainly no illusion, yet something in him denied it, denounced it as something that should not exist.

Why was that? And how did the Persona create the flames? How did it create them so quickly?

Even Semblance followed the laws of the world. At least, to some extent. It could not create something from nothing the way the Personas could. Some Semblances were almost mystical in nature in that they seemed to allow one to break the natural laws. But the keyword there was 'seemed'. Careful observation and analysis often revealed a scientific explanation for one's Semblance.

But that was long ago. These days, people didn't so much as blink if they were told such fantastic tales about people flying without wings, being able to lift objects hundreds of times their own weight and size, traveling to a distant land in only a few seconds, or even being able to transform into a different form altogether.

Many feats that could not normally be explained were now often presumed to be the work of one's Semblance, despite how unnatural or how impossible it may seem. And because Semblance _supposedly_ always had a logical explanation, then no matter how ridiculous or incredible it may be, every Semblance must confirm to the laws of nature in some way.

It was a somewhat flawed way of thinking, but he supposed it was better than trying to accept that the laws of nature are not absolute.

Yet these Personas seem to break that belief. Manipulation of wind? Very much possible. Manipulation of lightning? The same. Manipulation of fire? Again, possible. But to create lightning or fire from seemingly nothing? No, that just couldn't be possible. There had to be an explanation somewhere.

He set his jaw and prepared himself as Junpei summoned Trismegistus for the third time. He may not be a man of science, but he was a man of logic. And as a man of logic, he simply could not leave an issue like this alone. So, as the gem held in the Persona's beak glowed once again, he made a silent vow to himself. One way or another, he would make sense of all this.

* * *

"Well that was a gyp," complained Yang as she leaned on the wall next to their dorm room's door. "I really thought that would work."

"That would be a little _too_ convenient, don't you think?" Blake asked her partner as they waited for Yukari to finish getting dressed.

After the testing, Yukari had mentioned heading to Vale for an errand and Yang had immediately volunteered the two of them to accompany the Persona-user. It meant losing a few hours of reading time, but one of her favorite bookstores was close to where Yukari was going. Since there was no convincing Yang when she set her mind to something, Blake just decided to make the best of it and planned to drop by the bookstore at some point.

The blonde just grinned with her teeth and shrugged. "Well you gotta admit, it would have been cool if it worked."

Blake returned the grin and the shrug, though her grin was a lot less wide. "I guess."

The sound of a door slamming shut caught the pair's attention, amber and lilac eyes glancing down the hallway from where the sound originated from. What they saw was a familiar black-clad, red-hooded girl looking down despondently while standing in front of a door. The door to Team ASYR's room in fact.

The pair glanced at one another briefly before Yang strode down the hallway, intent on finding out what happened. She barely got to Ruby before the door next to Blake opened. "Alright, are you two…" Yukari paused, immediately noticing the absence of a certain blonde. "Where's Yang?"

"Checking on Ruby," Blake replied, gesturing down the hallway with her head. "Not really sure what happened. We just heard a door slam shut and found Ruby standing outside the dorm. Since she was facing the door I'm guessing someone went in and shut her out."

It wouldn't keep the girl out, of course, given that her Scroll would unlock the door. Still, if she had been shut out because of an argument then the smart decision was to not follow and let the other party cool off. Given Team ASYR's members and team dynamics, it wouldn't even take a half-wit to figure out who had slammed the door shut.

Yukari just nodded and said, "Well, I can wait a while but if this takes too long I'm just gonna go on ahead."

Blake just nodded in response. No point making Yukari delay her plans since Yang had, once again, invited herself to someone else's plans. At least this time it wasn't something personal. She doubted Yukari would be as forgiving a second time. Especially now that she wasn't laden with grief. And if her brief encounter with Cardin and his team was any indication, Yukari had quite the temper, given the right circumstances, with a sharp tongue to match.

So amber eyes and brown eyes watched as the elder sibling comforted the younger, before gaining access to the room with the help of Ruby's Scroll. And when the blonde entered the room, leaving her sister standing outside, Blake and Yukari glanced at each other with a hint of worry, praying that Yang's blunt and straightforward nature would not cause the situation to deteriorate further.

* * *

The roar of laughter echoed from several mouths around the table of the staff room, a fist banging repeatedly on the table to add to the boisterous melody even as Mitsuru barely managed to restrain her own amusement, a small grin finding its way to one corner of her lips. Across from her and to the right, the red-haired wolf faunus that was Professor Giollah leaned on his fist, the connecting elbow resting on the table.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he said with a resigned look on his face. "You know, you _could_ consider that nobody's laughing at how you got knocked around yourself."

Despite the soft admonishment, Professor Fair's amusement didn't abate any. Nor did that of Professors Oobleck and Port. Their laughter did die down a bit, however. "That's 'cause I didn't get knocked flat on my ass and back with a stupid look on my face." She forced down her laughter and stared at Professor Giollah with a stupefied, almost dumb, look that was supposed to be an imitation of the expression he had made earlier.

While not wholly accurate, the sight was enough to renew the laughter from the other two professors, as well as snickers from the two doctors at the table. And at the resigned sigh that slipped past the faunus's lips, even Fuuka, seated between Mitsuru and Aigis, had to cover her mouth to hide a giggle, though her quivering shoulders and closed eyes gave it all away. The only reason why the Headmaster and his deputy weren't amused as well was simply because they weren't there, having remained behind to collect the recordings of the test as well as making sure to erase all traces of it.

Mitsuru certainly couldn't fault them for their amusement, though perhaps Junpei should have warned their professor that the third and highest level of Trismegistus's fire attack took the form of an explosion, rather than just setting the target on fire. While he still might have been blown off his feet by the attack, the warning might have saved the man's dignity at the very least.

Eventually, the laughter subsided until all that was left were looks of amusement. "Still," continued the lavender-haired professor while brushing her hair out of her face, "That didn't exactly end how I expected it to. I mean, I knew the chance was there but that was just plain anti-climactic."

"To be honest, I fully expected it to end that way." Mitsuru's words drew everyone's attention to her, even Fuuka and Aigis as she had not shared her predictions with anyone beforehand. "Any other outcome would have been unexpected from my perspective."

The glasses-wearing history professor tilted his head slightly to the side as he turned to face his student, his hand quickly rising with his mug to take a quick sip of his coffee before speaking. "Interesting. So even before today, you were already certain that you and your friends would not awaken your Auras?"

Despite speaking in his usual manner, Mitsuru had little difficulty keeping up. "That's correct." Seeing the question in everyone's eyes, the former Kirijo heiress leaned forward a bit and placed her forearms on the table, lacing her fingers together. "Aura is the physical manifestation of one's soul, while Semblance is an extension of Aura, one that is unique to each individual, with few exceptions. Persona, on the other hand, is a power that is awakened from our very souls, one that we manifest physically with the aid of our Evokers."

That was old information, but Mitsuru's introduction to her explanation had already drawn their interest. Some had even understood where she was taking the conversation, if the brief flash of understanding that appeared in their eyes was any indication. "Both Aura and Persona come from the same source. Thus, I felt that it would be too much to ask for that same source to provide two different, even if similar, things."

Those who hadn't come to that conclusion yet nodded in understanding, and Mitsuru could hear the upper-year combat teacher muttering under her breath, asking herself why she hadn't considered that. If the heiress had to guess why, the answer was probably excitement at the possibly of having two different sets of abilities to use.

"Admittedly, I'm quite grateful," she continued, drawing attention to herself once more, "Because the source was the same, awakening our Aura might have erased our Personas completely, giving room for a Semblance to emerge. Perhaps even the other way around."

She could see the look of confusion on their faces at her words. Who wouldn't be confused? She had seen for herself over the past several weeks just what Aura and Semblance were capable of. And while Semblance was highly specialized unlike a Persona's wider variety of abilities, Aura alone could level the playing field due to its use for both offense and defense.

One-on-one, the Aura-user wins nine times out of ten. The only way they could lose was if it was a poor match-up of Semblance and Persona. In a group battle, however, she judged that there was an even chance for both sides to win depending on the quality of teamwork as well as what abilities were in play.

The bottom line, however, was that SEES was, at the end of the day, inferior to Huntsmen and Huntresses due to their lack of Aura. As the testing had revealed, it would take at least four hits from even the strongest attack from a Persona to whittle down one's Aura to the red zone. Unfortunately, that meant wasting precious seconds summoning the Persona in the first place. Someone like Ruby, whose Semblance was, quite simply, speed, could dash in and, at worst, kill the summoner long before the Persona could manifest, if they even managed to shoot the Evoker.

So yes, she understood their confusion very well.

But that was against a human or faunus opponent. Against the Grimm, however, Personas were far superior. Their initiation proved that. A Persona's wide-range abilities were highly effective against enemies that always appeared in large groups. And while a skilled Huntsman team could kill the same number of Grimm with ease, it would undoubtedly take much longer in comparison. Of that, she was certain.

Weapons and teamwork for the smaller Shadows, Personas and teamwork for the larger and more dangerous ones. That was how SEES always fought. It was the only way they _could_ fight, given the sheer power the larger Shadows had. And while the smaller and younger Grimm were more dangerous than their Shadow counterparts, that way of fighting would not change very much.

"Perhaps it's foolish," she said, volunteering the answer rather than waiting for someone to ask. "But my Persona is a symbol of my journey from the moment I awakened my power as a child…" Her voice trailed away as her eyes lost focus, the room almost fading from view as she thought back to that very day she had just mentioned, that deep, instinctual desire to survive warring with her personal desire to save her father.

Then her thoughts went to that day by the river when Yukari literally slapped some sense into her. That was the day she had learned to stop living in and looking to the past and, instead, live in the present while looking to the future. That was also the day when she felt something change deep within her, a change marked by Penthesilea changing into Artemisia, a phenomenon that still had no proper explanation. "… To that fateful day I found the resolve to truly live and not merely exist."

For a moment, there was only silence. Everybody could feel the weight of Mitsuru's words, even if only two people asides from herself understood what she meant. That silence was broken by the pair who entered the room.

"Sentimentality is all well and good at times," the Headmaster said as he approached the table with a faint smile, one that a parent might give when indulging a child's fantasies. Professor Goodwitch walked in as well, shutting and locking the door behind her before joining them at the table. "But, wouldn't it have been better for whatever goal you have in mind if you were better protected?"

"Perhaps." Mitsuru responded in kind, an indulgent smile gracing her lips. "But as I said, my Persona is a symbol of my journey thus far. It would be unthinkable for me to replace the one who helped me protect that which was dear to me, and helped me fight for my future, before my journey has come to an end."

"Besides," continued the redhead, "With the sole exception of the attack that cost us our home, we _have_ survived with only two casualties over the nine-month period since we became active in our fight against the Grimm despite the disadvantages we have compared to those who have Aura. And that was against Grimm of various kinds and ages, and without outside support."

By 'outside support', she was, of course, referring to the non-existent Japanese equivalent of Huntsmen. It was one of the many necessary lies that she and the others had to maintain about Japan while in the presence of others. Mitsuru didn't like lying to them, especially since they seemed to trust her words with only a hint of doubt, but some things, she told herself, were simply more of a necessity rather than desire.

Ozpin, however, didn't seem to be satisfied with her answer. Neither was his deputy, if her frown and accompanying response was anything to go by. "Some would argue that two casualties, especially those of your age, would be far too much regardless."

Mitsuru couldn't deny the blonde teacher's words, but to only lose two people was, in her eyes, a miracle. "That may be so, but Shinjiro was already dying by that point and used what was left of his life to save someone else's."

' _In more ways than one,'_ she finished in her head, thinking of what Ken had shared when he returned to the dorm following Shinjiro's death by Takaya's hands.

"Minato's death," she continued, "Or rather, his sacrifice, is what allowed us to be here today. The nine of us surviving is, as I've said before, nothing less than a miracle."

The reminder that they were still alive suddenly brought down the mood. Much more than Mitsuru was expecting. It took her a moment to realize her error.

To the school's staff, the destruction of an entire civilization happened in one night, just as she and SEES had recounted in their tale. Countless lives were lost in one fell swoop as the Grimm invaded en masse, leaving only eight children and one dog.

To her and the rest of SEES, however, the destruction of Japan was something that happened over the course of however many centuries have passed, millennia even. However, she theorized that, rather than all of its citizens dying, it was more likely that the Japanese, or perhaps just a portion of them, fled to mainland Asia when defending an isolated island nation became too difficult. Or perhaps even impossible, if they were ever cut off from outside aid.

Since their arrival in Vale, Mitsuru had seen hints that parts of Japanese life have survived the ages. Blake's yukata-like sleepwear, which she saw every night, wasn't enough evidence, of course, but it sparked the idea in the redhead's mind. Some research later revealed that many smaller cities and settlements in Anima bore distinctly eastern influences, evidence that her theory was most likely correct.

That did bring up an issue she sought to correct after learning of it. It was unlikely that Elizabeth had been aware of it when she bought them, but some of the books she had brought them assumed that the reader already had some general knowledge of the world. Most likely, they were books for students their age, students who had already gone through a basic education. That is, a basic education by Remnant's standards, not Japan's. As such, some things were not properly explained.

Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral were the names of the four great kingdoms across Remnant. At the same time, however, those were the names of the cities that formed the center of each kingdom. They were, however, not the names of the land itself, as she and SEES had come to believe.

Sanus, Solitas, and Anima. Those were the names of the three continents upon which the four kingdoms were built upon. Vale and Vacuo were part of the same continent, Sanus, while Atlas and Mistral were located in Solitas and Anima respectively. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that a kingdom would not encompass such a large and broad area, enough for several countries, but given that they had been frozen in time for what could have been thousands of years, such a thing could have become possible.

Still, correcting what knowledge they had and ensuring they were all properly educated was the reason they have come to Beacon in the first place. Nobody could fault them too much for their mistakes, given the circumstances.

"Perhaps we should move on to something a bit more… pleasant." The Headmaster's suggestion brought everyone's attention to the small stack of papers that Glynda had distributed to them all with her Semblance. Taking a look at them, Mitsuru noticed that they were notes on the test, carefully detailed and arranged in order of the tests.

Everyone went over their copies silently at first, some, like Professor Oobleck and the two doctors, making notes on the margins and even on the back of the paper. She, however, committed it all to memory. An ability earned after years of diligently studying. Not long after, people started putting down their copies as they ran through the entire report.

Once they were all done, with the sole exception of one person still diligently making notes, the Headmaster addressed them all. "Is there any particular issue anyone would like to bring up?"

"I do, actually." The red-haired wolf faunus was the first to speak up. He turned to Mitsuru when his employer gestured at him to go ahead. "It's well known that our Semblance is tied to our Aura, even if it's rare for a Semblance to drain Aura when used. That said, having no Aura at any point in time makes it impossible to utilize our Semblance. In your case, I'm curious if there's a limit to summoning a Persona."

Mitsuru nodded, having expected that question at some point. Then again, with all the planning they had done months prior, there was probably nothing they could ask about the topic of Persona that she didn't expect in some form. "There is a limit, yes, but it's much different. Summoning a Persona is both mentally AND physically exhausting."

"The process of summoning a Persona is essentially a simulation of death, tricking the mind into thinking we are in a perilous situation in order to access the power deep within our unconscious minds." She leaned back and crossed her arms as she explained, drawing on knowledge she had long since learned from the Kirijo Group's scientists literally ages ago. "Knowing that, I'm sure the mental exhaustion needs little in the way of explanation." The nods she received confirmed her words. "As for the physical exhaustion, it's most likely that our body's energy is used to fuel the Persona's attacks and prolonged presence in the real world."

"What do you mean 'most likely'?" asked Professor Port, stroking his moustache as he spoke. "Do you mean to say that you are uncertain?"

It was times like these that made Mitsuru remember that the rotund man was, despite his overly verbose manner of teaching, a highly experienced Huntsman with the intelligence to match. "The soul is a metaphysical concept, while the body is physical. Thus a Persona is the physical manifestation of a metaphysical concept. Does the fact that it comes from our soul mean that it draws its power from our soul, which then affects our physical body?"

A calm, elderly voice interjected at that point. "Or does the fact that it now exists on the physical plane mean that it draws energy from a physical source. Yes, yes, I see now why it would be quite the controversial topic," finished the elderly Chief Doctor Mores, leaning forward in his seat to lean his forearms on the table. "And what about Ms. Arisato?" Half the room turned to Aigis, who perked up a bit at her name. Her assumed one at least. "As she is not human, do these limitations apply to her as well?"

As it was her that was now being discussed, Aigis opted to answer for herself. "They do." Was it wrong that a small part of her enjoyed the slightly shocked looks on their faces? "While my Papillon Heart is speculated to be able to provide limitless energy, my body is unable to contain a large amount nor is it able to handle a high output of energy. As such, completely replenishing my energy reserves requires several hours of rest. Or at the very least, activities that require less energy than the Papillon Heart's energy output provides."

"And the mental exhaustion?"

"As we have said before, I was created to be as close as possible to a human. And that includes my mental processes. Anything I know now that was not present at the time of my creation and initial activation are things I have learned on my own. My mental capacity to remember and to learn, as well as many other things, are no greater than that of what a human is capable of. As such, I, too, feel the mental strain associated with summoning Athena. And yes, that means I also need to study for my classes."

There were a few chuckles at her quip, though that did little to erase their bemusement at what she just said. "Does that mean that you fear death as well?" asked the elderly doctor. "It is, after all, the main catalyst that allows for the summoning of a Persona."

"I do." Again, she resisted the urge to grin at the shocked looks she received from half the room. "Initially, however, because I was created rather than born, I was able to summon a Persona despite having no such fear. Rather, the conditions for summoning were artificially induced." There were more than a few inquisitive glances at that statement, ones that she chose to ignore for the moment. "Later, there came a time when I began to feel apprehension at the thought of failure, at the thought of being destroyed or deactivated, never again to open my eyes. It was not long after that my perspective on things changed, gaining a fear of death but also an appreciation for life. And though it is only speculation on my part, I believe that this understanding somehow deepened my connection to my Persona as well."

Ozpin chose that moment to cut in, gently so as not to make it obvious. "Interesting. If that is the case, how many times can you summon your Persona before you are unable to? And is the limit the same for the rest of your friends?" Though there were many questions brought up by Aigis's explanation of her inner workings, now was not the time. Not only did they have the test results to discuss, but it was also a Sunday.

Ozpin certainly didn't want to deprive them of the one day of the week when they could rest, the three students in front of him especially. It was still late morning, but he was hoping they could finish before noon to give them at least half the day to themselves.

Still, even he couldn't deny how his curiosity was piqued by the many new development brought on by the arrival of eight students from a previously unknown land. While it was clear to him that they were still hiding something, he was slowly, but surely, becoming certain that it was not hidden out of ill-intent.

And so he listened to Fuuka and Mitsuru as they explained how simply summoning places stress on the mind and body, while the abilities used add a little more to it, and prolonged summoning for continuous or physical attacks lead a slow but continuous drain. All the while, he couldn't help but wonder what life would throw his way in exchange for everything that has happened thus far.

* * *

While Mitsuru remained behind with Aigis and Fuuka to discuss the more technical details of the test results, all the others went on with their day, intent on spending the rest of their Sunday strictly for pleasure.

One such quintet were walking down the streets of Vale's commercial district, having just gotten off the bus that they rode from the airship docks. Normally, one would think that a group like theirs had made plans to spend the day in each other's company. In this particular case, however, it was one person who had plans while the other four came along for one reason or another.

"So you aren't getting anything for yourself?"

Yukari shook her head in response to Yang's question even as they continued down the sidewalk. "No, just for Aigis. Back home, we got used to her always wearing her uniform outdoors so it slipped our minds to buy something for her back when we went shopping before classes started. Didn't help that Aigis didn't say anything at the time. She probably felt that the Gekkoukan uniform would work well enough even as casual wear."

"So she always wore that whenever she went out?" Yang seemed to frown at the thought of only wearing one set of clothing.

Yukari actually felt the same way, now that she looked back on how thoughtless that was of them. "There were some exceptions. We took her to the summer festival wearing a yukata once. It was crowded enough that nobody really noticed her feet. We still had to be careful though." She paused as she remember _that_ incident. "Though one time Minato took her to the movies since Aigis was interested in one that came out that time."

"She has this blue dress, more like a nightgown actually, and she wore that to the movies that day." Both Yang and Blake cringed at that image. "Yeah, that bad," she said, not realizing that their reaction was not for the same reason as hers. "People stared since her clothes didn't exactly look like it was meant for an outing. That meant people saw what her actual feet looked like. And since that was before she started developing a more human personality, she nearly blurted out that she was a robot."

She rolled her eyes at the memory but then smiled faintly as she remembered what happened next. "Honestly, as embarrassed as I would have been if I was there at the time, it might have been worth it just to see Minato-kun's reaction. According to Aigis, he was almost panicking as he tried to convince people she simply had prosthetics while trying to stop her from asking why he was lying."

It was both an amusing, yet cringe-worthy tale, the former only winning out due to Minato's efforts to keep Aigis's true form hidden. Minato had gotten a bit of a stern talk from Mitsuru for his carelessness. While it had been a weekend, it would have been better for people to stare because Aigis was in uniform, rather than because she looked like she had left the house without changing out of her nightwear. That, and her specially-made shoes would have concealed her obviously non-human feet. Shoes that would have looked completely out of place with her dress. Not that she hadn't already look out of place wearing that dress outdoors.

"But… why didn't he just tell people she was a robot?" The innocent question came from Ruby, and Yukari stopped to turn and face the younger girl. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Uncle Qrow once said that the big cities in Atlas use robots to help the police patrol the city."

Yukari was about to correct Ruby's way of thinking, but then realized she had slipped up. SEES was, in their cover story, a publicly known group. Even Anti-Shadow Weapons were supposedly known to the public. So there was, technically, no reason for Aigis to have to hide her real body while in Japan. At least, according to their cover story. The only reason she was hiding now was because androids with Aura have yet to be invented, let alone one with a Semblance or a personality as human as Aigis's.

"Well, well, fancy meeting you here, Yukari."

The brunette spun around quickly, grateful for the interruption as it meant having more time to think up an excuse that wouldn't dig her into a deeper hole. However, doing so meant missing the suspicious look that Weiss sent her when the heiress noticed the delay in the archer's response, as well as how she had quickly tensed up just before the delay.

The smile on her face grew as she spotter Coco and Velvet approaching after having crossed at the nearby intersection. "Hey Coco. Hey Velvet." Yukari could have gotten down on her knees in gratitude for their timely arrival, if not for the fact that she wouldn't have been able to explain why. Instead, she decided to make sure to treat them to something nice later or the next time they got together for lunch or a snack. "Let me guess, trying to get Velvet to expand her wardrobe again?"

The two upperclassmen were dressed in their casual clothing. Well, casual for Coco in any case, given that all her outfits that Yukari had seen were well-coordinated, elaborate, and showy, though, thankfully, never to the point of extravagance.

At the question, Velvet seemed to grow embarrassed as she looked away slightly with a blush while Coco laughed. "I'm not _trying_ this time," she said, emphasizing the third word. "Velvs finally gave in so we've been going around for the past hour-and-a-half trying on stuff from different places. Haven't found a place to her tastes yet but I'll find it. I know every place here in Vale by heart."

Velvet's accented words chimed in at that moment, the blush gone from her face. "I _did_ tell you some places where I prefer to shop but you turned me down."

Coco leaned in and wrapped an arm around the shorter rabbit faunus. "Come on honey bunny, if we're gonna get you some new outfits it should at least be the best we can get, right?"

"First," began Velvet, trying to balance herself as some of the taller girl's weight settle on her. "I give that nickname a four. The rhyming is nice but I hardly want to be called that in public. Second…"

Yukari sighed and tuned her out. She knew exactly why Velvet wasn't shopping at any of Coco's favorite stores. Even without having seen Coco's wardrobe, one look at the clothes they were wearing at that moment was all it took. While Coco didn't settle for anything but the best in terms of quality, Velvet clearly didn't have such strict beliefs. She was more like Yukari in that regard. On the other hand, Coco's handbag alone looked like it was custom-made. Yukari was fairly certain those bullets were real, even if empty of gunpowder or Dust.

She decided to step in before the fashionista scared away her teammate and partner from the long-awaited wardrobe expansion. "Coco, maybe you should let her have this," she said, putting an end to their friendly argument. "I mean, it took you this long to get her to agree in the first place. Just let her start off where she's comfortable unless you wanna scare her back to square one."

She then turned her eyes to Velvet, the faunus meeting her eyes with gratitude. "Though you might want to compromise a bit," she said, making the gratitude fade slightly in place of confusion. "If she's still insisting on paying for everything then it's only fair if you let her buy you an outfit or two from some place she likes."

"Ah. I suppose that's fine," Velvet responded in understanding, though her eyes seemed to have some difficulty meeting Yukari's.

Next to her, Coco lowered her sunglasses a bit to look Yukari directly in the eyes. "Well look at you, playing the nice little mediator. Little soon to be practicing for the third-year Diplomacy class, don't you think?"

Yukari just rolled her eyes, used to Coco's lightly teasing banter by now. Still, she'd take that any day over hers and Junpei's more acerbic brand of banter. "Don't start. Anyway, let me introduce you guys." She didn't care if it was obvious she didn't want to get into the little game. It would be rude to just let the others stand there watching.

"'Bout time you remembered," teased Yang, grinning all the while. Blake elbowed her partner lightly, though her eyes were on the older pair of girls the entire time. Ruby and Weiss had stepped up to stand in line with them. Ignoring the elbow jab, the blonde just went on. "I was a little worried you were gonna walk off and leave us behind."

"Just for that, you can go last," she shot back without hesitation, smiling faintly at Yang's mock indignation. "Anyway, these are Ruby and Weiss. They're part of Team ASYR." She held out her hand in the direction of the two aforementioned girls, one giving a shy wave and hiding slightly behind her elder sister while the other gave a curt nod, though her ice blue eyes were firmly locked onto Velvet. Specifically her ears. Yukari made a note to keep a close eye on the situation. "Next is-"

"Pardon me," cut in Velvet, her brown eyes turning to Yukari's black-haired teammate. "Are you…"

Though the question had trailed off, Blake seemed to know what was being asked as she nodded. "I'm Blake, Yukari's teammate."

Velvet nodded, seemingly satisfied by the answer she received. Next to her, Coco was giving Blake an appraising look for some reason. Yukari was just confused but suspected there was something there that she was missing.

"Then you must be Yang," Velvet said as she turned to the blonde, giving no indication at all of what she and Blake had just been 'talking' about.

"Yup, that's me," came the cheerful reply. Not even a second later, a glint of recognition flashed through Yang's lilac eyes. "Hey, aren't you-"

"Yes, Yang, she is," interrupted Yukari, sighing inwardly at her teammate's obvious lack of tact. "Also, her name's Velvet, just in case you wanted to know." She shot the blonde a look, though Yang just responded with a grin. "And this is Coco, her partner and leader of Team CFVY."

"Nice to finally put some faces on some names," said Coco, glancing at each of the other four briefly as though taking the time to memorize their faces. "So where are you kids headed?"

"You do know I'm the same age as you, right?" she asked with a faint grin. "Can't exactly call me a kid." Yukari ignored the more than slightly raised eyebrows that peaked over the top of Coco's sunglasses. Obviously they wouldn't know, seeing as she never told them. She did not miss the slight look of surprise on Velvet's face as well. And… was that relief? No, probably something else. "As for where we're going, I'm actually going clothes shopping for Aigis. I didn't really have anything planned for today so I volunteered to go since she had some important stuff to do today."

"Oh? She trusts you enough for that?"

The archer just shrugged. "If it was anyone else I wouldn't be doing this. Aigis is pretty easy to shop for." And wasn't that the truth. As long as it covered up everything and went well with her boots then it would be fine. That, and it had to be easy to move in. That second one was a bit harder, but the place she had in mind made clothes specifically for that purpose and also allowed for returns provided they came back within three days.

"It's probably not one of your preferred places, but we're heading to a place I know just two blocks down that way." She pointed to the left of the intersection behind the two. "It's a place called-"

"Black and Smith," finished Velvet, perking up as she named the store and giggling at the look of distaste on Coco's face. "That's one of the few places where I shop for clothing since most of what they have are for Huntsmen and Huntresses who need sturdy clothing for field work."

Yukari smiled and nodded, only slightly surprised that her friend knew about it as well. "Yeah, that's the one. Aigis doesn't care much for fashion, but she does want to be able to move properly if a fight breaks out so I thought that would be a good place to start."

"Mind if we join you?" asked Velvet. She glanced briefly at Coco, making the taller brunette swallow any protests she had at shopping at that particular store. "I may as well replace some old outfits since we're nearby."

"You guys mind?" Yukari asked the quartet beside her, paying close attention to the girl who was discreetly watching the rabbit faunus. Three responded with a negative, some more enthusiastic than others, while the target of her attention gave a non-committal hum. That was good enough for now. As long as she didn't say or do anything overtly rude, or even discreetly, she wouldn't push the issue. "Alright. Let's get going."

* * *

"You didn't have to come with me, you know?"

"I know. I just wanted to."

Ken accepted his teammate's words as he and Ren left the cemetery, boarding a bus headed in the direction of the residential district. In his hands was the wooden bucket while his backpack held the box of incense and the brush he used to clean the gravestone with. Thankfully, due to the grave being isolated from the others, there was no trash around it that needed to be cleaned up.

"Besides," continued Ren, "The crime rate in Vale has been steadily rising for the past month now. Most are theft in nature, but I'd rather none of us wander around alone just in case. And," his voice took on a slightly more worried tone. "Yours and the others' lack of Aura is still a concern for us. We know you can handle yourselves, but to us, only civilians don't have Aura. We'll eventually get used to it though, don't worry."

He didn't like it that much, but he appreciated their concern. Still, that did bring up something interesting. "Why doesn't everyone just awaken their Aura then?"

"There's a good reason for that, actually." Ren's voice took on a more serious tone as he gave his answer. "Do you know where emotions come from?"

Ken nodded. "It's when the body releases more of certain chemicals in reaction to something we experience. The brain notices the changes in our body and lets us know by letting us 'feel' the changes in the form of emotions."

He waited a while for the magenta-eyed teen to response, but received nothing. He turned to the seat beside him and found Ren watching him with a dubious look on his face. "Are you sure you're thirteen?" he asked.

Ken just smiled and chuckled in response, not giving an answer either way. Honestly, he was tempted to say that he was thousands of years old. Not exactly a lie, considering their situation. Still, given that it was Ren, his reaction wouldn't have been as exciting compared to Nora's.

Ren just shook his head in amusement and continued with his explanation. "Anyway, scientific explanation on emotions from a thirteen-year-old aside, most people say that emotions come from the heart, which was what I thought you'd say." Ken just shot him another smile. "But since we all know that the heart doesn't really produce emotions, the heart they refer to in this case is deeper. Rather than the heart of the body, emotions come from the heart of the person as a whole."

Ken's brown eyes narrowed as the dots connected in his mind. "The soul."

Ren nodded. "Exactly. And that's precisely the problem. Aura is the physical manifestation of our souls. And if emotions come from the soul, then Aura is also an extension of our emotions. And since Grimm are attracted to negative emotions..." he trailed off, eyeing Ken expectantly.

"People with Aura are more likely to attract them," Ken finished with barely any delay. "I see. So having Aura can be dangerous too," he concluded with a nod. Then suddenly, his eyes shot open as a thought came to him. "Wait, doesn't that mean that you'll be in more danger if we fight the Grimm?"

"Not necessarily." Unlike Ken, Ren didn't seem worried at all. "That's only if we allow ourselves to feel the emotions needed to draw Grimm to us. Look at Nora for example. With how she's so cheerful even in a fight, she's less likely to attract the Grimm's attention. Of course, that's only if she hasn't already caught the Grimm's attention." Knowing the orange-haired girl, she was more likely to draw attention on purpose. "Even so, nearby Grimm aren't as likely to be drawn towards the fight compared to someone who's cowering in fear or is angry at Grimm for hurting their team."

Beacon's youngest student nodded in understanding, understanding how a Huntsman could offset the disadvantage of being more attention-catching than civilians. At the same time, it opened up possibilities if they ever needed to draw the Grimm's attention away from someone or something else.

"Still…" Ren's thoughtful tone drew him away from his thoughts as he looked back up at his teammate. "That does bring up something that might be related. Do you remember the initiation, where you said you, Akihiko, and the rest of SEES were chased by that horde of Grimm we fought?"

The boy nodded. "I don't think that's something I'll ever forget."

"True enough," Ren replied with a small smile. Then the smile faded and his face reflected his thoughtfulness once more. "There was something that I noticed during that fight. Even though we, that is, those with Aura, were more dangerous, the Grimm were particularly focused on targeting SEES." Ken frowned at the older teen's words. "I'm guessing you didn't notice then."

He shook his head. No, he hadn't. And the fact that nobody else brought it up meant that the rest of SEES hadn't either. That was not something that any one among them would keep hidden. "Maybe the Grimm felt we were easier prey since we didn't have Aura?" he offered. And yet, something deep within him denied the theory almost as soon as it left his lips. Somehow, he knew that this wasn't it. That there was some deeper reason why the Grimm targeted SEES.

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Ren responded with a doubtful shake of his head. "The younger Grimm, maybe, but the elder Grimm like the Beowolf Alphas and Ursa Majors? Grimm that have lived long enough to grow that old are capable of assessing a situation and directing other, younger Grimm, much like how a team leader would assess a situation and adjust the team's strategy and tactics."

"So what you're saying is…"

"The Grimm targeted SEES for a reason," finished Ren, his expression far more serious and forbidding than Ken could ever remember seeing. "Worst comes to worst, you and Akihiko, and even the rest of SEES, just might find yourselves the center of attraction if we went on a Grimm extermination mission."

That was a sobering thought. One that Ken hoped was very much wrong as they stepped off the bus when they reached their stop just two blocks away from their destination, SEES's house.

Ken couldn't call it a home just yet. After all, they've only visited the place once as a group and none of them have yet to spend the night there. The only other time someone went there was when they wanted to visit the cemetery. They would then have to come to the house to pick up the bucket and ladle, the cleaning brush, the incense, and the matches. Afterwards, they would come back to return the items before going on with their day.

Today, however, was slightly different. Parked outside the house was a large delivery truck, the back open and revealing three crates of varying sizes. Two large men, one of them a faunus with bear ears, carried a fourth crate through the gate and then around the side of the house. Most likely towards the sliding doors near the dining area, since the front door was far too narrow for the crate.

Ken and Ren entered through the front door, finding Akihiko standing there next to two other crates. "Are these the things you ordered senpai?" Ken asked as he approached, noting that one crate had been opened and looked to be only half-full.

"Yeah," the boxer responded as he turned to face the approaching pair. "Though I doubt I'll have time to put them all together today. There's some stuff I have to take care of for Mitsuru later on since she's discussing the experiment results with Ozpin."

"RENNY! KENNY!"

Ken yelped when he felt two arms wrap around his waist as the girl who was only a few inches taller than him lifted him off his feet with no difficulty at all. Then he felt himself being spun around, Nora's high-pitched squeals of joy piercing straight through his ears. Eventually he was set down on his feet, only to stumble around like a drunk, flailing his arms around as he attempted to keep his balance. In the end, the battle was lost and the floor rose to meet his bottom.

Nora just giggled at the sight, watching from her spot on Ren's back, which she occupied soon after releasing Ken. "Onwards Ren!" she cheered, raising her hand up and throwing it forward.

"Onwards where?" asked Ren, grinning slightly at Nora's silliness.

"Anywhere!"

Ren sighed but didn't lose his grin. At least, not until Akihiko spoke up, standing beside him but slightly towards his back. "Well, since you have a horse, carrying the rest of this should be easier now, right?"

Before he could ask what they would be carrying, he felt the weight on his back slowly increase as Nora accepted whatever it was that Akihiko had given her. The soft but heavy clanking sound made him curious. Slowly craning his neck to glance behind him, she saw Nora carrying a small pile of steel in various shapes and sizes. And the silver-haired boxer was pulling more out of the crate and handing it to her one by one.

"H-Hey! W-Wait!" protested Ren, feeling his legs beginning to quiver underneath the heavy weight. Thankfully, Akihiko stopped.

Nora, however, was of a different mind. "Aw, come on. Ren can take much more than this." She hefted the objects in her hands, the shifting weight causing her steed to sway on his legs and struggle to keep his balance.

"Nora!"

His childhood friend just giggled and laughed, but he felt the weight decrease nonetheless. His load was still quite heavy, but it was much more bearable now. Though he did glare at Akihiko out of the corner of his eyes. The grin on his team leader's face told him that he had done that on purpose.

"Come on Ren, let's go, go, go!"

Her rowdiness made it harder to keep his balance, but the lighter load helped mitigate this somewhat. Knowing she wouldn't give this up anytime soon, he slowly marched towards where her finger had pointed earlier, the door next to the foot of the stairs.

Akihiko watched the pair depart, grinning mischievously for a moment before turning back to his partner. "You alright there Ken?"

"I'll be fine senpai." Yet despite his words, his body was still swaying slightly even though he was sitting down on the floor. "As soon as the room stops moving so much."

Eventually it did, and Ken helped Ren and Nora, the latter now walking on her own feet once more, transfer the contents of the first crate into the next room. Once all the crates had been brought into the house, Akihiko thanked the delivery men and bid them farewell. Then he moved to the open crate and helped unpack its contents.

Once all the objects in the first crate were unpacked, Akihiko unfolded the piece of paper that had been inside, revealing it to be assembly instructions for a leg press machine. Then he frowned and pulled out his Scroll to check the time. "Maybe I should have started with a smaller one. Doesn't look like I'll have time to finish this before I have to run Mitsuru's errand."

"We can do it senpai," said Ken. And when Akihiko looked up, he found himself face-to-face with not only Ken, but also Nora's smiling face. "I don't have anything else planned for today so I can stay longer."

"Yeah." Nora agreed with a cheer. Then she started off on one of her branching thoughts. "Then we can put all these together and start exercising. Then when we go in to combat class tomorrow we'll be really, really big and muscly. Well, except Ken. He looks better when he's small and cute." She paused briefly and looked up in thought. "Ren," she began seriously, "Do you think Ken can make big muscles look cute?"

As Ren tried to convince Nora that no amount of exercise could give someone the huge muscles she was imagining in one day, Akihiko turned to Ken. "You sure? It's not like we're gonna be able to use all this for a while yet."

Ken nodded firmly. "I'm sure senpai."

Akihiko searched Ken's face for a moment, wondering why he decided to volunteer to finish the assembly. And given the boy's tone, he was certain they would try to assemble more than just the one they had unpacked. It was only when the sound of laughter reached his ears that he turned away, his attention now drawn to Nora, who was playing around with a few of the steel parts.

A thought entered his mind just then. Looking to confirm it, he discreetly glanced at Ken, who was watching Nora's hijinks with a strange look in his eyes. He hummed softly in thought. If he was right…

"Ken." When the young Persona-user turned to him, he held out several one-hundred Lien cards that he had pulled out of his wallet. "There's no food here and the closest place is a decent diner about three or four blocks north from here. Or if you'd rather stay in, I'm sure you can use your Scroll to find a place that delivers. You have your copy of the keys, right?"

The brown-haired boy took a moment to process his senior's words, absent-mindedly taking the money. When he did, he smiled and nodded gratefully. " _Hai, Akihiko-senpai."_ In his excitement, he slipped back to Japanese.

Akihiko just smiled in response and gave his shoulder a firm pat. "Alright then, I'll leave this place to you. Be sure to lock up and let me know when you leave, alright?"

He left the room after calling out a farewell to Nora and Ren, the smile still on his lips as he stepped out the front door and past the gates. And as he stood at the bus stop, waiting for the one that would take him to his destination, he glanced up at the sky. "You don't need to worry about him," he spoke softly. "He'll be fine."

* * *

She knew from the stories that Coco was a borderline shopaholic. The only thing stopping her from buying every scrap of clothing that caught her eyes was her self-imposed budget. Something no shopaholic could ever manage to maintain.

But she hadn't expected her to be quite so discerning when it came to clothing. Well, that wasn't quite true. Her ability to coordinate her outfits meant she had an eye for detail after all. Yukari just hadn't expected her to take it so seriously even when it wasn't her clothing in question.

"No, just no." Another top was flung into the hands of the store employee from within the dressing room, a shy squeak coming from within. No doubt Coco had been the one to take the top off despite not being the one wearing it.

Yukari sighed even as she turned to the other employee and held out a set of clothing, stacked neatly on one hand. "Do you have these in a different size?" she asked, her other hand holding a slip of paper. "They're for a friend of mine. I have her measurements right here."

"Let me check." The young woman nodded as she took the list of measurements, gave it a quick glance, and then returned it even as her other hand raised her Scroll up.

Yukari left her to her job and glanced around the store. Yang and Ruby were in one corner of the store, checking out some accessories for Huntsmen that the store carried. Next to the door, Weiss sat on a bench, reading something on her Scroll.

Despite being offered the chance to go elsewhere if they weren't planning on shopping there, Weiss opted to stay with the group but not necessarily _with_ them. Blake, on the other hand, had accepted the offer, having gone down the street to a small, used book store they passed on the way.

' _I can't believe I'm about to do this,'_ she thought as her feet began to move. _'But still…'_ she glanced back to where Yang was playing around with Ruby and then shook her head, disappointed in her teammate's behavior. Facing forward once more, she let her feet carry her to her destination and, without another word, sat down next to Weiss.

She leaned forward slightly as she sat, hands bearing her weight on her thighs. "You sure you don't wanna go elsewhere?" she asked the heiress, though her eyes alternated between keeping an eye on the two siblings and her friends in the dressing room just in case any of them approached. "From the looks of things, Coco and Velvet are gonna take a while. We could just send you a message when we're done here or something."

Weiss didn't even both to turn to face her, her attention solely on whatever she was reading on her Scroll. "No thank you," came the curt reply.

Yukari hid a sigh, the conversation she overhead earlier, if it could even be called a proper conversation, coming to mind. "Look, if you wanna go back to Beacon then just go." With her sight not focused on Weiss, she missed the way the heiress's arms tensed, her fingers clutching the sides of the Scroll just a little tighter. "It's not like you had to come just because Yang and Ruby were pestering you."

"If you don't want me here then just say so instead of using that blonde brute as an excuse." The hostility in Weiss's sharp retort caught Yukari off-guard, not having expected her to respond in such a manner. Thankfully, she hadn't raised her voice. "At least be honest instead of acting like you care."

Yukari took a deep breath at those words, holding it in her lungs for a few seconds before slowly letting it out. As much as Weiss got on her nerves, and though she didn't outright say anything to Mitsuru about playing nice, picking a fight was the one thing she needed to avoid. For more than the obvious reasons.

"You're right, I don't care," she began, the heiress nodding as though to say 'Good of you to admit it'. "But not caring and being rude are two different things." That had the heiress sending her an inquisitive look that Yukari took as an invitation to explain. "I know that Yang pretty much forced you to come along. And that she wanted you to hang out more with Ruby."

"And why would _I_ want to 'hang out' with that dolt she calls a sister?"

Yukari curled her fingers and clenched her jaw, mentally reminding herself of why she approached the heiress in the first place. "Whether you hang out with Ruby or not isn't my business, and why Yang dragged you along isn't the point I'm trying to make. My point, is that you clearly don't want to be here."

The heiress scoffed. "Are you done pointing out the obvious yet?"

"If it's so obvious then why are you still here? Better yet, why did you agree to come along?" Yukari shot back, struggling just a bit to keep her volume even. Drawing attention to their conversation was not something she needed right now. "Yang's pretty pushy but that doesn't mean she's right about whatever she's being stubborn about. And it definitely doesn't mean that going along with it is the best way to get her to stop. If anything, it'll just make her think she can do it again later on."

"Again, are you done pointing out the obvious?" Yukari could just imagine the heiress rolling her eyes. It wouldn't surprise her if Weiss started thinking that she was an idiot for pointing out so many 'obvious' things.

"Again, if it's so obvious then why are you still here?" she shot back, using the exact same tone that Weiss had just used. "You don't want to be here but you are. You didn't have to let Yang force you to come along but you did. You're here but you act like you don't want to be. Yang isn't doing anything to keep you here but you haven't left. So you tell me," she paused as she turned to face the heiress for the first time since the conversation began, sharp brown eyes meeting surprised and conflicted blue ones. "Is it really that obvious?"

Yukari held her gaze for a while longer, waiting to see if Weiss would actually respond. Eventually, the sound of the dressing room curtain being slid open reached her ears and she knew her time was up. She broke away from Weiss's eyes and took a deep calming breath, relaxing her facial muscles as she stood. "If you wanna leave, then just go. No point wasting the day by doing something you don't even want to do in the first place."

As she made to approach Coco, who was trying to coax out a, presumably, embarrassed Velvet from the dressing room, she heard Weiss call out to her in a soft voice. "Yukari, I…" She stopped abruptly, sounding quite hesitant for some reason. Before she could turn around, the girl said, "Never mind." The sound of the door sliding open then shutting came soon after, signaling the heiress's departure.

It might have been her imagination, but for a moment she could have sworn there was some other emotion lacing Weiss's tone asides from her hesitance. And as she went over to Coco, who was urging her to help convince Velvet to come out and show off her new outfit, she couldn't help but think that Weiss sounded almost sad just before she departed the store.

* * *

"You sure about this Yukari?" Yang asked as the waitress, a young faunus woman with long black hair and green scales along the right side of her face, filled their glasses with water after taking their orders. "It's not like we can't pay for it ourselves after all."

The archer just waved off Yang's concerns, saying, "Like I said, it's fine. Besides, it's not like this is going to be a regular thing."

The blonde relented and leaned back into her seat. "Alright, if you say so. Still, this is a pretty nice place. Too bad Weiss had to bail on us."

The little restaurant they were in was one that Yukari accompanied Mitsuru to one day. The former Kirijo heiress had heard about a place that was owned and run solely by faunus and wanted to see it for herself. She had originally wanted to ask Blake to accompany her, given that their normally quiet teammete was helping with her research on faunus society and history, but the black-haired girl had been working with Chidori on their Field Medicine homework at that time. So she turned to Yukari instead.

Yukari hadn't really thought much about the place that first time they came, having been too lost in her grief to really pay attention. But after leaving Black and Smith earlier, this was the first place that came to mind as she thought about a place for lunch. It didn't hurt that it was close-by and, considering its owner's and employees' race, there was no need to worry about them refusing Velvet service or entry due to her being a faunus.

"Anyway," said Yukari, looking to change the topic before anyone could question the heiress's absence. Especially since she was the one who told everyone else that the girl had left since something else came up. "Mind coming with me for a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something."

Yang raised an eyebrow in query but nodded all the same, rising from her seat just as Yukari did and following her outside. At the same time, Blake rose from her seat and walked towards the bathroom, Velvet following a few seconds later.

Ruby turned towards Yang's departing form, then towards Blake's, her silver eyes wide open in what seemed like panic. She repeated this until both were out of sight, her mouth forming words but unable to give voice to them. She slowly turned her attention to her sole companion, who had just set down her glass of water after taking a sip.

"So~oo," she drawled out lazily, leaning forward. A single hand rose up and moved her sunglasses lower, allowing Ruby's silver eyes to meet Coco's dark brown ones. "How exactly did a cute little girl like you manage to convince our esteemed Headmaster to let you in two years early?"

Ruby swallowed nervously at the semi-predatory look in those dark eyes, which looked that much darker with a backdrop of pale white skin. Only one thought rang through her mind as she dearly wished for a certain blonde to be by her side. _'Help!'_

* * *

"So what's this about?" Yang asked once they were outside and out of view of the restaurant's windows. "Something tells me this isn't about schoolwork or anything like that."

She must have hit the nail on the head as her teammate and friend sighed heavily. One arm went around her back, the hand attacked to it clasping the other arm just above the elbow just as she leaned her back against the restaurant's exterior wall. "You… really know how to make a mess of things, don't you?"

Whatever she was expecting, it certainly hadn't been that.

Her confusion must have been evident as Yukari sighed again and shut her eyes, her head turning towards the ground. In but a moment, she looked back up again and locked eyes with Yang. "I'm not bringing this up to make you feel bad or to dig up something that's already been resolved, but do you remember when you and everyone else came along with us to the memorial service we held?"

Yang nodded, showing that she remembered. How could she not? Everything had backfired on her despite her well-intentioned decisions. Not only had she very nearly shattered whatever friendship she had with the members of SEES, she had dragged everyone else along with her and gotten them caught in the crossfire. And while Mitsuru had let them off with a warning – a very, _very_ stern warning at that – and a relatively light punishment, she had seen how her actions had cost her with regards to everyone else.

Though none of them said it out loud, she could see the wariness and hesitance in their eyes whenever she proposed a joint outing or whenever she invited people along to her plans. It was as though they feared the possibility of another stern talking to even though the conversation was taking place right in front of the red-haired leader.

The wariness had faded within a week of that day, but she had seen how her inconsiderate and impulsive actions had come close to breaking that which she had sought to make whole. And yet, a part of her would never regret her actions. After all, did the event not bring them all closer at the end? And while they eyed her with a hint of mistrust afterwards, did it not fade given time? And although Mitsuru had admonished them all, she had been the main recipient of the redhead's disappointment.

She couldn't say for certain if she had gained back every bit of Mitsuru's trust that she had lost, but she had seen that Mitsuru hadn't been as disappointed with everyone else. She had admonished them for going along, but knew that Yang was at the center of it all. And thus, she did not hold it against them for very long, if at all. Only Yang bore the brunt of Mitsuru's disappointment past that day.

Unaware of the blonde's thoughts, Yukari went on with the discussion. "There's one thing I wanted to know about that time before anything else." Again, Yang nodded. She had no intention of being uncooperative. She had no reason to after all. "Did you force anyone else to go along with your plans?"

"Well…" She reached up to rub the back of her neck, her hand disappearing under her voluminous mane of blonde hair. "I might have-"

"Yes or no, Yang," interrupted Yukari, her features hardening as she spoke. "When you told them what you were planning, did they all agree to go along or did you have to convince or force any of them to go along?"

"… Yeah, I did," she admitted. And if she were being honest, she was the only one who had actually wanted to do it in the first place. Everyone else was either apprehensive or outright against the idea.

Rather than the scolding she was expecting, Yukari just palmed her face, shook her head, and sighed. "I thought so," she heard the brunette whisper, just barely audible in the outdoors. "I'm guessing that includes Weiss." It wasn't a question, so Yang just waited for whatever it was Yukari wanted to tell her. "This isn't really something I thought I'd be talking to _you_ about but…" she paused and took a deep breath. And when she let it out, it sounded to Yang more like another sigh. "You know I hate bullies, right?"

Yang response was a long, drawn out, "Yeah…?" Her face showed her skepticism and confusion, unable to understand why Yukari was bringing that up right at that moment. "Why?"

Yukari just stared at her with one raised eyebrow in response as though expecting her to say more. But what was left to say? She asked a question, and Yang answered. Was there supposed to be some deeper meaning to that question?

They stared at one another for a few more moments, one in confusion and one in expectation. When it became clear that Yang truly had nothing to say, Yukari sighed for the fifth time in the past two or three minutes. "When Cardin was messing with Velvet and making fun of her, would you call that bullying or was that just teasing?"

Again with the strange questions. Well, strange in that the answer should have been obvious. "Bullying, of course," she replied, followed by a shrug. "It's not like Velvet was enjoying it."

"If a gang started going around making nearby store owners pay them so they don't wreck their stores and stuff, is that bullying?" There was something in the way Yukari looked at her that bothered her on a deeper level. She just couldn't quite understand why it made her feel that way. At the same time, she couldn't understand exactly what the archer was trying to tell her.

"I'm pretty sure that's extortion, but yeah, you could call it that."

"What about if-"

"Yukari, what's this about?" she cut in, unable to hide the tinge of worry in her tone. It took her long enough, but she started connecting Yukari's questions together. First about whether or not she had to make the others go along with her idea, and now the questions about bullying. "Did I…" She hesitated, almost as though giving voice to the hypothesis she had come up with would validate it. "Did I do something to make you think I'm a bully or something like that?"

Parental and authority figures aside, Yang wasn't normally this meek or submissive. But then again, she had never encountered the likes of Mitsuru and, now, Yukari. In cases where she was accused of wrongdoing, her first instinct was to deny any accusations that she didn't feel were true. And given her short temper, it didn't take long for even the calmest of accusations to escalate into a full-blown argument, if not a fight. And that usually occurred before any evidence of wrongdoing could be presented.

At least, that's how it usually went with people her age, or even adults who were less patient than others.

Her teammates, however, remained calm all throughout. Even ignoring fact that she always felt smaller whenever they looked at her as though she were guilty of something, neither Mitsuru nor Yukari ever accused her in a way that provoked her temper. It was as though they were somehow capable of dousing the fire just as they fed it gas.

And she got the feeling that even if she did blow her top, either Yukari's own explosive temper or Mitsuru's icy wrath would easily match her fiery rage. Perhaps even overwhelm it. As interesting as that would be to see, it was not something she wanted to try. Not unless she had absolutely no choice.

And though Yukari had yet to point out exactly what she had done wrong – she did say she wasn't bringing up the previous incident for the sake of revisiting it – she was already getting the feeling that she _had_ done something wrong. Something she just didn't consider to be wrong at the time.

"No, you didn't." While that was quite a relief to hear, it certainly didn't ease away her confusion, nor did all her worries fade. Yukari had to have some reason to bring up the subject. "But what you're doing _is_ coming close."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there, what exactly did I do?" She wasn't panicking. Not even close. But she certainly didn't want to be labeled a bully or even anything remotely like it. "I mean, I get you aren't accusing me of doing something, but what the hell did I do that came close?"

One word was all she said. "Weiss."

"Weiss?" parroted Yang. When she saw how serious Yukari was, she thought back to every time she actually spoke or interacted with the girl in question, regardless of whether Yukari was present to see it or not.

The first time they met was just before Ozpin's speech the day before initiation. Then there was the argument they had that same night. They briefly met just before the initiation, when the left SEES to their little meeting. Then came the battle at the temple ruins, though she hadn't really spoken to the heiress since she was focused solely on fighting, staying alive, and keeping Ruby alive. The return to the cliff was, after a minute or two of rapid fire questioning that received little to no answers, silent so as to not attract more Grimm.

Team formations came next, followed by their journey to Ozpin's office and the subsequent revelations from SEES. They retired to their dorms after that, so she hadn't seen Weiss until dinner that night. Though unless she was mistaken, they had sat down far from each other so they had no further interactions that day, as they returned to their dorms for the night afterwards.

And all that happened within the first forty-eight hours since their arrival at Beacon, never mind the weeks that followed.

She forced herself to remember as much as she could, even if it was as insignificant as walking past each other in the hallway. And yet she couldn't remember a single instance that could even remotely be considered bullying. When she relayed this to Yukari, however, the girl just sighed once again.

"How about this morning?" she asked with a frown on her face. "I saw part of what happened, Yang. I didn't see what happened between the two of you inside the dorm room, but when you practically dragged her out, Weiss told you she had her own plans for the day. You didn't have to force her to come along when she clearly didn't want to."

"Wait, _that's_ what this was about?" she asked with an incredulous look on her face. "Because I brought Weiss along? Yukari, she spends practically every minute studying outside of classes, meals, and training. Don't you think she needs to spend time relaxing too? Besides…"

She glanced towards the window of the restaurant despite being unable to see inside from her position, frowning sadly when she did so. "Ruby told me that the two of them barely talk. She was trying to invite Weiss out to do something but she got turned down." She sighed and shut her eyes. "They're supposed to be partners. I get that we didn't exactly have that much control over our partners since Ozpin went and made that 'eye-contact' rule, but just because she doesn't like being partnered up with Ruby doesn't mean she can take it out on her."

"And if they can't learn to work together then what happens when they start going on missions?" Yang looked down briefly, clenching her fists tightly as she imagined Ruby and Weiss's poor teamwork on an actual mission against the Grimm. "I don't want anything to happen to Ruby, especially not because her own partner couldn't be bothered to care about someone else other than herself. I made her come so she and Ruby could spend some time together, maybe even help her loosen up a bit."

Despite the slight harshness of her words, Yukari didn't even look all that bothered. Instead, she had listened calmly, letting Yang speak her piece. When she was done, only then did the Japanese girl speak. "First of all, I don't think you give Weiss enough credit. Even if she doesn't care about forming a better relationship with Ruby, I doubt she's stupid enough to just let Ruby die or even so much as fail a single class. Weiss's reputation and image is everything to her. If something happens to Ruby, it'll reflect on her."

"Ruby dying specifically because she didn't help would mean Weiss was an unreliable partner in a fight. Nobody would want her fighting with them if that was the case." Yang conceded that point with an understanding nod. "Ruby failing a class that Weiss aced would more or less mean that Weiss isn't the kind to offer help to someone in need. Even her own partner. Whatever happens, those kinds of reputations would carry over outside the school too, since that sort of news about the Schnee heiress is a big thing. You can expect students here would be telling others about it. Even if it's ultimately for herself, she's not going to let anything bad happen to Ruby. Not unless Ruby does something to make her want payback of some sort."

"As for relaxing, did you even ask her what her plans were for the day or did you just assume she was going to be studying all day?" Yang opened her mouth to retort but no words came out. Slowly, she shut her mouth as she realized that she _hadn't_ asked about the heiress's plans. "I thought as much," Yukari said, the answer to her question clear on the blonde's face. "For that matter, how would you even know she doesn't do anything to relax? Do you stalk her or something?"

The word 'stalk' made Yang frown briefly as it implied there was something about the heiress that interested her. Still, she conceded the point to Yukari with a barely audible, "No."

Again, Yukari sighed, suddenly looking that much more tired compared to when they first stepped out. "I don't have any siblings so I can't really say I know how you feel considering Ruby's involved in this. But you can't just go around making other people do what you want, even if it's for what you think is a good reason. More importantly, you dragged Weiss along then just ignored her the entire time."

Then her face grew stern once more. "To make things worse, Ruby spent the entire airship ride talking with you. And even afterwards, she tried talking to Weiss once and that's it. What was the point of bringing Weiss along if everyone's just going to ignore her?"

"Ruby's shy, you know that," argued Yang, the volume of her voice rising just as her temper was. "Besides, she _tried._ Weiss was the one being a stuck-up princess by shooting her down."

"Maybe because you _forced_ her to come?" the archer asked, her own temper flaring in response to the brawler's. "Did you really think she'd be happy being forced to give up her plans for the day? And you said it yourself back before classes started, Ruby's not very good at making friends or being social in general. And you expect her to start with Weiss of all people?"

Yang's anger faded as she looked away and rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably, looking sheepish the entire time. "When you put it that way…" She trailed off, not really knowing what else to say. From that perspective, it definitely wasn't one of her brightest moments. Or even a slightly lit one. That was as dim as it could possibly get.

Yukari remained silent for a few more moments, making Yang uncomfortable as she wondered what else the archer had to say. She couldn't even bring herself to be mad. All of Yukari's arguments were solid. Even her justification of having done everything for Ruby's sake fell dead flat considering she had most likely, if not assuredly, made things worse. If it had worked then maybe, just maybe, Yukari wouldn't have gotten this upset with her. Now?

The blonde resisted the urge to sigh, not wanting to show any form of outward weakness that she hadn't already showed. Why was this even bothering her so much? It made no sense. Normally she'd just feel guilty for a brief moment, say sorry and whatnot, and everything would be back to normal. Forgive and forget and all that. Instead, her mind was actually lingering on her wrongdoings as though unable to let her forget what she had done.

Was it the situation itself that bothered her? Was it the people involved? No. She knew exactly what was bothering her. It was Yukari's words. _"No, you didn't. But what you're doing is coming close."_

Was she really? Were her actions truly bordering on what Yukari would consider bullying? One of the things her teammate hated most? But that couldn't be true, right? It's not as if she was doing it for personal gain. Though she had clearly gone about it the wrong way, she had invited herself and others to the memorial to support SEES in their time of need. And as she said, Ruby and Weiss's partnership wasn't working out too well so she just gave them a chance to work it out. It was hardly her fault that Weiss was being a bitch about it.

There was no way that she-

"…ou alright?"

"Huh?" She blinked her eyes repeatedly, looking up from the ground to meet Yukari's concerned brown eyes. "What…"

"You spaced out on me," Yukari explained before Yang could even ask her question in its entirety. "Look, Yang, like I said, you're not a bully. I know that. Everyone knows that. And I get that the stuff you did was because you wanted to help, not because you wanted something from someone." Yang felt her shoulder's sag slightly in relief at those words. "All I'm saying is that you need to be careful, alright? I've gotten into trouble more than once because my mouth or my body were faster than my head. I'd rather not see you get into some kind of trouble you can't get out of."

"Hey come on, I can handle myself." The words were out of Yang's mouth before she could stop herself. To make things worse, her tone sounded quite indignant, as though Yukari had just insulted her ability to look after herself.

"I know you can." Somehow, Yukari's placating words had the opposite effect, as though she were patronizing her instead. Already, she could feel that familiar spark of anger emerging from deep within her. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to avoid getting into trouble in the first place."

She was just concerned. Yukari just didn't want her to bite off more than she could chew, let alone swallow and digest. So why? Why were the older teen's words making her so angry? Shouldn't she feel relieved that there was someone looking out for her?

And now, for some strange, inexplicable reason, Yukari was staring at her, examining her face. Yang didn't know what Yukari saw, but the girl sighed and shut her eyes once again. And just as she opened then, the muscles in her face relaxed, all the tension from their previous conversation melting away. "I'm going on ahead. I'll just let the others know you got a call or something, alright? No point making them worry about why you took longer to come back."

Yukari half-turned towards the door, then paused and gazed into her face once more, eyes searching for something once again. Then, without another word, she completed the turn and walked back into the restaurant.

The moment she did, Yang spun to face the wall and punched it with her fist, doing her utmost best to limit her strength so as not to draw attention. It didn't give her the release she needed, far from it. Her blood was boiling and the rage that was threating to burst forth was directed at her teammate. And she didn't know why.

She clenched her teeth even as she tried to drill her fist into the wall, failing only because she struggled to hold back her strength, her anger. It took her a few minutes to calm down, and at least one more to try and come up with a believable story using the excuse that Yukari made for her. And another to calm down when the thought of her teammate began drawing out her anger once more.

Eventually, she was ready to re-enter the restaurant, hoping she could at least act normally until she could vent her anger back at Beacon. Yukari might have been the recipient of her anger, but the girl hadn't done anything to deserve it, at least nothing that Yang could think of. Moreover, she had offered to pay for the meal for all six of them. At the very least, she wouldn't throw that generosity back in her face by ruining the meal with her temper.

* * *

Red and gold clashed against gray steel, two blades locking with one another as gray attempted to hold its ground. Then the steel blade faltered as the force holding it back disappeared, the red and gold xiphos slipping underneath it. But before it could find its mark, a white shield stood in its path. In turn, the steel blade sought its own target only to be halted as well, this time by a round red and gold shield with two semi-circles cut out from opposing sides.

But the deadlock only lasted for a second as the steel blade slid off the shield, unbalancing its wielder. More weight was put behind the xiphos, further unbalancing the other fighter and tipping him back. He attempted to roll with the attack but a leg came in and swept his feet out from under him followed by a kick aimed at his unprotected sides before his back even hit the ground.

The kicked sent him tumbling away then rolling to his feet some distance away. He raised his shield just as his opponent came rushing in, the red and gold weapon, now a javelin, ready to thrust into its target. But before it came, a loud beeping came from their pockets just as a loud buzzer rang through the room, the tip of the javelin stopping just barely and inch from the white shield.

"Alright, come on out you two."

Jaune breathed a sigh of both relief and exhaustion even as Pyrrha's weapons returned to her back, courtesy of her Semblance. He took a few seconds to catch his breath, waving away his partner's concerns, before rising and sheathing his sword and returning the shield-turned-sheath to his hip.

Together, the two of them exited the training area, the hard-light walls fading away as the training session ended. Waiting for them by the training console were Junpei and Chidori, the latter sitting on the bench behind the former.

"So," Junpei began as they approached. "You want the good news, the bad news, or the worst news?"

Jaune glanced at his partner, who met his gaze. He wondered if his face showed the same amount of worry as hers. Good news and bad news were pretty much expected. But worst news? It was just another training match. What could have gone so wrong that he would classify it as 'worst news'?

"Let's uh… Let's start with the good." Maybe the good news was good enough to offset whatever bad news he hears afterwards. Wait… then wouldn't it have been better to start with the bad news then? "Uh… Actually let's-"

"Well, the good news-" Too late. "-Is that you lasted the full three minutes with Aura to spare. Sure, Pyrrha was still holding back but that's better than last time."

If Jaune were being honest, that wasn't good news. Well, it was. It just wasn't _that_ good. More like, just plain news.

"Bad news is you let your form get sloppy after the first minute. You probably wouldn't have gotten knocked down that many times if you didn't."

Well, the bad news wasn't _that_ bad at least. It just meant he'd have to work on his form some more during their morning training sessions. Following that trend, maybe the 'worst' news wouldn't be that bad.

"And the worst news," Junpei paused, looking up from the console with a serious look on his face. He met Jaune's eyes, then Pyrrha's, then went back to Jaune. "The worst news is," he repeated solemnly, causing Jaune to swallow. Even Pyrrha began to fidget at the suspense. Then, all of a sudden, he shrugged, "There isn't any!"

The tension left Jaune's body so swiftly that he almost fell to his knees. Even Pyrrha looked like she had stumbled over something. Junpei's laughter rang in their ears even as Chidori shook her head, lightly admonishing her boyfriend for messing with them like that.

"Sorry, sorry," Junpei gasped out between bouts of laughter. "Couldn't really resist since you looked so serious."

"Well, why wouldn't I be?" Jaune wanted to ask out loud but didn't. If there was one thing he knew about Junpei by now, it was that he didn't take a lot of things seriously. Or rather, he did his best to keep things lighthearted even when he was being serious. Jaune's training, after all, was a fairly serious matter.

His family, though mostly his mother, had allowed him to stay despite his less than honest entry into Beacon. Maintaining his place in the school, however, was another thing entirely.

Beacon Academy had four major examinations throughout the year. The first would be in the middle of December, roughly seven weeks away. And Jaune had that much time to not only catch up on his academics, but also to build up his fighting style.

Unlike the regular Combat class sessions, each student would be evaluated by one of the many professors in a one-on-one fight. Their grade would depend on how long the fight went on. It was a given that their teachers would not be fighting at full strength, but the longer the fight went on the less they would hold back.

During the first minute, only the student would be attacking. Afterwards, whoever was assigned to test them would begin fighting back starting with head-on attacks and matching the student's level of physical ability. And as time went on, they would begin to employ more elaborate tactics such as flanking or attacking from behind while maintaining an equal level of physical ability.

By the fifth minute, they would begin fighting at a physical level slightly higher than whatever the student showed, pushing them even further. That level would continue to slowly rise the longer the fight went on. And any student who manages to last ten minutes would then be faced by their teacher's Semblance in addition to the still rising level of physical ability.

But that second half didn't matter to Jaune. To get a passing grade, he would have to last at least the first five minutes to show that he was capable of fighting an opponent of his level one-on-one. His only disadvantage was his general lack of experience. Though when compared to a full-fledged Huntsman, all the first years were relatively inexperienced. It would be foolish to think they could get through the first five minutes without falling for a trick or two.

Still, that's what their Aura was for. Falling for one or two tactics was fine. They couldn't be expected to know or predict everything after all. But too many mistakes and their Aura would drop into the red zone before the five-minute mark, leading to a failing grade.

It wasn't the end of their schooling if they failed, of course. In truth, an average of fifteen first-years failed the first examination every year. At least, according to Gwen and Sable. Scarlett's year had been exceptional in that only two first-years failed that first exam.

The only thing a failing grade meant was that they needed to work harder to pass the next one. Only the fourth, and final, exam truly mattered as it would determine whether they advanced to the next year or not.

But even so, it was a matter of pride for Jaune that he pass every exam, whether it was a written exam or a practical one and regardless of whether it was the first or the last exam of the year. As such, he worked extra hard whenever he could to try and bring his skills up to the necessary level.

His academics weren't the best, but he was, at the very least, passing them, even if only barely. Still, he was getting better. The team's study sessions certainly helped.

Surprisingly, he was quite good when it came to the Combat Tactics class, despite having been made to join by his mother.

Last night had been his first time attending the class, but Professor Goodwitch still required him to submit the homework the class was given the night before his parents arrived. After spending two days going over the previous classes' lectures with Junpei and Pyrrha, they had given him a copy of the assigned homework which, as always, was a detailed combat situation which they were required to submit a strategy for.

It barely took him half-an-hour to analyze the scenario and come up with a basic strategy for his 'team' to beat the other. And even without stepping into the realm of arrogant chest-puffing, he could say that he was confident in the plan. Of course, stepping into the class for the first time siphoned away all his confidence as he was subject to inquisitive stares when they class realized there was a new student.

The fact that Professor Ozpin himself had been one of the teachers last night only served to make him even more nervous than he already was. But much to his, Junpei's and Pyrrha's collective surprise, as well as many others from the rest of the class, the strategy he had submitted was one of four that were deemed acceptable. Fourentries out of nearly fifty, and his was one of them.

Two had come from a second-year student and a fourth-year student, making his stand out that much more. The last one to be accepted was Mitsuru's. But as one of his classmates mentioned, despite being a first-year, she was the same age as the third-years. As such, his entry would stand out either way.

The four acceptable entries were then displayed for the whole class by using a combat simulator. The simulated fight between two teams of Huntsmen and Huntresses ended in a stalemate using Jaune's tactics while the other three ended in victory. To make things worse, his simulation ended in a draw because he had missed something so simple.

He had forgotten to account for one of the fighter's on his 'side' being a faunus. Their sensitive hearing was a poor match-up for one of the opposing team's members, who used a sound-based Semblance, thus leading to them getting knocked out.

He had expected laughter, perhaps even ridicule, for missing something to simple.

Instead, what he got was approval. Of a sort. Nobody laughed at the fact that his simulation ended in a draw rather than a victory. Nobody ridiculed him for it. In fact, quite a few upper classmen had approached him after class, telling him that his only failing was his own lack of experience. While good, his plan was a little _too_ simple and didn't have any contingencies in place should the unlikely or unexpected come to pass.

One of them was even a canine faunus, as shown by the tail sticking out of his pants. And in his own words, "Humans know we can see and hear better, it's common knowledge. But it's exactly _because_ it's common knowledge that it becomes easy to forget. Just like how you don't normally pay attention to your breathing unless something or someone makes you think about it, or if you need to think about it for some reason. You're still a first year so it's hardly surprising you slipped up. The fact that Ozpin gave yours a pass is enough for now. Just keep training. The more you experience, the better you'll be able to come up with plans in the future."

That brief ego-inflating event had been enough to keep him awake longer than normal, thinking about how strange it felt to be acknowledge like that. Strange in a good way of course. By the time he had finally fallen asleep, it had been well past midnight. Even when he woke up this morning for his morning training session, his mood had been much more positive than normal.

That mood, however, quickly sank when he began the training regimen that Akihiko had helped create for him. One that he had been following since Wednesday morning. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and a whole gauntlet of other exercises were the first thing he did. _After_ several warm-up laps around Beacon of course.

Though it did help that he was never alone. In fact, various members of SEES joined him during the weekdays, having restarted their former training routines. It was something they had stopped doing only because they wanted to acclimatize themselves to life at Beacon first.

That morning, as it was a Sunday, was the only time that they were all present due to the fact that some of them had classes as early as six in the morning on certain days. The only other people to join them were Pyrrha and Ren, the latter availing of Akihiko's offer of a personalized training regimen while the former stuck to the training regimen her personal tutor made for her prior to coming to Beacon.

As it turns out, Akihiko knew what he was doing. Everyone more or less did the same basic exercises. The main difference was how much of a certain exercises someone did. Though that was mainly because of the differing levels of strength in their bodies.

What would set them apart were their individual exercises and drills based on their weapons. Though in this case, it had less to do with Akihiko's knowledge and more with each person's knowledge of their own fighting styles.

Jaune had seen Yukari standing in a specific pose, raising Sharanga and drawing the bowstring as far back as she normally would and then holding it there. She would hold that pose for a while, sometimes until he could see her arm quivering slightly, then slowly relax and lower the bow. After a while, she would raise the bow and pull the bowstring back once again, hold it in place, and then relax.

According to Junpei, Yukari did this to strength the muscles in her arms that were used specifically for drawing the bowstring and holding up the bow. It also helped her body remember what the proper pose feels like until it becomes instinct. Though given that she had been using the bow for quite a long time now, the exercise served mainly as a refresher to make sure she didn't have a chance to forget just because she grew complacent.

She also had another exercise where she fired as many arrows as she could in as little time as possible. While the muscles used were the same, this one tested her stamina and her endurance since the muscles weren't given time to rest between shots. Just like how an actual fight might go.

It also tested her concentration since she shot at three different targets, aiming at a different one for each shot. And even when her muscles began to ache she continued to fire, pushing her body as far as she could go and stopping only when her shots grew erratic or when she felt that her muscles could no longer handle it.

Everyone else had similar exercises for their respective weapons. And if their workout was anything like what Jaune had been given, even their exercises in the weight room was tailor fit to work on specific muscles that they used.

Of course, Akihiko had also made sure to schedule the workouts in a way that each set of muscles were given a chance to rest. Jaune's workout, for example, had him focusing on his arms and upper body on one day, his core on another, and his legs and lower body on yet another day.

The sheer amount of planning and detail that went into each workout almost made Jaune dizzy when he imagined trying to plan it all on his own. And Akihiko had planned the workouts for everyone in SEES with his own personal schedule being the most intensive one. It was only then that he understood what Junpei meant when he called Akihiko an 'exercise junkie'. Not that he would ever say that to Akihiko's face.

Today was only the fifth day of his new training regimen. And as it was a Sunday, Akihiko's schedule told them to hold a few sparring matches so that they could see any improvements over the past week, as well as to see what else needed work. They would report things to him later on so that he could adjust the training if necessary.

Given that he had only done two sessions of performing sword drills, it was no surprise that his form reverted back to what he had been using the past month-and-a-half. And by that, he meant the wrong form. And when asked how bad his form had been, Pyrrha's response was to look away and change the subject.

As such, he had been assigned a set of basic sword drills by Pyrrha. Ones that he would perform every day in order to slowly erase any bad habits he might have formed while instilling the proper form into his muscles.

Asides from the fact that the repeated motions tired out his arm faster than he had expected, the exercises were boring and monotonous. He didn't think they meant it literally when they told him he would be swinging his sword one hundred times in the exact same way. To add to the difficulty, Pyrrha would only count those that were performed properly.

Anyone else would have found it insulting that someone else did the counting for them. But Jaune knew very well just how badly he needed their guidance. With no training prior to entering Beacon, he had picked up many bad habits that could lead to defeat in a fight. He would have to be extra vigilant and doubly disciplined during his training if he were to break those habits and replace them with the proper forms and motions.

In the end, he had to slow down between swings to make sure he was doing it right, rather than swinging again immediately after and getting it wrong. Jaune wouldn't have been surprised if they told him that his first day of sword drills ended closer to one thousand swings rather than the one hundred that was his goal.

"So what now?" he asked once Junpei's laughter settled down. If they were going to fight another round then Junpei wouldn't have called them out of the training area. Nor would he have shut it off. "Drills again?"

Junpei shrugged. "Eh, you could if you want. If that's the case then I guess it's just me and Chidori for lunch then."

"That's 'Chidori and I', Junpei-kun," piped up the white-clad redhead.

The correction went unnoticed though as Junpei's words reached Jaune's mind. And his stomach. The blonde teen blushed as a loud growl was heard, a hand futilely attempting to silence the source. Then another, slightly weaker growl was heard. From a different source. Junpei, grinning at Jaune's grumbling stomach, burst out laughing while the blonde turned to his partner in surprise. Her hair was almost indistinguishable from her face.

Chidori sighed, but looked amused. "I suppose we're all going to lunch then."

* * *

Downtown Vale was, more often than not, the busiest part of the city. It sat close to the center of the city, not far from where the commercial district met the industrial and residential districts. In addition to its location, countless businesses, a handful of large shopping centers, and a vast multitude of office buildings could be found in that small area, each one offering a either a necessary or desirable service, most putting both together to attract even more people. Its location and services practically guaranteed business.

Near one corner of the downtown area, people were gathering for a different reason.

The building was composed of eight floors and the outside was as plain as any other office building in the area, save for the large sign outside, marking it as 'UNDER RENOVATION', as well as a man and a woman wearing black suits with red ties and red-tinted sunglasses standing on either side of the door as though to further discourage anybody from entering. Yet despite this, there was a large group of people, at least fifty with a few more joining as time passed.

There was nothing distinct about the group. In fact, one might say that it was their diversity that set them apart. Male and female, young adults and middle aged, able and handicapped, human and faunus, it seemed as though most demographics were represented in some way despite their relatively small number.

The one thing that might have stood out was the fact that, despite all their differences, most of them seemed to be speaking amiably with one another. There were a handful who stood off to the side, eyeing the faunus with distrust, but they kept their thoughts to themselves.

It was this scene that Weiss saw as she made her way back towards the airship docks, two small shopping bags in hand. Normally, she would have just ignored whatever was going on. It had little, if anything, to do with her after all.

But just then, the main doors opened and four people stepped out. Two women and two men. Three were much like the two guarding the door, black suits and red ties. Asides from the lack of sunglasses, the only difference was the soft, welcoming smiles on their faces as opposed to the guards' stoic expressions.

The fourth, however, stood out even more. And not just because of his short, spiky red hair. His attire was similar enough, black suit and red tie, but the dress shirt he wore underneath was a dark shade of brown rather than black, and his sunglasses were tinted the usual black instead of red. Most of all, his youthful face sported a cocky grin rather than a soft smile or a stoic frown.

"Alright," he called out, clapping his hands once to get everyone's attention. Even from a short distance away, Weiss could clearly hear the man's voice and words. "Sorry about the wait everyone. Had some stuff we needed to clear up before anything else. Anyway, I'm sure you're not here to listen to all that. You all fill up the forms?"

It was then that Weiss noticed the forms of various colors clutched in their hands as well as a small sheaf of similarly colored forms in the hands of the female guard. "Everyone holding the green forms, please follow the young woman to my right." One of the three who had accompanied the red-haired man out stepped forward with a smile, and then led a dozen or so people into the building. Weiss noted that a few faunus had gone on inside as well. Once they were gone, the redhead spoke once again. "Everyone holding the blue forms, please follow the other young woman to my right."

The aforementioned young woman's smile faltered as she turned to the man. "Uh… sir? I'm uh… not a woman."

Every person in the vicinity blinked, Weiss included, as they gave the young 'woman' a closer look. Despite wearing pants rather than a skirt like the first woman, Weiss could certainly see why the man referred to 'her' as a woman. 'She' was thin and petite, standing just a little taller than the shoulders of the red-haired man, who wasn't even that tall to begin with. If Weiss had to hazard a guess, the man wasn't even as tall as Jaune, who was the tallest among their group. A little taller than Junpei, perhaps.

The young 'woman' was probably only as tall as Weiss was when she took off her shoes. And as much as it galled her to admit it, she was far from tall. Even Ruby stood taller than her if they went barefoot. And the girl was two years younger than her. That was two more years of growing to increase the gap even further.

The only other people who shared her problem were Nora, Chidori, and Fuuka. Nora and Chidori were roughly the same height as her, though the latter's shoes made her look taller, much like Weiss and her heels. But then, what they lacked in height, they made up for in… other ways. Weiss glanced down with a frown.

In the end, the only person who she could say truly shared her dilemma was Fuuka. Just another reason to be nicer to her, she supposed. Weiss shook her head. Now was most certainly not the time to be musing about her physical attributes. Or lack thereof.

"Hey, no worries," said the red-haired man, seemingly the only person who hadn't been shocked by the 'woman's' words. "If that's what you're into then who am I to judge? Besides, you look the part well enough. I'm sure nobody'll notice even if you decide to put on a skirt instead."

"S-Sir!" Weiss had to admit, even the young 'woman's' voice didn't sound very masculine. Especially not when 'her' voice rose in pitch like that. "That's not what I meant!" The admittedly cute pleading look on 'her' face certainly didn't help 'her' cause.

"Hey, like I said, I don't judge." And the man more or less ignores the young 'woman's' plight. "Anyway, better get these people up where they need to be," he reminded with a smile. "We're running late as it is."

The young 'woman' hung her head dejectedly for a moment before straightening her posture and facing the assembled group with a smile. Though Weiss could tell, even from a short distance away, that the smile was strained and weary. "This way please." Even 'her' gait as 'she' walked away was quite feminine. Or at least, NOT masculine.

Weiss decided to just erase the young 'woman' from her mind. She did NOT want the headache of trying to figure out their situation.

"Alright, those with the yellow forms, go with this guy to my left." A slightly older man with a full beard nodded genially to the group and led them into the building, leaving about a dozen or so men and women outside. "And those with the red forms come with me. We'll…"

It took Weiss a moment to realize that the man had stopped because he had noticed her. Similarly, the remaining people followed his gaze to her. She fought down the urge to fidget in place, straightening her posture instead and glaring lightly at the man. "And, what, may I ask, are you looking at?"

"You, obviously," came the carefree response. "Can't you even see that?"

"Of course I can," she snapped back, her hands tightening around the loops of the shopping bags. "I meant, _why_ are you looking at me?"

The man sighed and scratched the back of his head. "You should have asked _that_ then." Weiss grit her teeth in response, her temper rapidly rising at the man's aggravating tone. "As for why, well, I'm just curious," he said with a shrug.

"About?"

"Why a Schnee would be here looking for a job," he replied with another shrug.

"I was merely passing by," she responded, looking away and up with a huff. "It's hardly my fault these people were blocking the way." When no response came, she turned back and found the red-haired man looking around him, seemingly confused. He turned back to her, and raised his hands, palm facing upwards, and gestured to either side of him. She growled as she understood what he was trying to say. "Well obviously the way is clear now since most of the people went inside. I meant, earlier, you simpleton."

"Hey, that's not very nice." Despite his words, he didn't sound very insulted. In fact, he sounded almost amused. "At least call me a handsome simpleton."

His words earned a growl and a glare from Weiss, and some snickers of amusement from the people who had remained outside. "And what are you laughing at?" she snapped, turning to the group of men and women. She noted that there were more than a few faunus in the group, almost half, and leveled them with a glare. She didn't care that she was losing her temper in public. She wasn't going to let them make a fool of her.

Though she had been addressing someone else, the red-haired man was the one to respond. "You, obviously," the man replied in the same tone as he did earlier. "You know, you really should take some time to use that thing in your head called a brain." He leaned forward a bit in her direction and tapped the side of his head. "You probably wouldn't need to ask all these questions with obvious answers if you did."

She could feel her face heating up, though whether it was from anger or shame was up for debate. Before she could even open her mouth to retort, the man waved her off. "Well, even if you _were_ looking for a job I'd have to turn you away. I'd rather not get into trouble with Papa Schnee by poaching his kid and all that. Especially since we've only just barely gotten this little business of ours started."

Weiss huffed, her temper cooling at the change of topic. "As if I'd want to work for you. Even if you weren't here, however, I'm the heiress to Remnant's biggest corporation. I highly doubt you can offer me anything that can surpass that." Her tone was haughty, understandably so.

After all, the Schnee Dust Company truly was the biggest company in all of Remnant. Moreover, it's near monopoly on the Dust trade meant it was incredibly profitable despite having only one product, unlike Mistral's Adamas Corporation, which dealt in a wider variety of products but were less profitable as a whole.

Rather than rise to the bait, or anything that she was expecting, the man just laughed good-naturedly, different from his previously mocking laughter. He gently urged the group to go on inside even as he addressed Weiss once more. "Well, you guys may be dealing with Dust, but here, we're dealing with a far more valuable… er… let's call it a resource for now to avoid giving it away. One that's far more common than Dust and one that's not likely to ever run out."

The haughty and arrogant look on her face gave way to confusion at his words. A resource more valuable and more plentiful than Dust? The second wasn't necessarily difficult as it was often speculated that Dust was a finite resource. There was simply so much of it that even hundreds of years of mining and use have yet to use up all of it. At least, that was the common line of thinking people had.

But more valuable? That had her pursing her lips and scrunching her forehead in thought. Was such a thing even possible? Dust was used in everyday life as an energy propellant for most things and was also used in certain fields and careers for specific purposes, most notably the Huntsmen and Huntresses. While it was hardly the most expensive of resources, it was undoubtedly the most valuable due to its many uses. So what sort of resource could possibly surpass Dust in terms of value?

"Let me give you a hint." Her attention was brought out of her thoughts when the man spoke. He had approached her at some point, as he was not standing only a few feet away from her. She idly noted that only the two guards remained outside. "Your company already has this resource. Heck, everybody out there has it." He tilted his head down just a bit more, his sunglasses sliding down just a bit more so that her blue eyes met the brown ones he had been hiding away. "Most people just don't see its value."

She spotted the grin on his face just before he turned and left, walking back towards the doors to the building. "Well, I'd love to sit here and watch you try and figure this out until you've got steam coming out of your ears, but I've gotta take care of that last group. Later, princess."

His abrupt departure caught her off guard and, thus, she only registered his parting words when he was long gone. She huffed in annoyance at the way he had addressed her but continued on her way rather than cause a scene, studiously ignoring the two guards who, at the very least, did not stare after her. But unless she was mistaken, there was a very faint grin on the corner of their lips.

Still, as much as she hated to admit it, the man's words bothered the SDC heiress in her. A resource more valuable than Dust that everybody has yet was frequently overlooked, supposedly even by her own father. The skeptical part of her wanted to deny any such resource. Surely someone would have made such a thing known to all of Remnant in some manner if it were true.

The logical part of her, however, could not detect any lies in the man's words. Whatever they were dealing in was very much real. At the very least, the man believed his own words. And if those men and women looking for work were aware of what this mysterious resource was, then even they must see the value if they were willing to work for a newly established business with quite the grandiose claims.

That, or they were just that desperate for work. But that theory was immediately thrown out. None of those people looked that desperate. Not to her at least.

She put the matter away for the moment as she boarded the airship to Beacon, securing a secluded area for herself even as she pulled out her Scroll. That man's business was none of hers after all. She'd simply have to wait and see what sort of business it was when they finally went public. After all, if whatever they were dealing in was _that_ valuable then it would undoubtedly make the news in some manner.

For now, she had some readings to catch up on. Both for school, and for personal reasons.

* * *

 **October 27, XX13**

"RAAAAAAAGHH!"

A harsh yell erupted from the back of Yang's throat as she threw a punch at her opponent, her fist connecting with the side of his face and sending him flying across the yard. Her opponent, a brown-haired second-year student, pushed off the ground mid-tumble and landed on his feet just before his back slammed into a tree.

She raised her fist and bent her knees, prepared to charge after him, when a loud voice stopped her in her tracks.

"XIAO LONG!" The low, rumbling voice of Professor Giollah was unmistakable, even more so when he chose to raise his voice. The fact that he did meant that he was really upset. By the time he got to her, however, he seemed to have calmed down as he spoke in his normal volume. Though his tone was clearly still upset. "You're sitting out the rest of the class."

"What?" Her already volatile temper flared at his words. The only reason she hadn't exploded was the fact that he was a teacher. Short-tempered or not, she was still very much aware of the consequences of attacking a teacher, verbally or otherwise. "Why? What'd I do wrong?"

"Do you _really_ have to ask?" No. No, she didn't. She knew exactly what was wrong. This wasn't the first time in her Unarmed Combat class that she had gotten in trouble for the same reason. "I could care less if you choose to brawl rather than fight when you're in Glynda's class or anywhere else, but in this class you can either fight properly or leave. And that includes keeping a cool head. You know very well that this isn't a class where you can vent."

"Fine, fine, I'll go cool off." She relented with a harsh sigh, knowing that it was useless to argue. He had already kicked out half a dozen students who thought to use the class as a way to vent the stress that came with being students. The only reason he hadn't kicked her out yet was because she actually had some skill in unarmed fighting and she joined the class to improve. Her only issue was her easily ignited temper as well as her preference for brawling.

But just as she walked away, her professor's weary sigh and the words that followed stopped her in her tracks. "This is your last chance Xiao Long. I could care less about your claims that your way of fighting is useful for your Semblance, whatever it is. If you don't learn to control your temper, OR if you insist on brawling rather than learning a proper fighting style that won't get you killed, then you're out."

She nodded sharply and walked away without a word, sitting on the grass a short distance away from where the other students were sparring, and thinking about Professor Giolla's ultimatum. She couldn't help it. Her short temper was practically part of who she was. The fact that her Semblance could be activated through sheer anger was evidence of this.

And that was another thing. Her Semblance. Her uncle once gave it a name during one of his drunken ramblings. She hadn't really thought of giving it a specific name to call it by rather than just referring to it as 'my Semblance'. Then again, a Semblance was, like their weapons, just another tool they could use to fight. It just came from within them rather than a workshop.

In a way, her uncle's name for it fit. Enduring Retribution. The ability to take whatever punishment came her way and empower herself the more she got hurt, allowing her to deliver even stronger blows to her opponent in retaliation. It was a Semblance that relied on her taking a hit to allow her strength to grow the more she got hurt. It was also a Semblance that reacted to her anger, reacting to her emotional or mental turmoil as though it had caused her pain. In some strange, roundabout way, one _could_ say that such things _did_ hurt her. Her anger was simply her response to such things.

And her fighting style, which was admittedly just a slightly more disciplined form of brawling despite her father's combat lessons when she was younger, was a perfect fit for her Semblance. It wasn't as wild and reckless as actual brawling of course. It was just that she focused less on defense in exchange for offense. She'd still block or dodge an attack if she could, but she was less concerned about taking a hit if it meant landing one of her own. Not only would her Aura protect her, but her Semblance powered her up the more she got hit.

Her Semblance didn't activate until a certain point, of course, otherwise she'd start getting stronger right after the first punch hit her. But when she eventually reached the point when it did, the power boost she received was significant. Enough that she could probably wreck a small building in seconds even upon its initial activation, never mind however much stronger she became if she took more hits after that point.

She had nothing against having an actual fighting style. The problem was that nobody fought like her. Rather, nobody could afford to fight like her. Nobody else had a Semblance like hers after all. As such, there was nobody who could help her refine her style in a way that suited her.

Eventually, the class came to an end. And after a few parting words from Professor Giollah, the students headed back to the dorms to freshen up and change into their uniforms. Yang took her time returning, urging Fuuka, Ken, Akihiko, and Ren to go on ahead of her rather than walking together with them like she usually did. She hoped that the extra minute or two would add to the possibility that Yukari would leave the dorms before she arrived.

For the past two days, Yukari's words echoed in her head, causing her to question some of her decisions before she acted on them.

Like yesterday, when Blake turned down her invitation to work out in the school gym. Yang was ready to urge her to come along only to pause as the image of Yukari's chastising face briefly appeared in her mind's eye. Her sudden silence made her partner concerned, which she waved off by claiming she had remembered something just then. The black-haired girl clearly saw through the lie but didn't push for more information. She just nodded and went back to her book.

Afterwards, anger rose up inside her. Anger which she vented out on a reinforced punching bag, one made specifically for Huntsmen. As she vented her rage, her mind kept trying to decipher the reason behind it. She knew Yukari was the reason, she just didn't know why the kind but temperamental archer would elicit such an emotion. But the more she tried thinking about it, the more she tried to rationalize that Yukari was only trying to help, the more her anger grew in response.

In the end, she was forced to leave when her Semblance activated due to her rage, the punching bag bursting wide open after she delivered a powerful, Semblance-powered haymaker. One that had been aimed at a phantom image of Yukari's face.

Her confusion was causing her a lot of problems. The reason she had gotten angry just now was also because of her issue. Despite being male, seeing her opponent's brown hair had triggered her thoughts. She was distracted during first minute or two of the fight, but when her anger surfaced, she lost control. Thankfully, Professor Giollah hadn't noticed anything amiss. Well, beyond her sudden burst of anger at least.

She didn't want to be angry at Yukari. Logically speaking, there was no reason she should be angry in the first place. Yukari had simply expressed her concern over Yang's actions. The archer didn't even tell her to outright stop, or that what she was doing was downright wrong. Just a warning that her actions weren't entirely on the straight and narrow path, that they were causing harm to those around her, despite her good intentions, and that she should think more carefully before acting.

Emotions, however, were often illogical. Such as now. She felt as though Yukari had just put a leash on her, even if it was a fairly long one, by telling her what she could and couldn't do. A part of her ranted and raged whenever the brunette came to mind. What right did she have to do such a thing? Who was she to tell me what to do? Why should I do things her way when she just admitted to not understanding how I feel?

Yang walked into the dormitory, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Her anger hadn't completely subsided yet, but as long as Yukari was, hopefully, already out of the room, then there shouldn't be any problems. She stood outside the room for a moment, carefully listening for any signs of someone inside.

The walls may have been soundproofed but a wooden door, provided it hadn't been made specifically to be soundproofed as well, could only contain so much noise. After a quick glance down either direction, she pressed her ear against the door for a few seconds for some added reassurance, pulling away when no sound reached her ears. Satisfied that the room was empty, she unlocked the door with her Scroll and slipped in.

The first thing she did after shutting the door was to go to her bed and lie down for a bit, her feet hanging off the foot of the bed. She lay there for a while with her forearm raised to cover her eyes from the light streaming in from the window, sorting through her thoughts to find some manner of peace.

But what little peace she had found was soon shattered, her breath catching in her throat when the bathroom door's doorknob jiggled as someone turned it from the other side. She froze instantly, hearing the soft swish of the door as it swung open towards her bed. And as her bed was next to the bathroom door, this meant that she wouldn't be able to see who it was until they stepped into the room and shut the door.

It only took two seconds before footsteps came into the room and the bathroom door clicked shut. Whoever it was obviously hadn't seen her due to the placement of her bed. She held her breath, as though afraid that breathing would draw attention to her.

Who was it? It was almost half-past eight. With only a little more than half-an-hour before their History class was scheduled to begin, none of her teammates should have been at the dorm.

Mitsuru would most likely kill herself before she behaved less than the proper woman she was raised to be, and that included waking at a proper time and getting ready for class. She was either eating breakfast now or on her way to the classroom.

Yukari was similarly disciplined, though she said it was because she didn't like being the center of attention. She didn't put much effort into blending in, but she did her best to not stand out more than she already did as an Aura-less Huntress-in-training.

Blake was the same, only she did her best to blend into the background. Something which, if one were to ask Yang, the black-haired girl was able to do with next to no effort. More than once, the black-haired girl had snuck up on her teammates even without meaning to. Sometimes even when they were actively looking for her.

So who could have been running late?

A soft gasp of surprise reached her ears. Either something happened, or she had been spotted. "Yang?"

Clearly they hadn't expected anyone else to be in the room either if the surprise and confusion in their voice was anything to go by. Still, Yang let out the breath she was holding. She recognized that voice.

"Hey Blake," she answered, her face still hidden by her forearm. "Running late?"

"I was busy reading." Yang chuckled. That certainly explained everything. It wasn't the first time the girl's reading habits caused her to lose track of time. And she was certain it wouldn't be the last. "Did you just get back from Unarmed Combat?"

"I took my time coming back. Had a lot to think about."

"Well, you better freshen up and get dressed quickly if you want to get something from the dining hall before class."

"Yeah, good point." Yang moved her arm from her face and pushed herself up to a sitting position. Then she got to her feet, turning to face her partner. "Thanks Blake, you…"

Hearing her partner's abrupt pause, Blake turned around to see what was wrong. "Yang?" For some reason, her partner was staring at her with wide eyes and a slack jaw. "Is… something wrong?" She asked, something heavy dropping into the pit of her stomach.

"You uh…" The blonde hesitated, as though unsure of what to say. "You uh… you got something."

' _That was helpful.'_ Blake resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Something?"

Instead of replying, Yang pointed. To the top of her head. That heavy feeling in her stomach grew worse as a feeling of dread joined it. Slowly, her hands reached up to her head where Yang was pointing. Blake's breath hitched and every muscle in her body froze when her fingertips brushed against her ears.

Her cat ears.

* * *

 **I told you that you guys would hate me for this. XD**

 **Yeah, that's right, I ended the chapter right there knowing I wouldn't have time to write the chapter until at least the first week of January. Meaning that the next chapter won't be out for at least a month.**

 **Wish it didn't have to take so long, but since I'll be working over the holidays, and any spare time I have will be spent with my family, I'm guaranteed to have no time to write.**

 **Still, we've had our first look into Persona-Aura interaction, which took a little creative planning since, as with the issue brought up in earlier chapters, the mechanics of Persona were only truly revealed game-wise, which meant their strength and such were measured by numerical stats.**

 **As mentioned above, things like Aura cannot be measured properly due to being a metaphysical concept. Similarly, since Personas come from the same source, their power would fall under the same logic. The 'theory' of Aura having 100 units, with a min-max of 85 and 115, was simply something to help give a semi-concrete idea. There is no way to definitely measure Aura, just as there is no way to definitely measure a Persona's 'stats'.**

 **The tests, as you've seen, were focused more on a Persona's attacks. Supplementary abilities will come later on, along with more specific tests. How specific you ask? Think measuring the heat of Trismegistus's flames, the force of Isis's wind, whether Caesar's lightning can be redirected with a lightning rod or something similar, etc…**

 **Yes, I plan to delve that deeply into the technical side of things. I will say this though. The logic I am applying to Personas are based on canon facts. Some of you may not believe me, but it's true. I'd tell you what the source of my information was but, unless you already know of it, telling you would also be a MASSIVE spoiler for a later part of the main story.**

 **All I can say is that my source material did not receive an English release, but is has been translated. From what I've seen and heard from other P3 fans, the translation was not something that everybody knew about despite knowing of the source material's existence. In fact, I only stumbled upon it AFTER I started this story. Some of you may remember me mentioning it during one of the earlier chapters, in fact. I had to comb over all my plans and adjust nearly half the details to incorporate the stuff I learned.**

 **For now, just bear with me as you always have and I promise that answers will come. Just not anytime soon. XD**

 **As always, please leave a review and tell me what you think of the story. Was there anything you liked in particular? Perhaps something you disliked? By now, you all know that I don't mind if you tell me that there was something you didn't like or if I did something wrong. So go on, give me your best shot.**

…

 **Just… no needless cursing please. Or rudeness. Or baseless accusations. Or… well… just be nice. XD**

 **If you do, I'll be just as nice back when I respond.**

 **Anyway…**

 **VOLUME 4 SPOILER TIME!**

 **SKIP TO THE END AND REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LATEST EPISODE!**

…

…

…

 **LAST CHANCE TO SKIP!**

…

…

…

 **Looks like we finally get some long-awaited details about the faunus, both from the WoR episode as well as Blake and Sun's arrival at Menagerie.**

 **Looking back, Blake actually did hint about her heritage. Back when she and Sun first spoke about her being in the White Fang, she said, "I was a member for most of my life actually. You could almost say I was born into it." Back then, I thought that she had either been adopted by a WF member at a young age, since she never mentioned any parents. But then again, she never mentioned NOT having parents. So… yeah.**

 **Adam going 'rogue' is, obviously, questionable. Beyond the obvious fact that the two 'representatives' are on his side of the fence, the White Fang have been quite violent for years now. What I wanna know is when Blake's dad stepped down and how aware he is of White Fang activities outside of Menagerie. Though considering her parents knew of Beacon's fall, it's possible they are aware of the rise in violence, just not how bad it is.**

 **Anyone else feeling sorry for Sun? XD**

 **Guy just can't keep his foot out of his mouth most days and now he suddenly decides to swallow both feet up to his knees in front of Blake's dad. They're probably gonna have that father/(possible)boyfriend talk sometime in the future. I can almost imagine it. "If you touch my baby girl, I'm taking back leadership of the White Fang and sending them after you." XD**

 **Either way, I'll be doing my best to work any new canon information into the story. Of course, if it messes with my plans too much I won't hesitate to not include it. I'm not going to ruin months of planning just to stick to canon. Still, at the pace my story is going I give it a fair chance that RWBY concludes before I finish. That is, unless we hit another break between Volumes, which might also happen since I personally haven't heard anything about Volume 4 being the last.**

 **Anyway, that's it from me. Please review. XD**

 **Enjoys the holidays everyone. I'll see you all next year.**


	15. Ch 13 - The Crumbling Tower

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

 **Warning 2:** **With the ongoing status of RWBY Volume 4, it's to be expected that many of my ideas will go against what is canon, such as when more of each character's respective pasts are revealed. I will do my best to incorporate what I can, but expect that many will be blended with my own ideas or perhaps even ignored completely if incorporating it will be detrimental to my existing story plans.**

* * *

 **SURPRISE EVERYONE!**

 **Bet you're all surprised to see this chapter. Honestly, I already finished this chapter back when I posted the last chapter. In fact, the previous chapter was done a week before I posted it. I'd been planning on this since before the holidays hit so that you won't have to wait more than a month between chapters.**

 **I just waited until now to post it as a surprise for everyone. It was pretty tiring writing this in less than a week considering the increased workload at… well… work, but inspiration and motivation work pretty well with an energy drink or two. That and a nice, hot, home-cooked meal. And a hot shower. XD**

 **Before the usual opening talk, there are a couple of guest reviews I need to respond to.**

 **To** **FallenHallowEnd** **, unfortunately that is not a request I can grant.**

 **To** **Valphorion** **, I don't know where you got the idea that Minato could possibly return to life. Nowhere in the story did he or anybody say that he will return. At most, Ryoji mentions Elizabeth searching for something to help Minato. The word 'help' could be interpreted in many ways and not necessarily meaning that she wanted to find a way to bring him back to life. At no point did I mention or hint at Minato returning.**

 **To** **Solar** **, with regards to characters sometimes being slightly OOC, please refer to the warning at the top of the page, just below the disclaimer. As to the use of Author Notes both at the beginning and the end, that's just a personal preference of mine. And writing it in bold makes it easier for people to skip if they don't want to read it.**

 **Now that we've got those out of the way, I just have two things to say before we get to the story itself.**

 **First, I'm sure many of you will enjoy this chapter as we will finally see some fights between SEES and their teammates. Only this time, they have partial use of their Personas due to the successful first test. Though I'm sure there's still one or two people who'll find something to gripe about. Honestly, I'm expecting it with how the first fight ends. XP**

 **And second…**

 **ENJOY THE CHAPTER AND THE HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! XD**

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 **Chapter 13 – The Crumbling Tower**

 **October 30, XX13**

Sixteen students gathered in one of Beacon's many training rooms. It was an unusual number, as teams often only trained amongst themselves or with one other team. Four teams gathering together to train was most definitely far from the norm. Yet, when they passed by the attendant at the front desk, the man barely reacted to what would normally be a strange sight and just assigned them a room to use.

After all, it was a Friday. And those who knew them well enough knew that all four teams trained together every Friday morning. But since they trained at a time when second through fourth-year students were in class, only their fellow first-years could satisfy their curiosity and catch a glimpse of how the Aura-less went about their training.

Normally, nobody minded if someone came to watch provided they asked. All they would see was an unsupervised version of their normal Combat class. That, and there were no limitations on who would fight alongside who. The boundaries between the teams were broken and one could find themselves facing off against their own partner. Asides from such differences, the sessions were exactly like their Combat class.

Today, however, was different. The few who continued to watch for whatever reason would have find the normally unlocked doors locked from within. An inquiry at the front desk would reveal that the four teams had requested privacy for the day's training as some of their members did not want others to know of their Semblance. Nobody contested that and the few who came walked away without any complaints.

Semblance was a highly personal thing for some people. In the past, it was often said that Semblance was a reflection of one's true self, that the form one's Semblance took was derived from the kind of person they were. Such beliefs were never completely proven to be true, nor were they proven to be false, but the existence of such a belief bore consequences that were carried down to this day.

Regardless of whether or not one believed this to be true, many Huntsmen and Huntresses, and even the trainees, respected someone else's desire to keep their Semblance to themselves. Even if not for the same reason as those in the past, a Semblance was considered a private matter. Shared only if one wished to do so.

Even Beacon's staff respected that boundary. A student may be asked in private, as the knowledge could help their combat teachers in their aim to better a student's abilities, but the student was under no obligation to answer. Some did not mind answering, others answered only after they learned to trust their teacher with the knowledge, and some never spoke of their Semblance at all, even if they were to display it during training or a mission.

There were, of course, those who openly used their Semblance, not really caring one way or another if everyone knew what they were capable of. But even they would respect someone's choice not to reveal their own. Far and few, indeed, were those who would insist on knowing someone else's Semblance.

And Mitsuru took advantage of that fact to ensure that nobody would enter the training room that day. It wasn't really a lie or anything of that sort. Because today, for the first time since they began their weekly training sessions, SEES would be using their 'Semblance'. A fact that had just about everyone excited. More so since they would be going one-on-one with an Aura-user to get a feel for how such a fight would go.

"Alright, so how are we doing this?" Akihiko asked Mitsuru even as the others made final checks on their equipment, and Fuuka set up the training area.

And that was the question of the day, one that she had already considered and had a partial answer for. They had already discussed that Fuuka would sit out this particular training session. Instead, she would be helping them the way she always did. Providing detailed information on their opponents. Not that said opponents would be aware of this.

For the moment, they would be keeping that a secret from those not in the know. They would approach this like any other combat situation and use any and every trick they had up their sleeves to overcome a superior foe. Rather, Juno's presence would be explained as an additional method of gathering information on how Persona affected Aura. It was true, to some extent. It just wasn't the entirety of the truth.

Some match-ups were easy enough, since pitting teammates against one another would serve the additional purpose of strengthening their own bonds and understanding one another's fighting style, but with Fuuka sitting out that left seven Persona-users to fight eight Aura-users. How would she…

"Akihiko, who would you say would be the most dangerous person to pair up with Pyrrha?"

The question surprised the boxer but only briefly. His eyes turned to the Aura-users of the group, his mind quickly going over everything he knew about them, from their personalities, to their fighting styles, and to their abilities. He also reviewed previous training sessions, specifically the matches where Pyrrha had been paired to work with someone else from another team. With all that information, the answer came to him in less than half of a minute.

"Weiss. Blake comes second if it helps."

Mitsuru nodded. "Agreed." Clearly they were of the same opinion. "But in this case, I believe pairing her with Weiss would work best. They worked well enough together a few weeks back and Weiss's versatility with her Dust and Semblance, paired with Pyrrha's vast combat experience, is easily one of the most dangerous combinations in the whole group."

Showing, once again, just how long they had been working together, it barely took Akihiko a second to understand what Mitsuru was planning. "Do you think Aigis can make up for the disadvantage with Athena? In terms of skill, she and Pyrrha are pretty much equal. If she went all-out I'm sure she could beat Pyrrha handily. But even if she kept Athena summoned the entire time, I don't think that'll be enough to off-set the addition of Weiss. Equal numbers don't necessarily mean an equal fight."

"I know," Mitsuru replied with a knowing smile. Then she turned her gaze to the side. "I already have an idea for that."

The grin on Akihiko's face when he saw where she was looking would have sent shivers down Weiss and Pyrrha's spines. The boxer was clearly in full agreement.

Eventually, everyone finished checking their equipment and gathered in front of Mitsuru and Akihiko. Looking around them, the two seniors of the whole group could see the excitement glimmering in all their eyes. Surprisingly, none looked more excited than Pyrrha herself even though she tried to be discrete about it.

"Today, we'll be conducting one-on-one training matches. A Persona-user against an Aura-user." They already knew that, of course, but it didn't hurt to reiterate. "Given that Fuuka will not be fighting, there will be some exceptions, which you'll find out later on. For now, Yang." Enthusiastic lilac met calm wine red. "You and I will take the first match. Yukari, Blake, the two of you will go next."

Mitsuru's brows furrowed slightly when she caught the brief flash of relief on Yang's face. Given that Yang would not be fighting Blake, the only reason she would feel relieved was if… Mitsuru's eyes moved to Yukari, who was conversing with Blake. Was if she didn't want to fight Yukari.

But that made little sense. Despite Yang's lack of a more… disciplined fighting style, she was easily one of the strongest in the group. Literally so. Her feats of strength never ceased to amaze and even Pyrrha had admitted that she would not want to be on the receiving end of one of Yang's punches. So there was absolutely no reason for her to be apprehensive about fighting Yukari, who was mainly a long-ranged fighter. And even if she kept her distance, Yang could close that gap quickly because of her Aura.

With that possibility disproven, it meant that something happened between the two of them, something that bothered Yang but not Yukari. At least, not to the point that she would want to avoid Yang. She'd have to investigate that at a later time. For now, she had a fight to look forward to.

Soon, Mitsuru and Yang were standing inside the combat area. Yang deployed Ember Celica while Mitsuru drew her rapier in her right hand and her Evoker in her left. Outside the hard-light walls of the training area, Fuuka stood inside Juno, ready to provide assistance while everyone else watched in anticipation.

"You wanna call out your Persona now?" Yang offered.

In response, Mitsuru grinned. "You seem quite confident that I will need the handicap. In that case, I suppose I'll teach you a lesson in underestimating your opponent." Raising her Evoker to her head, Mitsuru called out her Persona's name. "Artemisia!"

Yang watched in wonder as Artemisia came into existence. Seeing the whip-wielding Persona, clad in an elegant midnight blue dress, black and gold armor, and a red opera mask with a pointed nose, she couldn't help but muse that it somehow seemed to fit Mitsuru. The dress representing the young woman's grace and elegance, the armor representing the strength she bore as a fighter despite her feminine charms, and the mask – which Yang often felt like was something only the snobby, upper class wore – representing her nobility, both in action and, in a way, her heritage.

Unfortunately, that brief moment in which she admired her team leader's Persona cost her dearly. All of a sudden, the air around her grew cold. And before she could react, she found herself encased in a massive block of ice. She mustered her strength but found herself unable to move. Just when she was about to try harder, the block of ice shattered, large chunks of ice crashing against her Aura and draining a fairly large portion of it.

She chuckled, amused at Mitsuru's sneaky tactic. "So that's how you- woah!"

Yang twisted and leapt aside as Mitsuru's rapier passed by right where her chest had been, the blade scraping along her left arm. She was about to retaliate when something large struck her right side. Pushed back in Mitsuru's direction, she found herself assaulted by multiple rapid thrusts of the redhead's rapier as well as the occasional cut, the damage absorbed by her Aura even though she felt the force of each blow.

She raised her arms in defense, the latest attack glancing off her gauntlet. She prepared to counterattack when Mitsuru stepped back. In turn, Yang stepped forward, leading with her left, only to trip when she found her right foot encased in ice and stuck to the floor. She caught herself, planting her left foot solidly on the ground, but once again found herself under assault.

She swung wildly as a defensive measure, the rapier putting Mitsuru outside of the blonde's striking range, but the redhead carefully deflected the blows with her rapier and maneuvered around them, repeatedly hitting Yang with precise thrusts that snaked past her guard. Lilac eyes glanced down and she fired Ember Celica at the ground just in front of Mitsuru's feet. As expected, the redhead leapt back to avoid the explosion even though the shot wouldn't have hit her – Yang didn't dare so much as risk aiming directly at someone without Aura – giving Yang time to aim her other gauntlet at her ice-encased leg.

But just when she fired, the ice shattered on its own, causing her own shot to strike her leg rather than the ice and blowing up on contact. Thankfully, she had Aura otherwise she might have seriously injured herself, if she didn't completely blow off her own leg from the knee down. Before she could make sense of what just happened, she spotted something flying at her from the side. Crouching down, she watched as Artemisia's whip sailed over her head, then turned her attention to Mitsuru, who sought to take advantage of Yang's distracted state once more.

This time, however, Yang was ready. She rose to her feet and prepared to meet Mitsuru's charge, only for something small and white to explode right in front of her eyes. She flinched and shut her eyes out of reflex, but it was too late as something had gotten into her eyes. Something cold.

She brought a hand up to her face but Mitsuru reached her before she could attempt to clear her vision. Her rapier's tip, and sometimes the edge, struck Yang several times as she stumbled back blindly, unable to fight back without her sight. Hoping to gain some breathing room, Yang threw several wild punches in Mitsuru's general direction, hoping to force the older girl back.

Her goal had only been to gain some space, or at least time to clear out whatever had gotten into her eyes – most likely ice. Yet, much to her horror, her fist struck something. Something soft and fleshy.

"Ngh!"

A voice let out a brief grunt of pain. A voice she recognized as Mitsuru's. Who else could it be, after all? Yang opened her eyes slowly, the tiny bits of ice having finally melted away and clearing her vision. Again, she was thankful she had Aura. She found Mitsuru crouched on the ground not far away, her back turned to Yang and her left hand, the Evoker still grasped within, raised to her face.

"M-Mitsuru!" she shouted in panic, rushing over to her team leader. She hadn't been attacking with as much force as she usually did, but as the second strongest in class in terms of raw power even a punch at half-power would hurt. Never mind what it would do to someone without Aura like Mitsuru. "Mitsuru, are you al-"

The redhead's leg suddenly kicked back, crashing into Yang's shin and knocking her leg out from under her. She caught herself with her hands before she fell to the ground, yet Mitsuru suddenly spun around, the butt of her Evoker smashing into the side of Yang's face. And as she stumbled back, Artemisia's whip came in once more, smashing into her right side and sending her flying off her feet.

As Yang rolled to a stop, she felt her Semblance trigger as her body accumulated enough 'damage'. So when Artemisia's whip came flying in again, the blonde merely raised an arm and stopped it before it could it her. She grabbed the whip, which was almost as large as her own thighs, with both hands, and started to pull, feeling Mitsuru's Persona engage her in a tug-of-war. Yet she was stronger still. And slowly, she could feel the whip moving in her direction. She planted her feet and adjusted her stance just a little bit. Then, with a loud cry, she gave a mighty heave-

-And stumbled back, arms waving around wildly, as the whip, and the Persona, disappeared. And once again, before she could recover, Mitsuru was on her, rapid thrusts and the occasional slash beating on the armor that was her Aura. The force behind each blow was relatively weak, but it was enough to keep her off balance. She hadn't fallen yet, but neither could she regain her balance.

"NNNGGGGGGGG! THAT'S IT!" Yang stomped down her foot, forcing herself to regain her balance, before lashing out with a backhand. Mitsuru leapt back several times even before the arm lashed out, giving the raging blonde a wide berth.

' _This is getting ridiculous,'_ Yang thought with a frown, facing her team leader and getting back into a proper stance. She was faster and stronger than Mitsuru. Not to put down the nineteen-year-old former heiress, but even with her Persona, there was simply no way she could be beating Yang this badly, not even when she was holding back to avoid hurting the older girl. She had landed one hit on the redhead, but Yang now suspected that she had allowed it to happen for the sake of drawing her in.

Yang leapt aside just as the spot she had occupied earlier turned into a block of ice. Shortly afterwards, three more blocks appeared, surrounding her. She raised her arms, knowing what was coming next. Sure enough, all four blocks exploded one after another, pelting her with ice. She was prepared this time. Her fists lashed out to shatter any blocks and shards that came her way while her feet stepped this way and that to avoid the rest.

Yet each time a block exploded, another one took its place. Clearly Mitsuru was hoping to slowly deplete her Aura. She didn't know why the redhead didn't just freeze her in place like she had done at the beginning of the fight, but this strategy of hers was still effective. Not only did it pin her down, but she couldn't avoid every piece of ice that came her way.

Her fists focused on the larger pieces and her feet brought her out of the way of those she couldn't smash in time. But that only applied to those she could see. Her back and sides were constantly being struck by the smaller pieces that she deemed insignificant. But even she knew that all of that would accumulate. She could literally feel it.

She could feel the power growing within her with every piece of ice that struck her, regardless of how big or small it was. And all that power was just waiting to burst out at the first opportunity. She knew she should stop now. It was dangerous to face off against someone without Aura in her Semblance-empowered state. And yet…

She shook her head at her own thoughts, her glowing blonde mane following the motions even as she blew apart another large piece that came flying towards her head. She couldn't accept this. She wouldn't. Mitsuru was far from weak despite her natural handicap, but Yang shouldn't be losing this badly.

Losing the fight had been a possibility since none of them had ever fought SEES while the latter used their Personas. But there was just no way Yang would accept the loss when the only blow she landed was one that Mitsuru allowed to land. Losing against Pyrrha without landing a single blow was bad enough, but against Mitsuru? No. There was no way her pride would allow such a loss. Not now.

Her muscles tensed as she made her decision, crimson eyes sought out their wine red counterparts. A split-second after their eyes met, another block appeared in front of her as though to deny her even a single glimpse of her foe. Instead, she took it as an invitation.

Ignoring everything else, Yang aimed both gauntlets behind her and fired just as she leapt forward, boosting the speed and distance of her charge, and providing her with enough momentum to smash through the large block in front of her before it could shatter on its own. Her eyes caught the brief look of surprise on Mitsuru's face before the latter refocused on the fight and raised her rapier.

Yang didn't stop her charge, building up the momentum she lost by smashing through the ice. There was no way she could win if she kept her distance. She needed to get up close and personal. As though reading her mind, Mitsuru charged forward as well, eyes locked onto one another. Mitsuru readied her rapier for an attack. Yang drew her fist back. When they met, both weapons shot forward.

And Yang's punch flew through empty space as Mitsuru suddenly disappeared from her sight. Without a target, her punch threw her off balance, all her momentum from the charge being thrown into that one punch. She braced herself even as she hurried to regain her balance, knowing that the counterattack would be coming soon. She just didn't expect to take the full force and weight of a charging Persona head-on.

Her back slammed against the hard-light wall after her impromptu flight. She caught herself on her hands and knees as she hit the floor, but then the air around her limbs shimmered and all four limbs were encased in separate blocks of ice, each one attached to the floor. Grunting with effort, she broke her right arm out of its prison, the strength she gained from her Semblance more than enough to break through. Then the air shimmered again, coating the other three limbs in a second layer of ice and her right arm up to her elbow in a new layer.

Twice more the air shimmered, and two more layers of ice coated her limbs, each layer encroaching higher up her limbs, until only her torso remained free. And still she struggled, channeling as much strength as she could into her limbs. She could feel the innermost layer weakening from her efforts, could feel the cracks beginning to form. Yet as she made progress, a large shadow loomed over her and she glanced up to see both Mitsuru and her Persona a short distance in front of her, only a faint sheen of perspiration glossing Mitsuru's forehead.

She expected her leader to begin attacking once more, to drain her Aura as fast as she could to end the fight. She didn't expect Mitsuru to sheathe her rapier and un-summon Artemisia. At the same time, all the ice surrounding her shattered, pelting her with both sharp and blunt the pieces. At the same time, a loud, annoying buzzer rang out, signaling the end of the fight as her Aura dropped below what was considered 'safe'.

Outside the barrier, many eyes, including some belonging to members of SEES, were wide open along with their respective mouths at the one-sided beat down they had just witnessed.

* * *

"Do you know why you lost, Yang?"

The aforementioned blonde sighed as Mitsuru addressed her. The two of them were sitting on a bench far from the others, who were watching Blake and Yukari's fight. Yang had been the first to take a seat, marching away wordlessly after exiting the training area.

Mitsuru followed after letting everyone know of the next two fights, Ken and Ren, and Akihiko and Nora. After sitting down next to the blonde, she waited patiently as Yang cooled off and processed the fight. For that, she was grateful.

"I got cocky," she responded without hesitation. She had realized it soon after she sat down to think about the fight. Everything started going wrong from the very beginning, when Mitsuru summoned Artemisia. Something she had given the older teen a chance to do.

Mitsuru, however, seemed to have other ideas. "Being overconfident does not necessarily lead to defeat, Yang," she said with a shake of her head. "If it did, then you would have lost many more fights in the past. It did play a part, but it was not the main reason for your defeat." When Yang remained silent, unable or, perhaps, unwilling to answer, the redhead spoke once more. "Tell me, what strategy were you planning to employ for our fight?"

"Strategy?" Yang cocked her head to the side as though unable to comprehend the word. "Well… nothing really. I was just gonna play things by ear like I always do."

The red-haired team leader sighed in response. "I suspected as much."

"Does it matter?" Yang asked with a shrug. "I'm not that good at planning ahead and all that. And that's what the team's got you for, right? And I know Blake and Yukari are pretty good at it too. I don't think I'd be able to match anything you three came up with."

Mitsuru shook her head in exasperation. "That's not the point I'm trying to make Yang. Tell me, do you know the difference between strategy and tactics?"

The blonde cocked her head to the side with a thoughtful yet confused look on her face. "Aren't they just the same thing?"

"Strategy," Mitsuru began patiently, "Is the overall plan you develop to reach a certain goal. Tactics, on the other hand, are the means by which you achieve each objective in order to make your strategy a success. Let's use our fight just now as an example. What strategy do you think I employed?"

Yang ran through the fight in her head, trying, but failing, to put herself in Mitsuru's shoes. In many ways, they were just too different as people for her to be able to see things from the redhead's perspective. Still, she tried. "You uh… took advantage of my cockiness and the fact that there were two of you fighting against me."

"Those are tactics." Mitsuru's voice was calm and patient, even though Yang felt a bit embarrassed at not having even come close to a right answer.

It helped that neither of them were looking at the other anymore. Their eyes were watching the fight between their respective partners, Yukari keeping Blake at a distance with Isis while shooting arrows with great accuracy. Unfortunately for her, Blake was dodging her attacks with ease, using her clones to help her avoid the cyclones, both large and small, that Isis formed in rapid succession.

Mitsuru couldn't help but smile at the sight. Back when SEES ascended Tartarus to confront Nyx, none of them were strong enough to be able to utilize their Personas' attacks in rapid succession over a long period of time. Even when using their Personas sparingly, several minutes of combat would begin to tire them out. By the time the Dark Hour ended, they were close to their limits, if not already there. And that was considering they weren't actively fighting every minute of that accursed hour.

But now, after months of brutal and grueling training, they could probably fire a continuous barrage of their strongest attacks for a few minutes before they even began to tire. A vast improvement from before.

Truly they had come a long way. And looking towards the future, Mitsuru knew they would need every last scrap of strength they could muster up from the depths of their souls.

"The strategy I employed," she began to explain, "Had three steps which I would need to accomplish in order to achieve my goal, which was victory. The first was to ensure that I controlled the flow of battle. The fact that you gave me a chance to summon Artemisia, instead of rushing me to prevent it, greatly helped me in accomplishing this goal."

Though her eyes were watching her partner, Yang's face scrunched up in confusion. "But wasn't the point of all this so we could experience fighting your Personas? Wouldn't it go against that if we didn't give you the chance to even summon your Personas?"

Mitsuru shook her head, and Yang could see her disappointment out of the corner of her eyes. "If you believe we need such a handicap, then it shows that you still think lowly of us, that you do not believe us strong enough to handle ourselves."

Yang was quick to respond, pulling her eyes away from the fight to face her leader. "Wait, that's not-"

"Our Evokers," Mitsuru interrupted calmly but sharply, "Are our biggest weak point. Our lack of Aura can be temporarily overcome with Rakukaja but only Junpei's and Aigis's Personas are capable of that ability. The moment we lose our Evokers is almost certainly the moment we lose. And that is a fact that we are aware of. Painfully so. Another point is that our Evokers are necessary to summon our Personas. If we cannot find the opportunity to use it, then the fight may very well end in our loss once again."

"And when you have such obvious and glaring weaknesses, the very first thing you need to do is to find a way to either outright eliminate them or offset them."

"What did you do?" asked Yang, unable to see any way by which SEES could eliminate or offset the need for an Evoker.

"Simple. We trained."

"Huh?"

Mitsuru's patient tone never wavered, though the discussion made Yang feel that her less considerable intellect was a bother to the redhead, who had to explain so many things to her. "We learned how to split our focus during a fight, to summon and command our Personas even in the midst of combat. There was once a time when we needed to stay almost completely still to command them, unable to even properly move around the battlefield lest we lose focus."

"During those times, we summoned our Persona only when needed. Whenever we needed to maneuver, our Personas would disappear. Fighting head-on while having our Personas constantly summoned and also attacking was a near impossibility at that time. Only Aigis was capable of it for obvious reasons." Yang winced at that image. Anyone standing still in a fight against Grimm was just asking to get picked off. Even more so against an intelligent opponent.

"We also trained in specific scenarios, such as having an opponent between us and our Evoker with only our weapons in our hands. Sometimes we would even use that scenario while unarmed. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. In this case, we invented ways by which we could fight or survive should we find ourselves without our Evokers."

"… You guys really take this seriously, huh?" Yang looked away and down, leaning forward with her forearms on her thighs and her gaze on the floor between her feet. "Sorry. I guess what I did _was_ pretty thoughtless now that I think about it."

A hand was gently placed on her shoulder, though she didn't turn to its owner. "Just as I said back at the start of the month, I appreciate your concern. We all do. But perhaps you should learn from Jaune's circumstances." _Now_ she turned to face Mitsuru. "I am not privy to all the details, but from the way I understand it, Jaune's family was worried about his lack of natural talent in combat and, as such, they sought to shelter him from the dangers of being a Huntsman."

"All the while, however, Jaune wished for nothing more than to become a Huntsman. His determination led him to come to Beacon despite knowing of his own weaknesses. Had it not been for a series of fortunate events, he very well might have died during the initiation."

Now that was a sobering thought. Like most of them, Yang only knew parts of the story, as well as what little she could work out from what she heard from Jaune's family. But she knew enough to know that Jaune had gone into the initiation without his Aura. Had Pyrrha not noticed and activated it for him, then, as Mitsuru had said, Jaune might have been one of the very few lives that were sometimes lost during the initiation.

More importantly, she could see how Jaune's story relates to SEES. Whereas SEES, with their inherent reliance on the Evokers, could be likened to Jaune, Yang and her overabundance of concern could be likened to Jaune's family. She had tried to take it easy on them. Too easy in fact. Because she did not want to challenge them by making it difficult for them to summon their Personas, she essentially prevented them from growing, from gaining the skills they needed.

Or at least, that's how it would have gone had they not already learned to compensate for their various weaknesses.

Still, she could now better understand Mitsuru's point. They had trained with one another, as well as their mysterious, but brutal, trainer. But they would need all the training they could get by facing off against as many different people and as many different scenarios as they could. It was the only way they could offset their lack of Aura and their less than ideal physical capabilities.

Satisfied that her blonde teammate understood, Mitsuru returned to their original topic. "The second part of my strategy, after gaining control of the flow of battle, was to keep you off balance, whether literally or figuratively. And the tactic I utilized to accomplish this, as I'm sure you recall, is by repeatedly switching between attacking you myself and having Artemisia attack you. Whenever you regained enough focus to target the immediate threat, the other would move in and take advantage of your distraction."

"Yeah, I noticed that part." Yang nodded as she recalled that particular tactic. It was certainly effective as she never had three seconds when she knew just who the greater threat was. "Was that also why you let yourself get hit?"

Unsurprisingly, Mitsuru responded in the affirmative. "That's right. Since you were already holding back, I knew you would be concerned if you thought you had hurt me. The fact that you had been blinded along with your wild punches made it easier for me. You probably didn't realize at the time, but you still held back your power. The punch hurt, but I've been hit by worse."

She hadn't realized that. But it relieved her to know that he hadn't struck Mitsuru with too much of her power by mistake. Still… "That's a bit of a low blow though. I mean, I was really worried, you know?"

"True, but you have to remember that there are no rules in a real fight." Mitsuru's face bore a small smile, which contrasted greatly with her words. "The only rules that exist, are those we impose upon ourselves, such as whether to continue attacking those who have been disarmed, or those who have surrendered. Others have no such rules, and will do anything and everything to achieve victory. But regardless of which end of the spectrum you belong to, remember that not everyone shares your view. Just as I took advantage of your concern, someone else may do the same. Only then, it may not just be a simple training match."

It was not that Yang disagreed. It was only that she hadn't realized how it felt to be on the other end of such a tactic. More than once, she had played the part of a blushing schoolgirl to distract her opponents, to get them to lower their guard. Later, it would turn to flirting, distracting them with her budding womanly charms. Not too long ago, she had pulled a similar trick on a club owner/information broker down in Vale.

And until now, nobody had ever pulled a trick like that on her. She'd probably be pissed if her opponent pulled a trick like that. But she hadn't realized how close it felt to betrayal when someone she was genuinely concerned about, rather than a stranger, used her worries against her. It was only the fact that Mitsuru did not do it with the intent to betray her that she did not consider it an actual betrayal. It still hurt to be taken advantage of in that way though.

"The third part of my strategy…" Oh right, she almost forgot that they were originally talking about Mitsuru's combat strategy. "Was simply a blitzkrieg. To take down your Aura as fast as I could to minimize the chance that you would regain enough focus to fight properly. Though I admit, I hadn't expected you to have a Semblance that increased your strength in proportion to how much damage your Aura has taken. Had you been able to use it from the start then I would not have been able to defeat you."

"Maybe, but- wait…" Something about what Mitsuru said tickled the back of her brain. A part of her had clearly noticed it, but her conscious mind had yet to figure it out. Slowly, she ran through the redhead's words. It was when she repeated it for the second time that she realized just what it was that caught her subconscious mind's attention. "You… You know what my Semblance is?" she asked, eyes wide in surprise.

Strangely enough, Mitsuru looked apologetic. "Only after seeing it, but yes, I do have some idea. As far as I can tell, it has something to do with strength enhancement in relation to the damage you've received."

"H-How did you…" It was impossible. No one should have been able to figure out her Semblance so easily. It was one thing to deduce that it increased her strength, but that the blows she received had a connection to it? Nobody could have figured that out on their own. So how? How did Mitsuru figure it out?

Mitsuru's response was accompanied by a grim smile. "That is one of the secrets I plan to reveal at the end of this training session. One that I know not everyone will like hearing. Rest assured, however, that only two of us amongst SEES know of your Semblance. And neither one of us have any intention of telling anyone else."

It did assure her, somewhat, but it did make her wonder what the secret was and what it had to do with Mitsuru finding out about her Semblance. In addition… "Who's the other person who knows?"

When Mitsuru's eyes turned away from the start of the fight between Ken and Ren, Yang followed the direction on her gaze. Lilac eyes landed on the massive form encasing her sister's diminutive teammate. "Fuuka."

* * *

The fight between Yukari and Blake hadn't been terribly exciting. Nor was Ken and Ren's own bout. Then again, when compared to Mitsuru's one-sided victory over Yang, who was arguably the strongest and most capable of the eight Aura-users next to Pyrrha, few fights could be as exciting.

The fourth match, Akihiko against Nora, came close. Especially when Nora's Semblance was revealed when Akihiko struck her with Zionga, Caesar's second-tier lightning attack. Some were fascinated by her ability to strengthen her muscles by channeling electricity, others were horrified by the idea of the already destructive girl being able to become more destructive, not to mention more energetic. Though Yang briefly wondered which of them had a higher upper limit in terms of strength.

Akihiko had run around almost frantically, trying to figure out a way to win despite his massive disadvantage. Even having Caesar attack directly failed since Nora was agile enough to avoid his attacks and forcefully dismiss the Persona with a single attack.

He had contemplated using Caesar's other abilities, but those had yet to be tested against an Aura-user. As much as he wanted to win, or at least put up a good showing, it wasn't worth being Executed. And so, after exhausting his options, he conceded the match rather than take a hit from a powered-up Nora. Something that would have most likely broken every bone in his body. And every organ to boot.

The fifth match was Jaune against Chidori. It was less exciting but also not as boring. Instead, it turned out to be quite entertaining in some ways. Chidori bombarded the blonde with continuous Agidynes, the continuous explosions causing the very air in the room to vibrate and sometimes even making it seem as though the room itself was shaking. All the while, the poor blonde could only run around the training area, trying to avoid being blown up.

His idea of masking his approach with his panic and seemingly random movements was decent, if not for the fact that Chidori had seen through his ploy. It wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to approach her in that manner. She circled around the training area in the opposite direction to keep them on opposite sides. And whenever he tried to approach, she would blow up the area in front of him to discourage it.

The fight ended, unsurprisingly, in Chidori's victory, setting the unofficial score of two to three in favor of the Aura-users.

With her teammates done with their match Pyrrha rose from the bench and made her way to the training area, only to be stopped by Mitsuru's words. "The next match will be Junpei versus Ruby."

"What?!" came the voices of several people, the sudden change in an already established pattern catching them by surprise.

Mitsuru's raised had forestalled any questions before they could even give voice to them. "Everything will be made clear after the fight." While her tone was as calm as ever, they could detect that strange undertone that told them that things were non-negotiable.

Junpei and Pyrrha exchanged glances for a brief moment, before Junpei shrugged. For some strange reason, he removed his Gekkoukan blazer and the dress shirt underneath, leaving him clad in his pants and a black sleeveless shirt, earning a few choice words from Yukari. He just grinned and shrugged before walking into the training area, Ruby following him soon after and leaving behind all but two of the spectators confused by Mitsuru's sudden change in the line-up.

Ruby's first act was to deploy Crescent Rose, the massive scythe opening to its full size in just two seconds. Opposite her, Junpei drew his katana and held it in his right hand, his Evoker rising to his temple and firing. Trismegistus appeared above him, and he returned his Evoker to its holster.

Much like the others, he already knew it would be better to keep Trismegistus summoned for the entire fight. He, Yukari, Ken, and Akihiko needed both hands to fight, unlike Mitsuru and Chidori, who could fight with one hand while the other held the Evoker at the ready. Aigis had a built-in Evoker that she had yet to reveal, and Fuuka's primary task was support so she would almost always have her Evoker on hand.

As such, the quartet had to suffer the additional difficulty of keeping their Personas summoned for prolonged periods should it become necessary. The brief moment it took them to draw their Evoker was enough time for someone to close in or attack from afar. Junpei and Ken, most of all, since they needed remove one hand from their weapon, unlike Yukari and Akihiko.

He _could_ fight the usual way SEES did against the Shadows, maintaining his distance when he needed to summon, but given Ruby's Semblance that was going to be difficult, if not outright impossible. So better to keep Trismegistus summoned rather than put himself on the back foot from the start.

A blue light shone around him briefly, the sign that meant his body was now coated in the Aura-like defenses of Rakukaja. Fuuka would keep him appraised of its status and let him know if it was about to expire. He would need that reminder seeing as his chosen strategy, one that was hastily formed after the unexpected switch in opponents, revolved around his Persona's ability to defend him.

Ruby dashed forward as soon as she saw that light, knowing now that it was safe to attack. Junpei dodged back as the massive black and red crescent blade cut right through where he had been standing just a split second ago. In response, Trismegistus shot forward, throwing a right hook and swinging its feather blades. But the blades only cut through a flurry of crimson petals as the red reaper disappeared in a burst of Semblance-powered speed.

Tracking her by the trail of petals she left behind, Junpei rolled aside just as she approached from his right. The he raised his sword in defense as he scrambled back, straining to keep up with Ruby's impressive skills as she spun both her body and the weapon, clashing repeatedly with his katana.

Then he jumped back just as the air in front of Ruby exploded into massive fireball. Then several more explosions occurred as Trismegistus tracked Ruby by the trail of petals. Junpei wasn't idle in the meantime. He had circled around the training area, keeping an eye on Ruby as she moved around to avoid being blasted by the winged Persona.

After a few more explosions went off, Junpei leapt forward and swung his blade at the oncoming cyclone of rose petals. His limbs nearly buckled from the impact even as Ruby appeared, the shaft of her scythe blocking the katana. But Junpei just grinned. And that grin was the last thing Ruby saw before her world erupted in flames.

* * *

"RUBY!"

Despite knowing that her Aura would protect her, Yang couldn't help the instinct to worry as she saw her sister and her opponent become consumed by a large explosion. Worried lilac eyes watched as a black and red ball that she identified as Ruby flew out of the explosion, rolling briefly on the ground before hopping up onto her feet with her scythe still in her grip. Junpei followed not even a second later. Only he was still on his feet and he was running straight at the scythe-wielder.

It was now clear why he had taken off his jacket and shirt earlier. The edges of his tank top were burnt, and the skin along his arms were red from being exposed to the high heat. Undeterred, he raced after Ruby, double-teaming her with Trismegistus, who continued to blast Ruby with Agidyne, even when Junpei was within range of the explosion as well.

"Woah! Is he serious?" exclaimed Jaune, taking a half-step back at his leader's daring – or perhaps reckless – actions. "That's insane."

A little known fact that they had learned over the past few training sessions was that Rakukaja, despite the similarities, was NOT like Aura. Aura prevented any and all damage with the sole exception of concussive force. Even then, the amount of power it would normally take to break a bone in half would just barely bruise someone with Aura. The pain was, of course, another matter entirely.

SEES's Rakukaja, however, only minimized the damage. Junpei had once scared Pyrrha with that knowledge during their first sparring match, using it against her to catch her off-guard. He still failed to land a hit, but she couldn't deny the effectiveness of his tactic.

She and Jaune were the first to learn of that little detail, but everyone else learned about it soon after. Rakukaja was temporary, unlike Aura. Rakukaja did not completely protect against damage, unlike Aura. But unlike Aura, Rakukaja could not be worn down. Even if they received thousands of blows within a short timeframe, their protection would remain in place. Although, even the small bits of damage they received from those thousands of blows just might be enough to kill them either way.

Still, that meant that, in a way, those of SEES could sometimes be just as reckless as those with Aura. Now for instance.

Yukari let out a sound of disgust at the sight before her. "That Junpei's getting carried away again."

"You weren't that much better though," Akihiko threw back with a teasing grin. "I almost thought you were trying to make an actual tornado earlier."

Yukari had the decency to blush at being caught even as a few others snickered at her expense. Even Mitsuru allowed a quiet chuckle to escape her lips. "It's to be expected though," she said to her friend and teammate. "This is the first time we are using our Personas against someone other than another Persona-user. I'm sure everyone can be forgiven for wanting to showcase their abilities."

"Besides," she continued with less amusement in her tone. "If we are to work together as a team, we will need to know what each one of us is capable of. As such, Junpei has the right idea by showing the limits of his abilities. Both his Persona's and his own."

Her eyes were locked onto Junpei as he stepped inside Ruby's attack zone, one hand grabbing her wrist and preventing her from moving away. A split-second later, both were engulfed in a powerful explosion courtesy of Trismegistus. "Of course, I'll have a talk with him to make sure he doesn't do something this reckless outside of training."

The fight ended not long after with Ruby emerging the victor. She had pinned down Junpei with the barrel of Crescent Rose's rifle form pressing up against his chest. Prior to that, she had taken Trismegistus out with several swings of her scythe, leaving Junpei her sole opponent. Without his Persona to come to his rescue, and Ruby unlikely to give him the chance to summon, Junpei conceded.

"Are you alright Junpei?" Pyrrha asked as soon as he stepped out of the training area, her eyes wide at the sight of his reddened skin. It was only because of Rakukaja that he wasn't seriously burned by his own attacks. Rather, he only looked as though he had a severe case of sunburn.

He just shrugged, wincing a bit as the movement irritated his skin. "Meh, I've had worse." Any member of SEES could attest to that.

Still, that didn't make his teammate worry less. Had it not been for his condition, she would have grabbed him and brought him over to someone who could help him. In fact… "Didn't you say that some of your Personas could heal?" she asked, turning specifically to Yukari, whom she had heard it from. "Could they heal Junpei?"

Yukari nodded. "I did, yeah. But honestly, Junpei's the last person here who needs it."

Her words honestly shocked Pyrrha, as well as half the room's occupants. They knew that Yukari and Junpei often argued about even the smallest things, but from what they had seen there was no ill-intent involved. Perhaps sometime in the past, yes, but even the first argument they witnessed clearly showed that it was simply how their friendship worked. So why would she say something like that?

Mitsuru, seeing their stunned reactions, decided to explain further, seeing as Yukari's words did not have the intended effect. "What she means to say is that Junpei is capable of healing himself. Or rather, Trismegistus is special in that it grants Junpei an increased rate of healing." Their stunned expressions remained, but for an altogether different reason. "Given his injuries, I suspect he'll be fully recovered within the hour."

The stunned faces turned as one to face the person in question, who was smiling sheepishly and scratching his cheek, wincing when the brief contact caused a bit of pain due to his sunburnt skin. "Did I uh… forget to mention that?" By the looks he was receiving, the answer was a resounding yes.

Soon enough, all attention turned back to Mitsuru. And it was clear that all of them wanted to know why she had changed the obvious match-up of Junpei versus Pyrrha. Of course, given the only Persona-user who has yet to fight, it hadn't taken the Mistralian long to figure out. "I presume that you wish for me to fight Aigis?"

"Precisely." Mitsuru's response was accompanied by understanding nods and sounds from everyone else. "Of course, since we've seen that you and Aigis are nearly equal in terms of skill, allowing her to use her Persona would tip the scales in her favor."

Pyrrha had to restrain herself from mentioning her Semblance. If Aigis had not told them yet, then she would prefer to keep the number of people who knew to a minimum. She wouldn't mind telling everyone currently present in the training room, but having it as a trump card never hurt anyone.

At least, for the foreseeable future. If she was fighting Aigis at her best, then there may be a chance that she would need to reveal it within the next few minutes.

"As such, you will be partnered with Weiss for this battle."

Had anyone been looking at the white-haired heiress in the back, they would have seen the sheer look of glee on her face. Of course, the look disappeared barely a second after it appeared. Appearances must be kept after all.

"But senpai," cut in Fuuka her concerned expression visible through Juno's translucent lower body. "All things considered, wouldn't Aigis be the one at a disadvantage instead?"

"Yeah," agreed Yukari. "Aigis is good but like you said, she and Pyrrha are pretty much equal. And even if she kept Athena summoned the entire time, I think that Pyrrha and Weiss have the advantage here."

For the second time, in just as many minutes, Weiss had to school her features before anyone could notice. It was one thing for Yukari, whom she had long since realized held a fairly low opinion of her, to show concern like she did last Sunday. It was another to hear her state, in a roundabout way, that Weiss was more than a match for the Persona called Athena.

In response to Yukari and Fuuka's concerns, Mitsuru just smiled in the way that implied that she was aware of some great secret that the rest of them weren't privy to. Moreover, it was clear that she derived some measure of glee at their ignorance.

"We've been having these weekly group training sessions for nearly two months now," she began, making the others wonder just where she was going with it. "Asides from one-on-one matches, we've also worked together as pairs or as a full team, sometimes with those not part of our team. Two weeks ago, however, someone made a request due to their discontent with how we have been doing things. Today, I plan to grant them their request by allowing them to fight alongside Aigis."

Fourteen people looked to one another, trying to figure out who it was that Mitsuru could have been speaking of, made that much harder by her avoidance of any gender-specific pronouns. Meanwhile, Akihiko met Mitsuru's gaze with a knowing smile and discreetly slipped away from the group.

Failing to discover Aigis's partner, as nobody admitted to being the one to make the request, everyone's attention returned to Mitsuru, none the wiser to the fact that there was one less person standing amongst them.

"So who is to be my partner for this fight, Mitsuru-san?" Aigis asked, just as curious as everyone else.

Again, Mitsuru just gave that same knowing smile but said nothing in response. Instead, the answer came from behind the group.

"Woof!"

"HIYAAAAHH!"

If the bark hadn't already caught them by surprise, then the scream that followed certainly did. Even Mitsuru looked taken aback by the near violent reaction as Blake shoved Yang, Ken, and Jaune out of way as she scrambled back frantically. In her haste, she tripped and fell to the ground, her training forgotten. But that did little to stop her, as she crab-walked away.

"B-Blake!"

Yang quickly chased after her partner, sparing Koromaru a glance to make sure he wouldn't try following. Yukari and a few others tried to follow but a raised arm stopped them before they could take two steps. Mitsuru didn't want to make things worse by pressuring Blake or crowding her. Though they were concerned, too many people didn't necessarily mean they could offer more help.

There was a soft whine from behind them, followed by Akihiko's voice. "Hey, don't worry. I should have remembered that she isn't too fond of dogs. It's not your fault." Another whine followed his words.

"He says he is sad because he wants to play with her," translated Aigis, still facing the side of the room where Yang, Mitsuru, and Yukari were attempting to calm down Blake. "She is the only one who does not play with him."

Another whine was accompanied by a soft, almost bitter, chuckle. "That's just how it is sometimes," Akihiko said, kneeling down next to Koromaru and placing a hand on top of the shiba inu's head and giving it a gentle rub. "Something probably happened when she was younger, something bad enough that made her afraid of dogs. Maybe it was even a wolf or something, for all we know."

And yet another whine came out. Akihiko didn't need a translator to understand Koromaru's message. "We'll see if we can help her, but you'll probably have to keep your distance from her like you've been doing this whole time. At least until she's alright with being near you. Okay boy?" Koromaru almost seemed to nod, but he didn't look very happy still.

They waited in terse silence as Yang quietly spoke with Blake, the black-haired girl visibly calming down. Eventually, she convinced her to return to the group. Though Mitsuru noted that her teammate was glancing furtively in Koromaru's direction with a hint of fear in her eyes, as though afraid he would attack her the moment she got too close. Her right hand nervously gripped left arm just above the elbow.

"Blake." Mitsuru spoke softly, though that didn't stop the pale girl from jumping a bit as though she had been bitten. "Are you alright?"

"I… I-I'm sorry." Her response was quiet, barely audible even in the silence. "I just… I…" Blake bowed her head, her voice trailing away.

Mitsuru sighed inside her head, knowing that there was little that could be done at this point. "There's no need to say anything if you're uncomfortable. As long as you are alright, then that's all that matters at the moment." Her teammate glanced up nervously, meeting Mitsuru's crimson eyes with her amber ones. "You don't need to force yourself to speak if it makes you uncomfortable. Whenever you're ready, we'll be here."

"Mitsuru, I…" Blake's eyes searched Mitsuru's, but failed to find anything beyond concern, patience, and sincerity. "Thanks."

Looking around, she found that everyone else had the same concern in their eyes. And though her face was just as stoic as it normally was, Weiss's eyes, surprisingly, showed some level of concern as well. Nora looked like she wanted to say something, but Ren's hand on her shoulder was enough of a deterrent for the hyperactive girl.

Her eyes sought the ground again, bowing her head as though ashamed of making everyone worry. She clenched her hands shut, a brief rush of anger aimed at herself coursing through her veins. Why was she so afraid of Koromaru? Nearly two months have passed since she received her first scare from him but she had yet to understand why.

She didn't like dogs, that much was a fact she was well aware of. They made her nervous just as much as any canine faunus would. Fear, however, was not something she could ever say she felt when it came to them. Not unless they attacked her for some reason, or were wild and rabid. Even then, she had never been so afraid to the point that she had panicked and lost all her senses, save for the sheer instinct to get away.

She might not like Koromaru very much, if at all, but she could at least acknowledge Yang's point that he had never hurt anyone. In fact, she had never so much as heard him growl. Not that she spent a lot of time near him. Her blonde partner even pointed out how well-behaved he was, never disobeying the rules that were set even when he clearly disagreed with them.

That line of thought brought up the other problem she had. She glanced to her right with her eyes, keeping her head down to hide her gaze from the others.

She still didn't know how to feel about Yang knowing her secret. She had kept it to herself the past three days, just as she said she would, but that only reassured her for the moment. Yang was boisterous, and prone to fits of anger when even the smallest spark was lit under her. One such fit may lead to her saying something she did not mean. Such as revealing the fact that her partner was a faunus.

It was not that she didn't trust Yang. She did, to an extent at least. But she did not like taking such a risk. Not when such an important secret was on the line.

A hand being placed on her shoulder shocked her out of her introspection. Looking up with a gasp and a barely restrained flinch, amber eyes met red once more. "Take your time Blake. As I said, we'll be here whenever you're ready."

This time, Blake could only nod dumbly, overwhelmed by the various emotions running through her. The apprehension she felt around Koromaru, the flare of anger at her lack of control, gratitude for their understanding, and so much more.

"Do you want to stay?" Mitsuru asked her. "As I said, Aigis will be partnered with Koromaru for the next fight. He'll certainly be doing more than just barking in that case."

 _Did_ she want to stay? On one hand, just a single bark from Koromaru was enough to scare her wits all the way to the next continent. Never mind how much he'll be barking, possibly growling, during the fight. On the other hand, will seeing him fight perhaps help her figure out why she felt this way around him? She had no explanation as to why, but her instincts told her that watching the fight would answer some questions.

"I-I'll stay," she said, still unable to repress the stutter that escaped her lips. "I… I can't just avoid him forever."

Dark red eyes gazed into hers for just a while longer, as though trying to determine why she gave such a response. Whatever she found, Mitsuru smiled faintly and nodded. For some reason, Blake felt like she had just passed some sort of test.

"Very well. But if you start to feel too uncomfortable, let us know, alright?" Blake didn't hesitate to nod.

Now that the more pressing matter had been dealt with, Yang decided that that was the perfect time to give voice to the question that was undoubtedly on everyone's mind. "Is he really going to fight though?" There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the Aura-users. "I mean, no offense but what can _he_ do to even out the fight?"

Yet again, Mitsuru gave that infuriating smile. Only this time, the rest of SEES joined her. "Do you remember when you first met him?" she asked, instead of giving an answer. "Specifically, do you remember what I said about Koromaru?"

Everyone thought back to that day. The day itself was unforgettable. It was the day of the initiation and the day they learned about Persona, in more ways than one. Meeting Koromaru was just as memorable, for less than positive reasons. While it had been interesting to learn that Aigis could understand him, that was also when they first learned that Blake was uncomfortable around dogs, if not outright afraid.

Obviously, that wasn't what Mitsuru was referring to. She had said something about him prior to actually meeting him. A few of them could remember hearing his name being mentioned prior to meeting him. Only one remembered a particular detail that was most likely what they were asked to remember.

"He's a member of SEES." The aforementioned group turned to Pyrrha with their grins, while the Aura-users sent her inquisitive looks. The redhead motioned with her hand to the red armband on Koromaru's left foreleg. "Specifically, you said that he was the final member of SEES, and that he was unable to join as a student for certain reasons."

Several pairs of eyes widened in remembrance as Pyrrha's words brought the memory to mind. Mitsuru _did_ say that. "In fact," continued the Mistralian, "You also said that he was capable of fighting. I remember considering the possibility that he was injured prior to the initiation, or perhaps even an invalid in some way, which made him unable to join. As such I was surprised to see that I was greatly mistaken in every regard."

Koromaru whined softly, Blake's breath hitching in her throat at the reminder of his presence. Clearly he didn't like being thought of as an invalid, even if it was supposition on Pyrrha's part.

Some, however, were still quite doubtful. "But can he really fight that well?" Pyrrha shared Ruby's sentiments, mainly because she would be one of two people fighting the albino dog. "I mean, he's about to get into a fight between three Huntresses-in-training." No matter how she looked at the situation, Ruby just couldn't imagine Koromaru, a dog smaller than an average-sized wolf and friendlier than most dogs she had seen, fighting them. Never mind fighting against the Grimm.

"I suppose we'll see." That response almost made it sound like this was a trial by fire for the poor dog. The only reason Pyrrha didn't voice her own complaints was because all of SEES looked confident. "One last thing. Aigis." The blonde turned to Mitsuru upon being addressed. "As we have privacy today, I want you to give your all in this fight."

She then pointed at something behind the group. Turning around, they saw a crate beside one of the benches. The same crate that some of them had seen Aigis bring in when they first arrived in the training room. The same crate that Ruby and Weiss recognized as one that held ammunition for Aigis.

"We won't be able to get away with requesting privacy for every training session. I'm certain we would cause some members of the staff to wonder what we're up to if we always chose to hide away like this, so I want us to take advantage of the times that we _can_ request privacy to see how you fare while fighting at your best."

Well, that was not entirely true, of course. The staff would most likely grant them the privacy even if it was requested for every training session they had. Mitsuru just didn't want to draw attention to them by holding _only_ private sessions from this point on. The excuse of not wanting their Semblance to be seen would only make people more curious the more they attempted to keep it hidden.

Already, there were talks in the hallways that, despite their lack of Aura, the eight Aura-less students had some sort of Semblance. Some rumors even made it out as though their Semblances were so powerful that they didn't _need_ Aura.

They wouldn't ask. Well, most people wouldn't, but their curiosity would be present. And the more curious they were, the more likely people would start talking to come up with ideas as to what the secret Semblance might be. Pyrrha's unknown Semblance was one such example as people have been speculating it for years now.

Perhaps it could be considered paranoia on her part, but she also wanted to minimize the attention their group received as a whole. SEES was already keeping many secrets, even from their own teammates and friends. The less people who tried looking into them, the better. The moment one secret gets out is the moment people start wondering what other things were being kept hidden. And with that thought in mind, there would undoubtedly be those wanting to actively uncover such secrets rather than merely speculating.

It was unlikely that such truth-seekers would figure out the truth. Even now, Mitsuru sometimes expected to one day wake up back in the dormitory in Iwatodai. Their situation was just that unbelievable even now. One would have to be both creative and, on some level, strange in their way of thinking in order to even come close to figuring out SEES's true history.

"We can talk more later. For now, Aigis, please get ready. Akihiko, I'll leave Koromaru to you. Pyrrha, Weiss, I'll need to speak with the both of you."

The first two mentioned gave nods and walked away, the latter followed closely by Koromaru. The latter two turned to follow Mitsuru as she walked to one side of the room for a little privacy. And that left the others to question the remaining members of SEES, who remained tightlipped regarding Koromaru.

Once they were far enough from the others, Mitsuru turned to face Pyrrha and Weiss, the two people she chose to challenge the duo of Aigis and Koromaru. "I'm sure you've some idea of what I wanted to speak to the two of you about," she said without delay.

Pyrrha was the first to respond with a nod. "The fight. I assume you wish for us to hold back a little?"

To their surprise, Mitsuru shook her head, her expression completely serious. "Quite the opposite in fact. I need you both to fight at your best, just as I asked of Aigis."

Weiss didn't like Aigis. No, that was inaccurate. She didn't like having Aigis as her leader. Nor did she like the fact that everyone treated her like a human being. Even so, she could say that she respected the blonde's skills. Perhaps even admired it.

And despite her dislike of the situation, she did not necessarily want any harm to come to Aigis. She just did not want to be led by an artificial being. Moreover, SEES would certainly be upset if anything were to happen to Aigis, just as they would should anything befall any of the other members.

As such, Weiss was confused by what Mitsuru had just asked of them. She wanted them to _not_ hold back? To give their all in a fight against an android who was Pyrrha's equal skill-wise, said android's Persona, and a dog who was supposed to help even out the playing field?

Few were the times when Weiss could say that she did not understand something even the slightest bit. Mitsuru's request was just added to that very short list.

"Are you… sure?" Weiss had to stop herself from saying something less kind. She hoped neither redhead noticed the brief pause. If they did, then she could only pray that they did not suspect the reason behind it. "Pyrrha and Aigis are equals in skill, and both Fuuka and Yukari seem quite certain I can handle the Persona. While you believe Koromaru could help bridge that gap, I have to say that I am doubtful as to how helpful he could be."

Not to mention she had quite a few glyphs that she had yet to reveal since her arrival at Beacon. The Schnee family Semblance was quite versatile, capable of a vast array of varying abilities. She also had various types of Dust in her arsenal. Not only was she quite adept at using them, but they could also be combined with her Semblance for even further variations to aid in the fight.

It was something she kept up her sleeve for just the right moment, using only a handful of different glyphs both in class and in training. And when she found the time, she practiced the rest in secret. No doubt she would need the additional edge when her peers grew stronger as well.

There was also Pyrrha's as of yet unknown Semblance to consider. With her prodigious skill in combat, it was unsurprising that the Mistralian champion did not need to use her Semblance as often as others did. As far as Weiss was aware, the redhead hadn't even used it once while attending Beacon. Further proof of her skills. What more if she chose to use it now?

And Mitsuru wanted them to _not_ hold back against their opponents? Opponents who, from the look of things, were already at a disadvantage on several fronts. Why?

"You both recall Aigis's match with Pyrrha." It was a statement of a fact and not a question. It would be difficult to forget the match that ended in a draw after running for thirty minutes. "What if I told you that, Persona aside, Aigis was still holding back during that match?"

Holding… back? If she were being honest, a part of Weiss would admit to having considered that possibility. After all, an android made to hunt down Grimm _had_ to be powerful, right? There was no way that her limits were only on par with a student. An exceptional student, but a student nonetheless.

But then that begged the question. Just how much _was_ she holding back?

Weiss turned to Pyrrha to get an idea of what her current fighting partner was thinking of. What she saw, however, made her blink in surprise. It was subtle and barely there, but unless she was mistaken then Pyrrha looked to be… excited. But that couldn't be. Right?

Some members of SEES aside, Pyrrha was undoubtedly the only one among their little clique – among their entire year in fact – whom Weiss felt was worth befriending. She was more mature than the rest. More skilled, more disciplined, and a whole host of other things that set her apart from the rest.

There was simply no way that Pyrrha Nikos, of all people, was the sort to become excited by the prospect of a fight.

Weiss had to be seeing things.

She just had to be.

"There are four things that have been holding her back this entire time," Mitsuru continued to explain. "Her inability to use her Persona in a fight, her weapons, her clothing, and her body. Today, Aigis will be fighting without three of those."

"Just three?" Though the redhead tried to hide it, Weiss still picked up on the disappointment in Pyrrha's tone. "Why not all four?"

"Removing the limiter on her body may cause damage that we would otherwise be unable to repair." That was understandable. As they had stated before, the scientists and technicians who usually worked on Aigis were no longer around. "But even with it, you'll find Aigis to be more than formidable. She does not fight like most humans do, and I doubt you've fought anyone like Koromaru before. In fact, this should be quite the learning experience for both of you."

That was an understatement if there ever was one. Aigis's movements were incredibly precise. People often described the experience of just barely managing to avoid something as 'dodging by a hair's breadth'. Most of the time, that only happened because they nearly failed to notice something coming towards them, or they reacted too late to avoid it by a wider margin.

But Aigis gave that phrase an entirely new meaning.

Her non-human mind allowed her to process information faster than any human or faunus could, and precise control over her body movements allowed her to _literally_ dodge by a hair's breadth whenever she wanted to. And all the while, she could already be counterattacking with just as much agility and precision.

It was during those times, more than any other, that Weiss was reminded of the fact that Aigis was not human. No human could move so precisely. Even if they could, very few would risk the possibility of miscalculation. Especially one that may very well end in death. Better to have some leeway for mistakes than to end up injured or worse.

But Aigis was not human. She was a machine created for the sole purpose of combat. Such miscalculations would only occur because of unforeseen events or a mistake in her programming. That she had not yet made such a mistake spoke highly of her creators' abilities.

And now, she and Pyrrha would be fighting her just shy of her absolute best alongside an unknown in the form of Koromaru.

Mitsuru's eyes glanced at something behind them, and she smiled. "Looks like they're ready. Unless there's anything else, I propose we move on to the fight."

Both Weiss and Pyrrha nodded. There was no need to ask any more questions. All that was left, was to fight.

* * *

It hadn't really occurred to Weiss to fully consider what Mitsuru meant by some of the things holding back Aigis. Her Persona was obvious. Or rather, her inability to use her Persona in class. That alone held back a great deal of fighting potential.

Her clothing was also understandable. Aigis's old school uniform _only_ hindered her a little bit, at least according to the blonde. Sometimes, that 'little bit' was more than enough of a hindrance, but Weiss didn't see just how Aigis's clothing could hold her back enough to be considered one of those five things.

But now, walking behind Aigis in all her mechanical glory as they entered through the opening in the hard-light walls of the training area, Weiss understood just what Mitsuru meant. It wasn't strictly the clothing that held her back. Rather, it was the boots that she normally wore alongside it.

Now that she had taken them off, Weiss was reminded of the fact that Aigis did not have feet in the way that humans or faunus did. Even in the safety of their dorm room, Aigis never remained completely undressed for more than a minute or two, if even that, since there were still some members of the school staff who were unaware of her secret that could enter their room without having to knock first.

Inversely, her boots were almost always absent while inside the room as people would rarely look down at someone's feet. It was just that Weiss did not pay it much heed because of how… normal of a sight it had become over the past two months.

With a fight about to begin, the tactical part of Weiss's mind immediately began taking every factor into consideration. From there, it was easy for her to come up with the theory that, because Aigis did not have normal feet, fighting in shoes meant for human-shaped feet affected her movements. Especially since part of the boot was stuffed with cloth. Just in case someone stepped on her 'foot' by accident, they said.

Though she wondered if it would really help hide the fact. Would Aigis be able to act the part of a human in pain? Not to mention what would happen if someone stepped on the 'foot' and Aigis didn't notice. People would doubtlessly question why she didn't feel it.

She couldn't be certain, but something was telling her that she was on the right track. Aigis would no doubt be swifter of foot, in a manner of speaking, without her boots.

On the other hand, her weapons being one of the things that held her back was… strange, to say the least. Aigis was highly proficient in the use of her trench knives. If not for the fact that she was an android, she would easily qualify as a prodigy in their use. Or in combat in general.

Yet, once again, seeing Aigis without her clothing gave her the answer.

It was easy to forget that the trench knives she used were not her main weapon. It was simply what she used to complete the façade of a human in front of their schoolmates and the members of the staff that were not aware. No. Her main weapon, if one did not consider Aigis herself to be a weapon, were her firearms.

It didn't matter whether it was the rifle attachment, the grenade launcher attachment, or just her fingers. Aigis's 'true' weapons were the handful of firearms she brought with her. In her default form, her fingers, with the exception of her thumb due to its inability to properly line up with her arm, served as gun barrels to the rapid-firing mechanisms inside her forearms.

Attached to the bottom of each of the steel bracers on her wrists were drum magazines, no doubt holding a fairly high number of bullets. There were additional magazines in a device that was attached to the outside of her thighs, four on each thigh for a total of eight. Weiss was fairly certain it would only take a second or two to eject any empty magazines and reattach a new one. A machine like Aigis would no doubt want to be as efficient as possible, especially in a combat situation.

Her high rate of fire and large supply of ammunition meant she was capable of both suppressive fire and mowing down large groups of enemies. And despite that, her accuracy most likely did not suffer on account of her being what she was, unlike other weapons with a similar rate of fire.

But apart from her Persona, her clothing, and her weapons, there was one other change in Aigis that Weiss noted. One that told her just how difficult the fight ahead would be.

Her eyes.

Those hard, crystal blue eyes were watching them carefully, narrowed slightly with her brows furrowed as though in deep thought. No doubt she was already formulating countless strategies and tactics based on previous fights as well as calculating which one had the better chances of succeeding. That cold expression on her face was one that Weiss had never seen before. And that alone told her that the upcoming fight would not be as easy as she might have expected earlier.

To Aigis, the humanoid weapon made to fight Grimm, both Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos were no longer her classmates. Right now, at that very moment, they were her targets.

In addition, there was still that one other problem staring them right in the face. Literally, staring at them.

"He's holding a knife in his mouth."

Pyrrha's observation was, while obvious, also on Weiss's mind. When Mitsuru said that Koromaru would be fighting, they had expected to fight a dog that would scratch them with his claws, or bite at them with his sharp teeth. Neither the Schnee heiress nor the Mistralian champion expected to see him carrying a knife in his mouth.

Then there was that strange collar around his neck. Weiss could remember seeing it the day before initiation as well as when they met Koromaru after the team formations, but she never paid much attention to it beyond the fact that it looked far different compared to other dog collars. But now, something was telling her to pay it more heed.

It was made completely of steel, which was rarely used for collars unless one was into slavery and such. Then there was that strange object on one side of the collar. She couldn't see it very well, but she took note of it. For all she knew it was also a weapon of some sort.

Of lesser note was the off-white shirt he wore and two fake wings attached to it. She knew they were merely for decoration as she had once asked Fuuka about it, but it was still a strange sight to see on a dog.

"Are you ready Weiss?" The heiress nodded wordlessly to the question and drew her weapon, Myrtenaster. "How do you believe we should engage them?"

That had also been the question that Weiss was asking herself just moments ago, and a part of her was glad that Pyrrha thought highly enough of her to ask for her opinion. Still, it was doubtful they could outsmart an android that was made for combat. But then again, it wasn't as though she knew everything that Weiss and Pyrrha were capable of.

"Could you handle Aigis on your own for a while?" she asked in turn. "Koromaru is an unknown but he shouldn't pose that much of a problem. Between my Semblance and my Dust, I should be able to incapacitate him in a few minutes at most. After that, we can both focus on Aigis and her Persona."

The redhead nodded, her face completely serious now that the fight was about to begin. "Then we are in agreement." A part of Weiss preened at the thought that the two of them came up with the same plan. "Once you've taken care of him, see if you can eliminate Aigis's Persona first. Afterwards, between the two of us, we should be able to prevent her from summoning it again."

That plan would have to do. It's not like she had a better one. Besides, between the two of them, Pyrrha had much more combat experience. Smart as she was, Weiss did not believe that she had a better head for combat tactics than the four-time champion. In addition, Pyrrha had fought Aigis to a standstill before, whereas Weiss lasted less than three minutes against her mechanical teammate that one time Akihiko had each team fight their own members.

As the four combatants got into position, the opening in the hard-light wall sealed shut. Beyond the blue walls made of light, their teammates and friends chittered anxiously, some cheering loudly. Though she was the one fighting, she could understand their excitement. This was the first time that Aigis would be fighting all out. That, and most were probably wondering what Koromaru was capable of combat-wise.

Both she and Pyrrha held their blades at the ready. Opposite them, Koromaru looked ready to pounce and Aigis settled into her usual stance with her trench knives, a boxing stance like Akihiko's but slightly different. Her trench knives were certainly well-suited for her fighting style. With the way the grip was formed, Aigis could spread open her fingers to shoot without having to sheathe or drop her weapon. Blades when in close quarters, and guns when necessary, be it from afar or up close.

And unlike a vast majority of weapons used by Huntsmen and Huntresses, there would be virtually no delay as there was no need to transform her weapon. All she needed to do was open her fist or close them as needed. Weiss was thankful she had Pyrrha as her partner. Anybody else would lose in a few minutes, as shown by their Combat class. More so now that Aigis would not be holding back.

Weiss could only hope that Pyrrha could last long enough now that Personas were in play. She had seen five days ago just how powerful Athena was when Aigis demonstrated her Persona's abilities against Professor Giollah. She would just have to take care of Koromaru swiftly in that case.

All four combatants were ready, eyes steely and locked onto their opponents, ready to fight.

Then, at an unseen signal, all four charged forward.

Pyrrha ran to the right, Aigis mirroring her as expected. Weiss was briefly surprised that Aigis hadn't summoned her Persona first, but all the better for Pyrrha in that case. Then, the rapid staccato of gunfire reached her ears, followed by the sound of the bullets impacting metal.

A quick glance showed that Pyrrha had raised her shield to protect her body. But the gunfire halted her advance as she almost literally danced to avoid the bullets aimed for her legs. With such a large number of bullets, it was almost a miracle she could avoid them all. Just further proof of her prowess in Weiss's eyes.

She turned her attention forward as she and Koromaru neared one another. They were both armed with melee weapons, but Weiss had an advantage. Mitsuru had asked that they not hold back, so she wouldn't. She would end the fight in two moves. She had already pre-selected the Dust type she wanted to use prior to starting the fight. All that was left, was to use it.

She spun Myrtenaster in her hand as she skid to a halt not far from her opponent, holding the weapon in a reverse grip. She stabbed the ground just as she pulled the trigger on Myrtenaster, allowing some of the Dust to flow out. A pulse of her Aura activated the Dust. And starting from the point where her rapier touched the glyph, ice spread out along the ground in all directions.

In only a few seconds, she had covered her half of the training area with a layer of ice. With a smug look of victory, she turned her eyes towards Koromaru, knowing that, by now, he would be wide open as he struggled to remain standing, if he hasn't fallen already. One specific glyph, one more application of Dust, and his limbs would be frozen in place, unable to move, let along fight.

Perhaps a third step would be prudent, a thick wall preventing Aigis from freeing him. Yes, that would do. She raised Myrtenaster once more to put her plan into action, when the sound of a Persona being summoned reached her ears.

The sound of a gunshot, followed by the sound of shattering glass, no longer surprised her as she had come to grow familiar with the sound of a Persona being summoned. Though until recently, only a Persona-user was allowed to fight against a Persona-user. It was the successful experiment the past weekend that allowed them to have this training session now.

What had her gawking in disbelief, however, was the fact that the sound did not come from Pyrrha's side of the battlefield. Had she been in any state to pay attention, she would have heard the cries of surprise from outside the hard-light walls.

Roughly twenty feet in front of her was Koromaru, standing on the ice by using his claws to keep from slipping. And high above him, a familiar bluish-white light appeared and grew in size, rapidly taking shape. Soon the light faded and her eyes were treated to a sight that would send most people screaming in terror.

A massive three-headed dog hovered over Koromaru. Its form was sleek and lean, but obviously powerful. Its body was black on the upper and outer parts, blue along the inside and underneath, with a white muzzle and six menacing, yellow eyes that glared right at her. Rather than paws, the ends of its legs slipped into long, narrow, metal cones with tridents at the tip. A long tail, rat-like in appearance, whipped around wildly as though seeking something to strike.

Its necks were longer than would otherwise be normal, and each one had a wide, decorative steel collar with a chain connecting them to one another. The ends of the chain were attacked to two wings, each one attached to its shoulders. If Koromaru's 'wings' were feathery in appearance like an angel's, the wings the three-headed dog over him were more bat-like in appearance. Like that of a devil's.

Of all the Personas she had seen, Koromaru's was, without a shred of doubt, the most terrifying of them all. Especially since all three heads were growling and snarling, baring their sharp teeth at her. It reared back and let out a bloodcurdling howl. A howl far more terrifying than any that even a Beowolf could produce. A howl that shook her very core.

Then, her world exploded in flames.

* * *

Pyrrha's heart nearly stopped in fright when she heard the howl. Only necessity kept her moving, keeping away from Aigis as her knives danced through the air with an occasional burst of gunfire that kept her on her toes. Literally. A brief glance had given her a glimpse of the massive three-headed canine that was, undeniably, summoned by Koromaru. As absurd as that thought was, there was simply no other explanation for the appearance of another Persona.

Though its height at the shoulders was a little less than half of what she had come to associate with a Persona, it was still quite massive for a dog. And even standing face-to-face with it, Pyrrha could guess that it would still tower over her. Her, who was the second tallest in the group of sixteen and standing roughly an inch shorter than Jaune when she was wearing her boots.

And that howl.

Ignoring the fact that a Persona was unheard of prior to SEES's arrival, there was just something otherworldly about the massive canine's howl. Every second it went on tore at her resolve, drowning her in despair like a massive claw reaching out from a dark abyss seeking to claim her very soul.

She could only imagine what Weiss was feeling, facing the beast head-on as she was.

Then came several explosions that ripped through the other half of the training area. Concerned for her current partner, Pyrrha disengaged from Aigis to give herself a chance to survey the situation.

A hellhound. There was no other way to describe Koromaru's fearsome Persona as it hovered in place amidst the flames. Though none of the flames were near it, let alone Koromaru, Pyrrha's perspective put it in the middle of the crimson storm that burned through the air. The flames only linger for a short while, but that image would forever be seared into her mind.

Then her brief respite was gone as Aigis came flying in. Pyrrha's red and gold blade clashed against Aigis's dark gray ones for a brief moment. Then the darker blades pulled back and came in again from a different direction. The Mistralian just barely blocked it before she found those same blades coming from yet another direction.

Just as she blocked one knife, Aigis brought her other hand around. But instead of attacking, her open hand was positioned below her waist, the fingers aimed upwards at Pyrrha's torso. Fingers that doubled as gun barrels. The Mistralian barely managed to dodge in time, the bullets whizzing past her torso. But that left her unbalanced, and Aigis didn't hesitate to take the opening.

Her Semblance grabbed hold of her shield and brought it up in front of her along with her arm to block the attack. It felt strange, manipulating Akoúo like that while she was still holding onto it, but it was the only option she could think of at that time to avoid letting Aigis land the first blow of their duel.

Aigis had shown that she was capable of powering through Pyrrha's weaker magnetic fields, so she couldn't manipulate her weapons subtly like she normally did. The same could be said of the bullets. One or two was easy to manipulate subtly. Dozens? No. She'd had to reveal her Semblance in all its glory by outright stopping that many as she wouldn't be able to focus on each of them enough to manipulate them the way she normally did.

She could, however, manipulate her own weapons. Still, that did little to help in the long run as Aigis was almost literally running circles around her.

When Mitsuru said that Aigis was holding back, she didn't think she meant this much. The blonde's strength was unchanged, but her speed was slightly higher than when they had fought a few weeks ago. Even so, what made her more dangerous was that her manner of attacking was swifter and much, much fiercer. In addition, her already considerable defenses were just about impenetrable and immovable.

It didn't matter that Pyrrha was taller by at least half-a-foot, or that her weapon had a longer reach. With Aigis's swift movements, Pyrrha was unable to keep her from getting close enough to nullify the reach advantage. In fact, with Aigis so close to her, Pyrrha's longer weapons were actually holding her back as it became difficult to attack someone so close to her.

Not that if mattered much since Pyrrha could barely even find time to attack. Whenever she found an opening to do so, Aigis had already anticipated it and cut her off. Every plan was dead long before it could even be initiated. It was like fighting an entirely different person.

' _No, that's wrong,'_ thought Pyrrha. As she clashed weapons with Aigis once more, emerald green met crystal blue. It wasn't that she was fighting a different person. She was simply fighting the 'real' Aigis now.

In Combat class, Aigis played the part of a human called Aigis Arisato. It was highly likely that holding back her abilities was meant to show that she was not so far above everyone, that someone, namely Pyrrha, was still her equal. It drew attention to her, but not so much that people would begin speculating why she was as good as she was. By fighting on Pyrrha's level, people would simply assume she was a prodigy, or someone who trained harder than others for many years.

But here and now, however, this was not Aigis Arisato, the Untouchable Girl.

This person, this machine right in front of her, was Aigis, the last of the seventh generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons. A weapon. That's what she was right now.

There was a hardness in her eyes that was missing from them during Combat class. They weren't devoid of emotions like one would expect from an android, but they were just as cold, just as hard as the steel she was made of. And quite frankly…

It excited her.

She blocked another flurry of blows, Miló and Akoúo fending off Aigis's unnamed blades. They hadn't been fighting that long but Aigis had already taken control of the battle's pace. One moment the blonde was in front of her, then the next she was attacking from the side. And by the time Pyrrha had turned to properly face her, the blonde android had already moved on. Pyrrha was almost dizzy just trying to keep up.

Pyrrha could only imagine the looks on everyone's faces at the sight of the Invincible Girl struggling to keep up with an opponent. And if their classmates, perhaps even the entire school, saw this, then it would only be a matter of time before word of it reached her sponsors as they were always on the lookout for rumors and such that involved her. And from there, her family and tutor.

But Pyrrha couldn't care less right now. Rather than an expression of worry, a grin now dominated her face even as her arms trembled from withstanding Aigis's relentless attacks.

Before she was old enough to join the Mistral Regional Tournament, her only opponents were her classmates and her tutor. The former were far below her in terms of skill. The latter was far above her. One provided no challenge. The other lowered himself to provide her with enough of a challenge to help her grow.

When she was old enough to compete, she found people close to her own age who could fight on a higher level than her classmates. But they still weren't good enough. Even before growing proficient enough with her Semblance to use it subtly, she was skilled enough to dominate her age bracket. Her victories did not come easily, but neither did her opponents make her struggle for it.

The next three years were much the same. Decent opponents, but none were a decent challenge. None have ever forced her to struggle, to feel the possibility of defeat. Only her tutor provided her with the challenge she sought. But with him, there was never a chance of victory. Any victory she gained was shallow and fleeting as all she did was overcome whatever challenge he placed before her.

Only when she defeated him at his best would she consider it a true victory. But with over two decades of experience over her, that time was many years in the future. And by then, his prime would have passed. The strength she sought to overcome would have waned. And such a victory would feel just as empty and hollow.

After graduating from Sanctum, she made it known that she intended to attend Beacon. Her parents and her sponsors had urged her to attend Haven, as it would allow her to fulfill her duties even while attending school. But still she insisted on going to Beacon, reasoning that it would not only help spread her name further outside of Mistral, but it would also allow her to add to her fame by attending the most prestigious of the Huntsman Academies.

Those were not her true intentions, of course, but it was what made them agree, even if it meant putting off many planned events due to the distance from Mistral. It meant that she would need to return to Mistral during the breaks to fulfill her contract, rather than spending it as she pleased, but if that was the price to pay then so be it.

Entering Beacon had sparked her hopes. Standing within the walls of the most prestigious of Huntsman Academies, learning from staff picked by Headmaster Ozpin, a man renowned the world over as one of the greatest Huntsmen of this age, and fighting alongside the select few who passed the initiation. It felt as wonderful as she imagined it would be.

And yet, many of her classmates disappointed her.

Oh, they were competent. That much was never in question considering they attended Beacon. If she were to rate them, then a little over half of them could easily qualify for the regional tournament and have a decent chance of reaching the final eight. The rest would either struggle even against the easiest opponent the tournament had to offer, or fail to enter outright.

But none of them could pose enough of a challenge to satisfy her.

None, that is, save for one. The very same opponent she was facing now.

Aigis.

The world around her seemed to blur and then fade away. Only Aigis remained distinctly in focus. Her shield came up to block another flurry of strikes from the mechanical maiden, her sword doing the same when Aigis began to dance around to the side to circumvent the shield. She would occasionally fire a quick burst from her fingers, reminding Pyrrha not to grow complacent just because she blocked the knives.

She thought she could take advantage of the short gap wherein Aigis would need to reload. But clearly she underestimated the blonde in that regard.

When she had ejected the drum magazine on her wrist shortly after it ran out of bullets, Pyrrha tensed, ready to take whatever opening Aigis gave. But rather than taking the spare magazine attached to her thighs, Aigis simply touched it with her wrist. A few clicking sounds reached Pyrrha's ears, followed by Aigis raising her arm, the magazine now attached to her wrist in place of the old one. When she did, the other magazines slid upwards on the contraption that held it to her thighs.

She should have known that Aigis would have a way to reload without needing to use both hands. She could most likely lock and unlock whatever held the magazine to her arms with just a thought. The way she carried her spares, as well as the mechanism that managed them, also made it easy to reload in less than two seconds, if even that much.

She shouldn't have expected any less.

Only a few minutes into the fight and Pyrrha could already feel her muscles beginning to protest as she pushed them harder than ever before. Her tutor was faster and stronger, but he had never pressed her this hard for too long without giving her a few seconds to breathe and re-evaluate the situation. Aigis was so relentless that Pyrrha couldn't afford to let her muscles relax for even a single second.

Yet the redhead found that she couldn't care less.

She was struggling. She was being pushed back ever so slowly. She had yet to be hit but she knew it was only a matter of time before Aigis's superior tactical acumen and abilities of observation found a way to get around her gradually weakening defenses. But…

It was far too early to be giving in. Especially when she was only just beginning to enjoy the battle, as one-sided as it currently was. Lessons drilled into her by her tutor surfaced in her mind. When faced with an opponent, carefully consider their abilities and yours. Compare them objectively and determine first whether victory was possible. If it was, then take it. If it wasn't, then find a way to make it possible.

In terms of speed and strength, they were equal. In terms of raw power, Aigis was undoubtedly superior with her Persona. In terms of skill, Aigis was superior by a small margin. For the moment at least, as she may still be hiding some of her skills. In terms of tactical planning, Aigis was most likely superior. At best, they were equal only because Pyrrha was highly experienced when it came to fighting human opponents, unlike Aigis who specialized in killing Grimm.

Then again, SEES, Aigis included, had that mysterious trainer of theirs who had supposedly trained them for eight straight months, pushing them far beyond their limits at every session. If even Aigis had trained at a level higher than she was normally capable of, then Pyrrha couldn't really say that Aigis was inexperienced against humanoid opponents. Not unless their trainer wasn't human. Not to mention the past two months of Combat classes, weekly group training sessions, and their own personal training regimens.

No. Aigis was definitely her better even in terms of tactical planning.

That, and many other factors filtered into Pyrrha's mind. Each one was evaluated and compared with her own abilities. At the end, she could only come to a single conclusion. One that she had already known the moment she locked blades against her foe.

Aigis Arisato, first-year student at Beacon and leader of Team ASYR, was her equal. But Aigis, the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon and Persona-user, was her better.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

It galled her to be the first to escalate the fight. Being the first to reveal an ability or skill that could turn the tide of the table was a sign that she was inferior. Someone with the upper hand, someone stronger, would have no need of it after all. But in this case, her opponent was the superior fighter. There was no shame in admitting that.

It would, however, be shameful if she lost now without giving it her all.

And so, heedless, or perhaps uncaring, of the fact that there were fourteen people in the room who would see it, Pyrrha shoved Aigis away forcefully with her shield and immediately focused on the blonde's body.

Metal.

Metal everywhere. Her arms, her legs, her torso, her head. Every single part of her was composed of so much metal. This would be easy.

Her shield arm rose in front of her. And Aigis rose with it, blue eyes wide in surprise.

Pyrrha grinned even wider. Now…

Now the fight can really begin.

* * *

A wall of ice formed in front of her just as another glyph appeared beneath her feet and propelled her to the side just as another explosion ripped apart the wall like it was made of wet paper. But that was fine. Using the explosion as a smokescreen, Weiss formed another glyph to propel her in the direction of the diminutive white beast, changing directions faster than any human could manage normally.

But when she cleared the smoke, there was nobody there. The soft patter of tiny feet was her only warning. She rolled forward just as Koromaru leapt, the knife in his mouth cutting through where her torso had been. Myrtenaster sung through the air, the Dust cartridge triggering and a glyph forming beneath her feet. But before she could execute her attack, Koromaru leapt away, sensing the danger he was in.

At the same time, Weiss back-flipped as another attack from the larger black beast went off. Still in mid-air, the force of the explosion knocked her back further than expected. All the same, she landed on her feet as though she had planned it.

She could now understand why Mitsuru had said not to hold back. Perhaps it was his sharp instincts as an animal, but whatever the reason was, Koromaru was surprisingly adept at combat. But had it been just him, Weiss would have taken him out of the fight within the first minute or two of fight, just as she had planned.

' _Dust damn it all, how was I supposed to know that a DOG could have a Persona?'_ Again and again, that thought along with similar ones dominated the heiress's mind. It was completely mindboggling. Had she not been in a fight, she would still be gaping at it, completely slack-jawed and her mind self-destructing as it tried and failed to process the fact that a Dust-damned dog, A DOG, had a Persona. A Semblance.

' _First a robot, now a dog. What next, the White Fang having a change of heart and turning themselves in? Or maybe the Grimm sending an envoy wishing for peaceful coexistence?'_

She hastily dodged as flames erupted around her once more, then dodged once more as Koromaru leapt past her with his knife just barely missing. The timing was getting closer and closer. Either Koromaru was getting better at coordinating his attacks with his Persona, or she was getting too distracted. Both perhaps.

She tightened her grip on Myrtenaster and took a deep breath. She had been holding back since she didn't want to hurt Koromaru. But that didn't mean she had to hold back the entire time. After all, she had one target that she could fight with all her might.

She parried the knife as the albino dog leapt towards her once more, thrusting downwards towards his exposed flank. Koromaru simply leapt away. As expected. A glyph formed where she struck followed by Dust flowing down the length of her blade. A measured combination of water and wind Dust for her favored element.

Ice.

Just like the first time, a sheet of ice covered her half of the training area in less than two seconds. She saw Koromaru stumble a bit before regaining his balance. But that wasn't what she was waiting for. She leapt back instinctively, watching as numerous explosions ripped through the area and destroyed the ice in just as little time as it took it to form.

She raised her hand and eight glyphs appeared in front of her forming two parallel horizontal lines of four glyphs each, all aimed at her target. She triggered the Dust release and swung Myrtenaster through all four in a wide sweeping arc. A massive spear of ice shot out from the center of each glyph from the back row, accelerating as they passed through the second front row of glyphs and crossing the distance between her and her target in barely a second.

She didn't know whether it was by Koromaru's command, or if the Persona was sentient enough to react quickly – Weiss resolved to ask about that later on – but two of the spears were destroyed along the way by an explosion of flames. The third struck the canine Persona head-on, while the fourth passed through the dissipating body.

But while this was happening, Weiss was already on the move. She approached Koromaru swiftly, aided by several glyphs. She didn't know how he summoned his Persona. Her best guess was the collar, followed by the possibility of an implanted Evoker of sorts. Either way, she had no way of disarming him like she could any of the others. As such, she would just have to stop him directly.

Koromaru dodged her first thrust of her rapier by leaping to the side. But, again, that played right into her plans. She had purposely aimed just a little to the left, making it more likely that he would move in the opposite direction. And now he stood right where some fragments of ice were still scattered on the ground, remnants of the many walls she had erected that he had subsequently destroyed shortly after.

Had his Persona used the lower-tiered attacks, flames rather than explosions, then those chunks of ice would have melted rather than shattered. As disorienting as it had been to be at the center of a chain of explosions, the long-term result turned out better for her.

A flick of her thumb had the Dust cylinder inside Myrtenaster rotate, changing the Dust that would be released. She swung one more, bringing her rapier down vertically despite Koromaru not being in range. As she did, fine red Dust poured out from the base of Myrtenaster, running down the blade and flying off in a wide arc, bursting into flames as she channeled her Aura through the blade to activate the Dust as it left the chamber.

Weiss grinned as Koromaru remained in place, the wave of fire passing to his right. She swung again, aiming to his left this time. Then she repeated this action once more on each side. The fire made contact with all the ice, rapidly melting them and causing large puddles to form. The second wave of fire heated the water, boiling it and causing it to turn into steam in just a few seconds.

She didn't know when he would summon his Persona again so she would have to act quickly. She reached deep within her and called forth a massive glyph, one of the largest she had formed to date. It was easily fifteen feet across, if not twenty. She rotated the Dust cylinder once again and reversed her grip on Myrtenaster. With a victorious grin, she stabbed the blade down just as ice Dust flowed out.

Reversing the earlier process, the steam quickly condensed, cooling into water and rapidly freezing, aided by the Dust, and its form manipulated by the glyph. Within two seconds, a massive dome of ice was erected before her, Koromaru encased in the center.

She stood there for one second. Then two. Then three. When a full five seconds had passed, she nodded, her grin growing wider once she was certain that he would not escape.

She turned around, ready to run to Pyrrha's aid, when something flew past her and crashed into the dome of ice, the wind from the object's passing whipping her clothes due to its speed. When she turned around, she found Aigis pushing herself off the floor and settling into a stance once more.

Weiss leapt back but readied Myrtenaster, knowing that she was no match for the android by herself. She had little to worry about as Pyrrha came to a stand beside her, sword and shield at the ready. There was a wide confident grin on the Mistralian's face as she prepared to face-off against Aigis once more.

"Reassessment complete. It seems I will not be able to win without Athena."

Aigis's words were spoken succinctly and almost coldly. While it still carried a hint of emotion, her manner of speaking had become robotic, mechanical. Weiss was only slightly surprised that she was no longer keeping up the façade of being human. But more than that, her words sent alarms ringing in her head.

Panic rose up within her as Aigis opened her hand and drew her Evoker, bringing it up to her head. "No!" She cried out and leaned forward, ready to charge in. But she knew she wouldn't make it. All that was left was to pull the trigger and Athena would come, making the battle that much more difficult.

Then, to her surprise, Aigis's arm shot out to the side, forcefully enough to throw the android off-balance. The Evoker flew from her hand, clattering to the ground and sliding to a stop just before the hard-light walls. Aigis regained her balance quickly and her cold blue eyes turned to the redhead beside Weiss.

Weiss followed suit and turned to Pyrrha, whose shield arm was outstretched in the same direction that the Evoker had flown to. Had that been Pyrrha's doing? Was that her Semblance? Telekinesis perhaps?

"What now, Aigis?" Pyrrha's words were sharp, but the grin didn't leave her face.

Seeing this, however, brought a grin to Weiss's face as well. Koromaru was frozen in a massive block of ice. Aigis had lost her Evoker. And the fact that she had been sent flying earlier was evidence that Pyrrha was more than a match for Aigis even though the android was no longer holding back. Perhaps Pyrrha had been holding back as well.

Weiss's own grin grew just a bit more smug. Victory was at hand.

* * *

She had seen far more terrifying things than the beast before her.

She was going to hold her ground and fight back.

She wasn't going to run.

Six yellow eyes glowed as the space around it burst into flames once more.

…

The beast before her was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen.

She was going to slowly move away and retreat.

She was going to run.

At least, that's what Blake wanted to do.

Unlike earlier when Koromaru's bark had caused her to flee in a panic, that ghastly howl from his Persona petrified her in her seat. If she hadn't already been sitting down on the bench, Blake was certain she would have fallen over as control over her body disappeared completely. And given that everyone else was standing closer to the training area to get a better view of the fight, she would have fallen flat on her back. Or her face.

Her breath came in erratic, staggered waves, and it was all she could do to hold back the scream that had been building up in the back of her throat ever since that… that… that demon appeared.

There was no other way to describe it. Black as night, glowing yellow eyes, sharp carnivorous teeth, able to call forth flames on a whim, if that wasn't a demon then nothing in the world could qualify as one.

This was it. This was why she had been so afraid of Koromaru when no other canine, not even the fiercest of wolves, had ever provoked such a reaction from her.

Dogs were easily domesticated, and even the strays were only dangerous when bothered. Usually. Wolves were fierce predators, easily driven off when one knew how, but predators nonetheless. Beowolves were even worse, but her instincts registered them as a danger in general rather than a canine, despite their appearance. Koromaru… Koromaru was above all that. An apex predator. No. He was above even those.

A predator of even apex predators. An Alpha among Alphas.

It was why her faunus instincts went crazy whenever she was near him. They weren't trying to caution her _just_ because he was a dog. They had been trying to warn her of the danger he posed. Trying to warn her to either stay away, or not to do anything stupid if she _couldn't_ stay away.

Still, he was a dog. She had seen for herself just how well behaved he was.

She had even heard other students in their dorm building talking about him. Some had expected him to be running around making a mess of things, clawing or gnawing on anything he could get his paws and jaws on. Others expected to one day step on his… waste, right as they stepped out of their dorm rooms. A few thought he would be keeping them up at night, barking and howling at anything and everything that moved in the dead of the night.

But none of those had come true. Koromaru only played with and ate what was offered to him. Koromaru always did his business outside. Since Akihiko and Ken had been the ones to volunteer to house him, they always made sure that Koromaru was outdoors whenever they were just to be safe.

She wasn't sure if Koromaru was noisy at night, the rooms were virtually soundproof save for when the windows were open, but since neither Ren nor Nora complained – Blake was certain Nora would be incredibly vocal about it too – then she could assume that Koromaru was just as well-behaved at night.

All-in-all, Koromaru was the ideal pet. Playful, friendly, disciplined, and more. He was everything one could ask for in any pet. But he wasn't just a pet, was he?

The armband on his foreleg said it all. He was a member of SEES, a group who fought against the Grimm when their land's Huntsmen and Huntresses – Mitsuru never did say what they were called in Japan – were unable to aid a certain area for whatever reason. SEES's jurisdiction was Iwatodai, the city they were based in. And there, Koromaru hunted the Grimm with his Persona just like the other members of SEES.

On that note, how does a dog, of all things, even have a Persona? Aigis she could, somewhat, understand. She had been created for that specific purpose after all. Atlas has yet to create an android that could generate Aura or Semblance, but Japan might have found something in their study of Personas that made it possible. But a dog? Really?

Blake would have shaken her head if she wasn't still frozen in fear. Never mind the Persona. Focus on the fact that she now knew why a dog, a small dog barely a foot-and-a-half tall, kept setting off every alarm in her head.

Now the only question was, what was she going to do about it beyond avoiding the danger?

"Woah!"

"What the hell?!"

"THAT'S SO COOL!"

Various cries of excitement and confusion drew her eyes and attention back to the fight. It didn't take her long to find the source of everyone's excitement. Pyrrha, standing with her right arm stretched out in front of her. Aigis, hovering over the ground by at least two feet.

The rational part of her mind that had been scared stiff by the canine Persona returned and she immediately began to assess the situation. It helped that the demon hound from hell was no longer in sight for whatever reason. There was no doubt that it was Pyrrha's Semblance at work. The question now was, what exactly was it? Telekinesis was the first and obvious choice. But, again, instinct told her there was something else to it.

Before she could consider it further, Pyrrha flung her arm violently to the left. Aigis followed the motion and was thrown through the air, crashing into a dome of ice that… Was that Koromaru inside it? When had that happened? At least that explained the missing demon.

Whatever the reason, it looked like the fight was winding down now. With Koromaru indisposed, it would only be a matter of time before Pyrrha and Weiss took down Aigis. And Persona or no, Aigis had little defense against Pyrrha's Semblance, especially if she was able to lift Aigis up that easily and throw her aside.

Blake watched as Aigis drew her Evoker and place the barrel against the side of her head. Unfortunately, Pyrrha didn't hesitate to wrench it out of her hand and throw to the far side of the training area.

That was it. It was over.

* * *

Pyrrha steadied her breathing as she approached Aigis, watching for any sudden movements as the blonde picked herself up after smashing into a dome of ice that hadn't been there earlier. Sparing it a glance, she noted the white form of Koromaru inside. It seems that Weiss had been able to remove him from the fight after all.

Strangely, that sent a wave of disappointment through her.

No. It wasn't strange at all. She knew why she was disappointed. Without Koromaru to keep Weiss busy, Pyrrha would no longer be able to continue her duel with Aigis. Though she had now revealed her Semblance, a part of her felt that Aigis would still have some answer to it. Some manner by which she could emerge victorious even though she would not be able to approach any longer. Or even move, if Pyrrha so willed it.

When Aigis drew her Evoker and began to raise it to her head, the champion found herself conflicted.

Did she allow it? Did she dare let Aigis summon her Persona, Athena? If she allowed it, then perhaps she could continue her duel. But… no, that would not be a proper duel then. She had her Semblance, Polarity. If she allowed Aigis to summon Athena only for Weiss to keep it busy then her desire for a proper challenge would go unfulfilled as it would mean Aigis would face her and her Semblance without her own.

But if she stopped Aigis from calling forth Athena, then the fight would end in short order. Despite the unexpected surge in skill and ferocity, Pyrrha could simply hold her up in the air, arms pointed away from them to prevent the android from shooting them. While held in that manner, Weiss could freeze her to end the fight in their favor.

Either way, her desire would go unfulfilled. She would once again be bereft of a proper opponent by which she could test the limits of her abilities.

Then again…

Pyrrha allowed the grin to slip onto her face at the thought that came to mind. Yes, that could work. Moreover, it would satisfy her personal need to keep using her Semblance now that she had openly begun use the full extent of her abilities. To hold back once more after unleashing more of her strength. Such a thing went against everything she had learned. If she went all-out, she would continue to fight all-out until the fight ended.

Even against an opponent who was already at a disadvantage.

And so, with that thought in mind, she forcefully wrenched the Evoker out of Aigis's hands, throwing it as far away as she possibly could. She could feel Weiss's tension dissipate a great deal even though she kept her guard up. They had won. That was what the shorter girl next to her was thinking.

It was almost a shame to burst that wonderful little bubble of hers.

Pyrrha locked eyes with the mechanical maiden, putting on a challenging grin. She hoped the few seconds she was giving her was enough for Aigis to come up with some sort of plan to either overcome her Semblance, or regain her Evoker to summon her Persona. "What now, Aigis?"

Pyrrha asked a question.

Someone answered.

Shards of glass appeared and began circling the area above the ice dome, followed by the appearance of bluish-white light. Someone was summoning a Persona.

"What!?"

Weiss's screech was drowned out by the howl as the three-headed hellhound that was Koromaru's Persona appeared. The howl was followed by flames bursting forth around it. Within seconds, the prison of ice that held its master was nothing more than a massive puddle that spread out across the training area's floor.

"Oh, of all the…" Pyrrha tuned out Weiss's complaints. Such things were useless in a battle.

Koromaru shook off as much water as he could from his fur before walking up to stand beside Aigis, growling menacingly in Weiss's direction. Clearly he hadn't taken being frozen very well. Or perhaps it was because escaping resulted in him being soaked in water. Either way, it looked like Weiss would be too busy to help her with Aigis.

If she had known that he would escape, then she wouldn't have thrown away Aigis's Evoker. Especially since she wouldn't just let Aigis pick it up now. Not without a fight at least.

Beside her, Weiss regained her composure and sighed. "At least we only have to deal with one Persona," she muttered softly, just barely audible to Pyrrha's ears.

But as though she had heard the heiress's words, Aigis spoke up next. "Summoning Persona."

"What!?"

While she would not have displayed it in such a boisterous manner, Pyrrha was just as shocked as the heiress when the familiar sound of shattering glass reached their ears. The grin on her face grew wider, threatening to split her face in two, when she saw light form above Aigis's head and take shape into the spear-wielding form of Athena.

It wasn't exactly how she planned on getting Aigis to summon her Persona, but one way was good as the other. Though in hindsight, she should have expected that she was capable of summoning Athena without an Evoker. Especially after seeing Koromaru do the same.

She most likely had an Evoker built into her systems. After all, she was a machine. And her creators would want her to be as efficient as possible. Using an Evoker like the others was far from efficient. Yes, she definitely should have expected this.

She didn't know how low Weiss's Aura had gotten while fighting Koromaru and his Persona, but Pyrrha's was still full, though not without great effort to keep it that way. Whatever they did, they would have to be careful. If Weiss was knocked out, then Pyrrha would stand little chance against four opponents when one of them was Aigis.

"Athena." Just that one word caused Pyrrha to tense. Yet she couldn't suppress the excitement building up inside her. Just how would Aigis start off? "Matar-"

A loud buzzer rang throughout the entire room. Then the transparent blue walls faded away.

All the tension and excitement left Pyrrha's body in that instant, replaced by a mixture of disappointment and anger. She didn't even notice as the two Personas disappeared and Aigis calmly went to retrieve her Evoker as though the fight hadn't been interrupted.

What happened? If Weiss's Aura had gone too low then they should have been alerted the moment it happened. Even if it was a delayed reaction, which meant the system needed to be thoroughly checked, then the walls should not have gone down like it did since Pyrrha's Aura was still full. So why? Why had the fight stopped?

Hearing the sound of footsteps approach, she turned to face whoever was approaching, ready to demand some answers.

It was Mitsuru who approached them, an apologetic look on her face. Behind her, Pyrrha could see the awed and impressed looks on everybody else's faces. "I apologize for ending the fight prematurely. In all the excitement, I had forgotten what the staff told me earlier. They will be performing maintenance on the training rooms from noon onwards. We'll need to vacate soon since they will be beginning shortly. Moreover…"

At that moment, a loud growl reached their ears. Weiss turned to the source, her face displaying her shock. Koromaru did the same, but his expression and posture was more of curiosity. Pyrrha looked absolutely mortified. "Yes, that," was all Mitsuru said, the smile on her face looking positively amused.

Pyrrha just looked down with a deep frown as though to scold her stomach for that embarrassing display, the blush on her face growing hotter. _'At least not everybody heard it.'_

* * *

"YOU WERE CHEATING?!"

Yang shout was, thankfully, contained by the dorm room's soundproofing. Who knows just how her words might have been understood, or misunderstood, had anybody else heard them?

After eating lunch, Mitsuru asked everyone to gather at Team KYBT's dorm room as she had something she wanted to let them all know about that day's training session. None of them expected the bombshell she had dropped on them though.

"Geez, you gotta speak up louder Yang," Junpei threw in, taking his hands off his ears. Though the soundproofing kept outsiders from hearing the shout, the small room meant the volume was amplified as it was contained. "I don't think the rest of the world can hear ya."

"Since there were technically no rules, you can't really consider it cheating though," said Akihiko, grinning as he and SEES watched their teammates' reactions to Mitsuru's news.

Yang was the only one to vocally respond, but they could all see that there were mixed feelings on what they were just told. Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, and Ren were the more understanding of the group. They seemed to realize just why SEES did what they did. Yang didn't necessarily disapprove, but the news certainly came as a shock. Nora… looked excited for some reason. Akihiko resolved to let Ren handle that one. Ruby looked a little confused for some reason, as did Jaune.

"Allow me to reiterate to see if I understand," said Weiss, turning to Fuuka with a serious expression. "Your role in SEES is not just to keep an eye on the enemy and acting as a communication hub, but also to analyze your opponents?"

Fuuka nodded. "That's right."

"And by analyzing them, you can get a rough idea of their strengths, weaknesses, and even their capabilities?" Again Fuuka nodded. "During the fight earlier, you were actually communicating with them," Weiss waved her hand in the direction of SEES, "And helping them against us?" Another nod. "And you've been doing this ever since you arrived here?"

At that question, the teal-haired girl shook her head. "My abilities and my range are limited unless I summon Juno, though the limits vary depending on the ability. For example, even without summoning Juno I was able to connect with everyone during the initiation to guide them and even detect the Grimm in the area. Normally I can detect Grimm that way without any drawbacks. Since I was focusing on both detection and communication, however, I couldn't consciously control my body at the same time, which left me exposed."

"So _that's_ how you guys managed to partner up with each other." Surprisingly, it was Nora who made that observation. "I was wondering how you guys managed to do that. I mean, I had to hide from six different people when I was looking for Ren. One of them started chasing me but I managed to get away. Then a lot of Grimm got in the way. And then I finally found Ren when I used our super secret signal, then I booped him, and then we became partners."

"Yes, that's what we did." Fuuka had learned not too long ago that Nora was prone to going off on a tangent. Usually the best thing to do was listen to the first two or three things she said as those were the most likely to be connected to the actual conversation. Everything else _might_ not be directly related any longer. Or even slightly related.

"Or did we become partners, _then_ I booped him? I can't really remember which came first. Ren, do you remember?" Ren sighed then motioned for Fuuka to go on while he addressed Nora's question.

Nodding in thanks, Fuuka turned back to Weiss to continue her explanation. "As for my other abilities, actively analyzing someone or something needs to be done up close unless I summon Juno. But the information I can gather without Juno is very limited, so it's best for me to summon Juno if I want to be able to properly analyze anything."

"How about now?" asked Ruby, leaning forward in her seat towards Fuuka. "What can you pick up from me?"

Fuuka only gave her a quick glance before answering. "At the moment, all I can tell is that your Aura is still at about eighty percent. Earlier, during the fight, I could tell when you were going to use your Semblance since I had Juno to help me."

"That's still so cool!"

Fuuka's words, however, reminded Yang of what she and Mitsuru had spoken about earlier. "Wait. Mitsuru, is this how you figured out my Semblance?"

"Yes, and no," she answered with a shake of her head. Then she glanced at all the Aura-users, addressing them all at once. "If it wasn't obvious yet, then yes, Fuuka can detect and analyze one's Semblance _when_ it is in use and, as she said, just prior to someone using it. As such, she now knows the Semblance of anyone who used it in the training matches earlier."

She then raised a single hand up, forestalling anything they might have had to say about it. "However, she has not disclosed this to any of us and it shall remain that way for those of us who do not yet know."

"What about you?" asked Yang, a faint tone of accusation in her words. "If Fuuka was the one to figure it out, then how did _you_ know what mine was?"

Whether she noticed or was affected by her teammate's veiled accusation, Mitsuru didn't show it outwardly. "Artemisia possesses limited scanning capabilities. Prior to Fuuka joining SEES, I was the one who provided support to the team, though my range is significantly smaller even when Artemisia is summoned. Seeing as I was next to you almost the entire time, I had little difficulty analyzing you during those brief moments that I was not engaging you directly."

Yang looked into Mitsuru's eyes briefly, searching for any signs that the redhead was lying, before nodding in acceptance. She already knew that Mitsuru was telling the truth. She had no evidence of such, save for a gut feeling, but she trusted her instincts. Especially in cases where she could not work things out logically.

"I take it then that you already knew about mine even before today since we've fought before." Pyrrha said to Fuuka. They had fought one another before, after all, so it was possible that she had detected her use of Semblance during that time.

Surprisingly, Fuuka gave a minute shake of her head. "Not entirely, no. It's even harder for me to use Juno's abilities _while_ I'm fighting. At best, I could tell where everything is without looking. But anything more than that would cause me to lose focus on the fight. It wasn't until today that I knew exactly what your Semblance was."

"Wait, isn't it just telekinesis?" Yukari asked. "Like Professor Goodwitch?"

Fuuka turned to Pyrrha, as though wondering if she should say anything. Pyrrha shook her head in response but then turned to Yukari. "While not unheard of, people having the same Semblance is still fairly rare. But to answer your question, my Semblance is Polarity."

"Huh?" came Ruby's confused voice. "But… you picked up Aigis and threw her. What does that have to do with poles?"

Next to Ruby, Weiss groaned in annoyance. "Polarity, you dunce. As in magnetism?"

In response to her words, however, Yang growled from Ruby's other side. "Hey, watch it Ice Queen."

Weiss opened her mouth to retort but seemed to think better of it. Instead, she huffed and looked away from the blonde and her sister. She knew how to pick her battles. This was not one where she would come out victorious.

Seeing them settle down, Pyrrha decided to answer Ruby's question in a kinder manner. "My Semblance allows me to control magnetic forces. By doing so, I can manipulate any magnetic object."

"So… if the fight continued then you would have won against Aigis?" asked Jaune, glancing between his partner and the blonde that she had been facing not too long ago.

Much to his surprise, both Pyrrha _and_ Weiss shook their heads. "I case you didn't notice," Weiss began sharply, "Aigis could summon her Persona without an Evoker. If Pyrrha held her in place, Aigis's Persona could simply attack Pyrrha to disrupt her focus."

"Couldn't she just hold the Persona in place then?" Jaune asked in turn, looking a bit nervous as he spoke with the heiress despite the point he had made. "I mean, it's made of metal too, right?"

Before Weiss could respond, Jaune's partner beat her to the punch. "It's not, actually," answered Pyrrha with a shake of her head. "I tested my Semblance on their Personas the day of the initiation. Despite their appearances, their Personas aren't made of metal. Though I suppose it's because they came from within and are not made by human hands. If I had to fight Athena, I would have to do it with my own abilities without relying on my Semblance."

"Ah, that reminds me. Mitsuru?" Said redhead turned to the Schnee heiress upon being addressed. "Are Personas sentient? Can they act without being told what to do?"

Seven pairs of eyes joined Weiss's as they turned to the leader of SEES for an answer. The question was not one they had considered, but it was an interesting point to consider. Did the members of SEES control every act that their Personas made? Were the Personas free to act as they pleased when not obeying a command? Or was it somewhere in the middle?

Their curiosity grew when Mitsuru frowned and looked down. "To be honest, I do not know the exact answer to that question. Nor is it as easy as performing tests to determine the truth. The most likely answer is that, even without consciously commanding them verbally or mentally, their connection to us allows them access to our subconscious thoughts, acting on our plans and ideas as though we had commanded them."

"There have been times when I did not need to tell Artemisia what to do since she was already enacting my plan. Even improvised plans were put into motion without delay as though we had discussed it beforehand."

While the answer seemed to satisfy most of them, Weiss found a small flaw in her words. "Isn't that evidence enough then?" she asked. "It seems to me that they aren't sentient. Merely connected to you on such an intimate level that you need not speak or think directly to them to make your desires known."

But despite her words, Mitsuru shook her head. "If that were true, then our Personas would not be able to disobey us. Correct?" Curious as to where this was leading, Weiss nodded. "If that were the case, then what of the instances where a Persona manifests itself to attempt to kill its summoner?"

At first, none of them could imagine such a thing. None of them could comprehend how their Personas, their Semblance, could turn on them like that. Then some of them remembered that this wasn't the first time Mitsuru mentioned such a thing.

Nearly two months ago, when SEES first explained their Personas to their teams and the Headmaster, she had mentioned the possibility that a Persona could go on a rampage, possibly even attacking and killing the summoner. This was, however, the first time she mentioned a Persona summoning itself to do so.

It was a grim reminder of just how different a Persona was to Semblance.

A Semblance was just another ability that one gained, much like swordsmanship or marksmanship. And just like the latter two, one needed to train with their Semblance in order to become more proficient at it. How powerful a Semblance could potentially become was, ultimately, up to the person who used it.

A Persona, however, was more like having a partner that you could call to your side at any time. You could call upon them when necessary to fight alongside you. Perhaps even fight the entire battle for you. But hearing this, it was less of a partner and more of an ally. An ally which could turn on you and literally stab you in the back when you least expected it.

Nobody noticed Chidori raise a hand to her neck.

"But how is that even possible?" asked Ren, his face scrunched up in thought with his fist just below his lip. "If your Persona is the equivalent of our Semblance, then it's a part of your very soul. How could something like that turn against you?"

Mitsuru shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed. "We don't know."

It wasn't entirely a lie. Strega and the others whom Ikutsuki had experimented on had been the ones to face such a scenario. In those cases, it was because their Personas were artificially awakened that the Personas turned against them. Research notes the Kirijo group found among Ikutsuki's files after his death mentioned that none of them could control their Personas completely. He had concluded afterwards that only a naturally awakened Persona could be controlled properly by its summoner.

The sole exception was Shinji. Despite having awakened his power naturally, he was unable to control his Persona. While they didn't know for certain if it had ever attempted to kill him, the simple truth was that Castor had turned against him.

Deciding to switch to a less serious topic, Junpei turned to Aigis. "So Ai-chan," he began a cheerfully as he could naturally manage, "How's it feel to cut loose? Been a while since you fought like that after all. Heck, now that I think about it, the last time we fought like that was before coming here."

"Huh? But you guys use your Personas against each other, right?" Jaune asked his team leader.

In return, Junpei shrugged. "Yeah, but we still gotta be careful and all. Can't exactly blow up everything I see when we don't have Aura."

As always, Yukari had something to say about it. "Says Stupei, the guy who blew himself up."

"Gimme a break Yuka-tan. I almost won, didn't I?"

" _Almost_. When a plan like that works, it's called genius. When it doesn't, and yours definitely didn't, it's just stupid. And what's with that stupid, childish nickname?!"

"What?" Junpei just grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "You didn't like it when I call you Yukaricchi so I thought I'd change it up a bit. How about Yuka-chin then?"

"You-"

Junpei was saved from another tongue lashing when Nora's voice was heard over the commotion. "Hey, Ren? Is that what they mean by arguing like a married couple?"

"WHAT?!"

Two voices shouted in response to the innocent question. Everyone else roared in laughter while the 'couple' in question sputtered out denials. Chidori's question certainly didn't make things any easier for the two.

"Oh? I didn't think you'd try to steal him from me, Yukari-san. Or that you'd try to cheat on me, Junpei-kun."

The renewed denials and laughter shook the room. Even Mitsuru was struggling to maintain her image, one arm around her abdomen while her other hand was curled into a fist in front of her mouth to keep herself from laughing boisterously.

But amidst all that laughter, a single pair of blue eyes watched on, saddened and envious. And in turn, another pair of blue eyes saw this and grew sad as well.

* * *

Later that night, Aigis stood on the rooftop, gazing up at the moon. It was almost full once more, with only a small shattered portion visible from her vantage point.

Even she was not immune to the troubles that plagued SEES. Though she was a machine, she could not help the uneasiness that grew as the full moon drew near. Nor could she ignore the restlessness inside her whenever that night came.

In less than a week, it will have been a year since the day they defeated the twelfth and, supposedly, final Arcana Shadow. But to Aigis, that was not what was important to her. That same memory brought to mind the events of the following night. And while SEES had long since forgiven her, she found herself feeling guilty once more as the anniversary of that night approached. The night when she-

The sound of the door being opened interrupted her thoughts. Perhaps for the better. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Aigis."

"You are welcome," she replied, turning around to face the one who had called her up to the roof. "Though, I am curious as to why you wished to meet like this, Pyrrha."

The red-haired girl closed the distance between them and moved to stand beside Aigis, facing away from the dorm and towards the looming silhouette of Beacon Tower. The shorter blonde turned around as well so they were facing the same direction. "I… wanted to talk to you about the fight earlier."

Aigis cocked her head to the side in question, wondering where this was going. "How did…" Pyrrha paused, as though searching for the right words. "How did you feel? About the fight, I mean."

"Feel?" Aigis considered the question only briefly before responding. "I am satisfied, I suppose. While I was unable to test Athena against you, I was able to gather sufficient combat data during our brief fight. As you are the strongest in our year, I now have a better assessment of where my own abilities stand as well as that of the rest of SEES."

"That's… not exactly what I meant." Aigis felt that Pyrrha was disappointed for some reason. "How did you feel during the fight? Were you… excited, perhaps, at being able to fight at your best? Or dissatisfied by the premature end?"

Excited? Dissatisfied? The latter perhaps, at being unable to fully test her capabilities, as had been the purpose of the fight, but her dissatisfaction was a minor thing as there would be other opportunities in the future. She could not discern the reason behind the questions.

Perhaps her confusion shone through since the tall Mistralian addressed her once more, looking slightly concerned. "Don't you feel thrilled by the prospect of fighting? By testing your skills against someone of equal or perhaps greater skill?" Pyrrha's face looked even more concerned when Aigis shook her head slightly. "No? Not even a little bit?"

"No, I do not," Aigis responded verbally along with another shake of her head. "Why do you ask?"

"It's… I…" Pyrrha seemed to be at a loss for words so Aigis patiently waited for her to find them. "What do you feel when you fight?"

"Purpose," Aigis responded without delay, looking at towards the moon. "I am an Anti-Shadow Weapon. I was created to combat the Shadows. The Grimm. As such, I feel a sense of purpose when I fight them. But at the same time, it is a painful reminder of the truth."

"What truth?"

"That I am a weapon, first and foremost." Aigis shut her eyes, delving deep into her memory and calling upon a specific group of memories. Memories of countless nights running through a dark, seemingly endless corridor, firing dozens, hundreds of bullets at foes of various forms that they encountered. "But one day…"

Aigis raised her left hand and pulled off her glove, revealing the synthetic covering of her hand and her gray-tipped finger-barrels. Though the chamber was empty of bullets, a precaution she had been taking just in case, the tips slid open as though to call attention to them. "One day, weapons like myself will no longer be necessary. And when that day comes…"

She paused briefly to take aim at the moon high above them, the image of Nyx's true form superimposed over it. "… Once I have accomplished my initial duty, then I can allow myself to leave behind the past. Only then can I truly begin to go beyond my original purpose, to live in a manner solely of my own choosing." A click sounded from her hand as she fired, the image of Nyx fading from her eyes as though destroyed by the imaginary shot.

Silence descended upon them as the weight of Aigis's words settled. Once, almost an entire year from her perspective, all she wanted was to live. To be more than what she was. That had not changed. Her words now were simply a confirmation of that desire.

She didn't know what sort of future awaited her. She didn't know with absolute certainty if she had the ability to become something more than what she was. But she knew one thing for certain. She would live. For herself, and for the one who had given her the chance to do so.

A soft laugh came from her left. She lowered her arm and turned to face Pyrrha, who had raised her head to face the sky as well. The laugh sounded almost bitter, but still carried a hint of amusement. "I see. I guess I was wrong. I thought that…"

"Pyrrha?" Aigis prompted when the taller girl's voice faded.

Her voice seemed to snap the redhead out of her distracted state, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I'm sorry. It's nothing. Really."

Though she said that, even Aigis could tell that something was bothering the Mistralian. Her shoulders were slightly slumped, the smile she gave was clearly forced, and her emerald green eyes were dull. "Do you wish to talk about it?" she asked, remembering something she had once been told. "I do not know if I can help, but Fuuka-san once said that, even if all one can do is listen, sometimes it is enough. And if it will help, then I am more than willing to listen."

Pyrrha seemed to consider the offer for a while but seemed conflicted about something. Then she nodded minutely and turned around to sit on the roof's ledge, her back now facing Beacon Tower. She crossed her arms on her thighs and leaned forward, placing her weight over them. Aigis joined her and sat next to her, though she maintained a straight posture with her hands on her thighs.

Pyrrha took her time to begin, gathering her thoughts and preparing herself. This was the first time she had opted to speak of her feelings on fighting. She couldn't deny the disappointment she felt upon hearing that Aigis had not felt the same way, even the slightest bit. But she couldn't hold it against her. Not when she had spoken so earnestly and sincerely.

At the very least, she would show the same courtesy.

And so she shared her story. From the time she entered a combat school, to her first tournament, to her most recent victory, all the way to her entry into Beacon. Anything at all related to the feelings in her heart whenever she fought. Her tale ended with the two fights she had with Aigis, and the feeling of excitement that flowed through her veins and suffused every inch of her body when they clashed blades.

As her tale wound down, Pyrrha wondered what the blonde thought of her now. It was a part of her she had kept hidden for most of her life. Perhaps her tutor knew or suspected, but he had never spoken to her about it or given any hint of his knowledge if he did.

The Kingdom of Mistral was one that placed a great deal of effort into promoting arts and culture in various ways. Whether it was music, literature, fashion, paintings and sculptures, or theatrical displays, anything that could be considered artistic was highly valued. And while many people would not see it as such, martial arts was also seen as an art form, provided one did not merely throw their fists with wild abandon or swing a sword blindly and recklessly. If it wasn't seen as such then the kingdom would not host an annual tournament known the world over.

But it was one thing for someone's skills to grow into an art form. It was, however, another thing entirely to lose themselves in battle like she did during both fights against Aigis. Had she displayed even a hint of that in public, then people would have started comparing her to the lower class citizens, the 'uncultured and uncivilized brutes' who found pleasure in violence. After all, no true Mistralian would ever behave in such an uncivilized manner. Or so they say.

It was why she never voiced her dissatisfaction with the opponents she faced. Doing so would make people question her desire for a stronger opponent.

Even the manner which she used her Semblance was partly a result of their culture. There was nothing artistic, nothing 'beautiful', in simply disarming her opponent by taking their weapons away. But by using only subtle manipulation, she could make her skills appear more impressive than they normally were. Of course, that was only when her opponents managed to catch her off-guard. Something that happened less and less as the years passed.

So what would Aigis, an android from a land with a vastly different culture, think of her? What would she think, not of Pyrrha Nikos the Invincible Girl and four-time champion, but of Pyrrha Nikos the girl who grew to enjoy fighting?

The silence after her tale ended made her more anxious the longer it stretched. It could not have been more the five seconds. And yet each one of those seconds felt agonizingly long as she waited for Aigis's response. And when the blonde's lips parted, her heartbeat sped up even more.

"I cannot say that I understand how you feel." Though Aigis had already said as much earlier, it didn't stop Pyrrha from feeling disheartened all the same. "Nor do I believe I can help you." That much, at least, she had already suspected. "However, you should speak with Akihiko-san on this matter. I believe he may be the best person to speak with on this matter."

Now she was confused. "Akihiko? Why him?"

"Akihiko-san was once the captain of Gekkoukan's boxing team," Aigis explained, delving lightly into her memory banks to pull up what she knew of the silver-haired teen's boxing records. "He joined the middle school boxing team as a freshman, and, with the sole exception of practice matches when he first joined, has never been defeated in the six years that followed. And oftentimes, he is the only one who grows excited at the prospect of fighting."

"Really?" This was the first that Pyrrha had heard of this. Even Junpei, who had spoken of SEES's life in Japan, had only spoken of that first detail. Beyond Akihiko having been captain of the boxing team, all she knew about Akihiko was that he was, in Junpei's words, an exercise junkie. The latter was supported by the sight of him drinking protein shakes regularly as well as having a pair of dumbbells next to his bed. She sometimes also saw him walking around while using "He certainly doesn't seem very excited when he fights. If anything, I'd say he's one of the calmest of you all."

Aigis's response was a bit more somber, the blonde facing forward and down as she spoke. "I believe that began when Shinjiro-san passed away. Shinjiro-san was his best friend. And along with Mitsuru-san, the two of them often scolded Akihiko-san whenever he became excitable prior to a fight."

"I see."

Nothing more needed to be said. Pyrrha remembered very well the photograph of the rough-looking young man inside the casket. The one that she and everyone else had mistaken to be Minato Arisato, SEES's field leader and savior. It was not a long stretch to imagine that Akihiko had learned to temper his excitement after such an event, the weight of his friend's words now much more meaningful after his death.

And if there was one thing the people of Remnant knew very well, it was death and all the pain and suffering that it left in its wake. At the same time, it was that pain and suffering that strengthened those who could find the will to stand once again. Just as Akihiko had clearly done in the wake of his friend's death.

Of course, that same pain and suffering also caused many to falter and fall to the ground, unable or unwilling to move on any longer. That, however, was a completely separate matter.

Pyrrha rose from the ledge, brushing off the seat of her pants as Aigis did the same with her skirt, sensing that the conversation was coming to an end. She turned to the blonde and gave her a deep bow of her head. "Thank you, Aigis."

"You're welcome, Pyrrha. Though I apologize that I could not be of more help."

Pyrrha just gave a soft smile in response. Aigis's habit of apologizing for things that did not need it still surprised her at times. Now especially. Despite not receiving the answer she had hoped for, Aigis had helped her more than enough. First by listening, and now by pointing her to someone who might be able to relate to her issues better.

"Please, Aigis, don't apologize." Her smiled grew just a hint wider when Aigis cocked her head sideways in response. "I may have been disappointed earlier when it became clear that you did not feel the same way I did. But I think that that was just what I needed."

Pyrrha's smile only grew as she left, amused at leaving behind a much confused Aigis staring after her departing form. Before she left through the door leading into the stairwell, she glanced over her shoulder, unable to resist throwing in a few more parting words accompanied by a faintly manic grin.

"I look forward to our next match."

* * *

 **November 1, XX13**

The following Sunday found the four teams with unexpected free time. It was unexpected in that they had expected another Persona testing session since that was what Headmaster Ozpin had told them the previous week before they parted ways.

As it turns out, the Headmaster had forgotten to inform them that the staff's monthly meeting was taking place today. As such, none of them would be available to help. And since nobody wanted to perform any unsupervised testing, their morning hours were now free.

Three members of Team ASYR had chosen to spend that morning in their dorm room. Fuuka wanted to continue learning more about Aigis's systems, which meant another scan of an inactive Aigis, followed by another session where the two of them went over the data.

Lately, however, Aigis's limited knowledge of her own systems was becoming more of a problem. The deeper they delved, the less she knew. In fact, Aigis had been unable to understand nearly a third of what they examined the last time. It had taken them nearly three hours to decipher the remaining two-thirds. Even so, understanding what it meant didn't tell them what it did or how it worked. Just that everything was working the way it was supposed to.

Weiss had debated between staying in the room or going to the library when she heard this. But after some consideration, she decided to stay in the room. Neither were very loud, and she had noticed that they were considerate enough to speak in low volumes whenever they noticed she was reading or studying. That, and it would be a hassle to bring all the materials she wanted to study to the library.

Ruby had gone out with Yang to Vale. She wanted to buy some parts to 'make her baby more awesome' and invited her sister to go with her. Faced with joining Yukari with her plans, or joining Mitsuru and Blake in the library, Yang agreed to accompany her sister. And knowing Yang, the two would spend more time in Vale than originally planned.

The first hour passed in silence. Weiss was reading one of the more advanced books on robotics and programming, and comparing the information in it with the information on her notebook, which contained notes she made yesterday after her discussion with the programmer her sister had asked to help her.

On the table was her Scroll, which now had a program that allowed her to test her programming knowledge. It would provide basic problems which she would be required to write a program for. The first few sets were basic programs, such as those used in most fields that required it, such as mathematical computations or a searching for specific data within a given database. Later problems were the kind she was aiming for, such as programming a robotic limb to perform a given task or to respond to a controller.

Some required her to work with a preexisting code, either by searching for and correcting an error, or studying and finishing an incomplete code. Later, still, she would be working on a mix of all those problems. Fixing faulty and incomplete codes while writing a new set that would integrate with the old ones to add to the existing program.

All in all, she had a fair bit of studying ahead of her if she wanted to complete all the problem sets.

The man she had spoken with did warn her that the application did not necessarily determine one's skill in programming as each problem was only made to help acclimatize a student to the work they would be doing in the future. No matter how good they were at solving those problems, writing multiple codes from scratch to create multiple programs that would co-exist with one another, never mind hundreds or even thousands altogether, was a new world entirely. Not to mention repeatedly testing everything she did to make sure they all worked as intended with each new addition.

Still, he reassured her that it would, at least, give her a taste of what it was like to program something. And that was enough for her. She had no intention of going into the field of robotics. Her only goal, was to-

"Excuse me, Weiss?"

Weiss calmly set down the book, making sure to close it so that her teammate did not see what it was about. "Can I help you with something?" She turned to sit sideways on the chair, her arm coincidentally lying on top of her notebook and, equally coincidentally, covering her notes.

Weiss made sure to keep her tone cordial, despite the interruption into her studies. Unlike with Ruby and Aigis, Weiss had nothing against Fuuka. The older girl, even if only by a single year, had been nothing but polite and considerate to her during the past two months despite their minimal interaction outside of school-related activities.

"I was hoping you could, yes." Fuuka handed her a few sheets of paper, which she accepted with the hand not covering her notes. When Weiss saw what was written on it, she had to clamp down on her emotions before she could let any of them show, even involuntarily. "I wanted to know if you recognized this."

Was that a trick question of some sort? Yes, she recognized what it was but not what it was exactly. Even if she hadn't known what the teal-haired girl had been doing just now, Weiss could have easily deduced what it was. But therein lay the question.

Why had Fuuka come to her? Actually, the answer to that question was clear. Obviously she had found out about Weiss's extracurricular studies. The real question was, how did she find out?

Weiss wasn't too concerned about whether or not Fuuka knew the reason behind her additional studies. For one thing, there were dozens of reasons why someone would be studying robotics and programming. Especially if that person was Atlesian, which she was.

No. It was far more important that she find out just how Fuuka knew. Did she think that it was because Weiss was Atlesian? Because Atlas fielded a robotic army? Did Fuuka perhaps glimpse the contents of the book in passing? Or did she rummage through Weiss's belongings at some point for whatever reason?

The answer would determine how she would proceed from this point on.

"No, I don't," she answered honestly, if a bit stiffly. She recognized it as the results of a diagnostic scan. Specifically, one that determined whether or not a program was running as it should be. What she _didn't_ know was exactly what program it was checking. So technically, it wasn't a lie. "Though, if you don't mind me asking, what made you think I would know what this is?"

"Oh. Did I… make a mistake?" If Fuuka was only acting, then Weiss had to give her credit. She looked completely sincere and honest. "I saw the book you were reading so I thought perhaps you were studying it or were interested in it."

Considering she read one of the many books on robotics nearly every day, it didn't really narrow down the timeframe. And it was definitely suspicious since all of them had book covers to keep the title from being seen. "Which book exactly?" she probed, though she was mindful of her tone. "And when was this?"

"It was the other week, when Ruby… dragged you out of the room to see Jaune after he woke up." She wasn't sure what to make of that pause, but given Fuuka's considerate personality she probably just didn't want to bring up that particular incident given how angry Weiss had been when they returned to the dorm much later. "I noticed that the book had fallen to the floor so I went to bring it back to your desk. I was curious about what you were studying so I took a look."

Weiss took a moment to recall how exactly the book ended up on the floor. When she did, she resisted the urge to palm her face or curse Ruby for startling her.

"I was surprised to see what it was about. Since you never said anything before, I didn't think you were interested in it."

"I…" Weiss paused. She really shouldn't have opened her mouth so soon since that left her less time to consider what she was going to say. Hopefully, Fuuka's Persona's abilities did not extent to detecting half-truths and half-lies. Or even just a lie, in general. "I was hoping to surprise you."

Fuuka blinked. Then blinked again. "Sur… prise me?"

Weiss nodded. "I remember you mentioning that neither you nor even Aigis were knowledgeable in this particular field, even though it is Aigis's own body. Ruby's specialty is weaponry, which might extend to Aigis's actual body, but not the programming inside. So I decided to help in my own way."

"My older sister, Winter, is a Specialist in the Atlesian military. In case you didn't know, a Specialist is what they call those in the military who graduated from a Huntsman Academy," she explained with more than a bit of pride. It _was_ her sister after all. "Since Atlas boasts an entire army of androids, I thought about introducing you to her and, through her, someone in the military who could help you."

"But I realized that they would most likely do a background check on you before they even considered helping you. Given where you are from, that wouldn't end in your favor. But as the Schnee heiress and Winter's sister, it would be easier if they only thought they would be helping me." Left unsaid was the fact that they knew she was doing this to help someone, even though all they knew about said 'someone' was that they were Weiss's teammate.

By now, Fuuka's eyes were wide in awe and wonder. And when she spoke, her eyes traveled to the shelf above the heiress's desk, her voice filled with that same awe. "So you… you decided to study all of that by yourself?" 'That' referred to the books that were neatly arranged on the shelf above Weiss's desk. About a third of them had the same book cover as the one on the desk, which was most likely how Fuuka realized their contents. "For us?"

Weiss just nodded, but inwardly was a little surprised at how quickly the teal-haired girl realized that all those books were about the same topic. "Why else would I study this?"

"Th-thank you! But… are you sure?" Wide green-blue eyes turned back to face her, awe and gratitude giving way to concern. "Isn't it difficult studying all this on top of your regular studies?"

The heiress just scoffed at that notion. "Not that she's a complete dolt, but if it were Ruby then yes, it would be. For me, however, this is nothing. As I said, I was hoping to surprise you both at a later time when I learned more. But since you've already found out about it, I suppose we could both progress faster if we worked together."

"Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you Weiss." Fuuka gave her a fairly low bow. "I promise, I'll make it up to you."

"Don't worry about it. We're… teammates aren't we?" She wasn't entirely sure why she paused. Hopefully Fuuka wouldn't question it as she would have no answer to give. "Here."

Weiss rose from her seat and stood on her toes to pull down some of the books from the shelf, inwardly cursing her less than ideal stature. Since she was already wearing heels, rising up to her toes didn't add much more to her current height but it was enough for her fingers to slip between the books and pull out the first few on the right.

"I don't know how much you already know, considering the way you started learning, but these books should help you get started on the basics." She set the books down on the desk in a neat stack as she pulled them off the shelf. "Though I suspect that between you and Aigis it won't take long before you catch up to me. At least in terms of formal knowledge. I'm fairly certain you're both ahead of me in terms of practical knowledge."

Again, Fuuka's eyes widened. Only this time, it wasn't in awe but rather remembrance. "Oh, that's right. I should go wake Aigis and let her know."

Weiss nodded and sat back down after pulling out the necessary books. "You do that."

Blue eyes followed the petite girl – a thought that would never cease to bring her joy even though they were more or less the same height and build – as she went to wake her partner from her inactive state. Revealing her newfound knowledge had certainly happened sooner than she expected, but perhaps this way she would find her answers sooner as well. After that… well…

She'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

* * *

A redhead sitting in front of one of the library's many terminals leaned back into her seat, shutting the notebook on the desk in front of her with a satisfied sigh. Next to her, her black-haired companion watched with a sense of satisfaction equal to, perhaps even greater than, what the redhead was feeling.

Mitsuru and Blake have been spending several hours each week on their faunus research ever since the former requested the latter's help nearly two months ago. Since then, Blake had brought Mitsuru various reference materials on the subject. Some came from Beacon's library, others were books that belonged to Blake, and a few were some that Mitsuru bought on Blake's recommendation.

The latter two were, in Mitsuru's opinion, the more valuable sources of information.

Most of those books were written by faunus and were intended to help their fellow faunus understand their waning culture better. And as sad as it was, the culture truly was beginning to fade when it came to a lot of faunus.

It was fairly well-known that Menagerie, the large landmass to the southeast, was inhabited strictly by faunus. For a multitude of reasons, not all of them discriminatory in nature, very few humans ever set foot on that island, let alone choose to live there.

Blake once explained that life in Menagerie was fairly difficult. Despite its size, most of the island was uninhabitable. A desert that was harsher and far more dangerous than Vacuo's on the western end of the continent of Sanus. And so, all the faunus living there had to live in a relatively small corner of the island. It was cramped, but necessity had driven them all to live a highly cooperative lifestyle in order to survive.

Despite having an island of their own, the majority of the faunus population still lived on the other continents. One of the main reasons was that Menagerie couldn't hold all the faunus. Not without venturing into dangerous territory that they would not be able to defend.

Various other reasons existed, of course. There were those who wanted to try bridging the gap between humans and faunus. The younger generation were unwilling to remain on a, relatively, tiny island. Some were willing to brave the discrimination if it meant going out into a bigger world. Some did it specifically to show that discrimination wouldn't cow them into submission. Others had little choice, having no way to travel to Menagerie. Even if they did, many of the older faunus were aware that life there was not necessarily better just because they were amongst other faunus.

But much of the younger generation, those who have never set foot on Menagerie's soil, knew little of the faunus community in the southeast. And it was for them that the books had been written.

Faunus culture was slowly dying. That was a fact that Mitsuru had come to realize at some point in her research. And if even she, a human, could realize that, then there was no doubt in her mind that the faunus, at least those that cared, realized it as well.

Perhaps it was simply the test of time. After all, many traditions have either changed or have been lost over the centuries and millennia. This may very well be a time when certain cultures and traditions are tested by the changes the world is experiencing.

Or perhaps it was the possibility that many no longer cared to preserve their own traditions for a multitude of reasons, such as wanting to avoid discrimination. And if faunus culture made them a target of such acts, then perhaps adopting the culture of humans would, at the very least, lessen such discrimination. If they could show that they, too, could do as the humans do, then perhaps humans would start to see them more as equals.

It wasn't necessarily wrong, but every plan had its ups and downs, its costs and rewards. It was only a matter of each person's preferences whether the cost of an act was worth the possible payout. Like most things in life, such things were a gamble. The only difference was whether the odds were for you or against you.

But the true treasure of the books that Blake had recommended, however, were the books on faunus culture written by humans. Given the discrimination, it was surprising to Mitsuru that Blake not only owned a few such books, but that she had been able to procure a few others with relative ease. Mitsuru had offered to pay for the additional, just like every other time Blake returned with a new book for her research, but Blake declined, just like every other time.

"I would have bought them anyway if I came across them at some point. Looking for them to help with your research just made me buy them sooner."

The books revealed nothing new about faunus culture that she had not already seen in the faunus-authored books. That was a given, since the books were written by humans and, as a result, was understandably less detailed. What Mitsuru placed more value on, however, was how the authors perceived faunus culture. It went a long way in helping her understand how faunus culture was perceived by those who have learned of it.

As expected, faunus culture was received differently.

Some books were written by those wishing to co-exist, hoping that showing how the faunus were just as cultured as humans, albeit in a different manner, would slowly close the gap by bringing about understanding. Some wanted to reveal just how 'uncivilized' faunus were by pointing out how unhuman-like their culture was. Or how beast-like they were. Two of the eight books were completely neutral, simply stating the facts as well as they could without judgment.

Further research showed that, asides from the books that denounced faunus culture, the rest were banned not long after they were published. Those responsible for writing and publishing them were censured for attempting to spread falsehoods. After all, there was simply no way that beasts could have a 'proper' and 'civilized' culture.

"So what will you do will all of this?" Blake asked, waving a hand to the notebook on the table. It was one of three notebooks that Mitsuru had filled with notes on their research. The other two were next to the books they had been going over just a few minutes ago.

When Mitsuru had completely filled up the first one after two weeks, Blake had eyed her with disbelief and doubt. They had only just begun and yet one had already been filled out? Upon opening it, however, Blake found every inch filled with neat and organized notes. It was also filled with specific questions regarding certain topics. Questions that would later be answered as they delved deeper into faunus culture. The second notebook was much the same, though the notes were accompanied by less questions and supposition.

It was only the third, the one Mitsuru had just closed, that contained strictly information with no additional questions, hypotheses, theories, and whatnot. She didn't think it was possible to go over an entire race's culture in less than two months, especially since they only spent a few hours each week working on it. Mitsuru proved that something did not need to be relevant to their schooling for her to diligently study it.

There were still some specific details that were missing, however, such as those that differed between different types of faunus, but that would require speaking with actual faunus. While she had some idea of how some kinds of faunus behaved that differed from the rest, it would be best to avoid speaking of things she was not entirely certain of. That, and it would seem strange for her to know of such things when Mitsuru still saw her as just a faunus-sympathizing human.

Perhaps she could point out to Mitsuru that Yukari was friends with Velvet.

"For now, nothing." While she had been expecting it, Blake still couldn't help the deep pang of disappointment that she felt at those words. "At most, I can make copies of my notes and share them with our friends. Beyond that, however, I do not have any means by which I can bring about change on a significant scale."

Then, as though noticing her disappointment, Mitsuru turned to her with a smile. "Even so, nothing can be built without a proper foundation. If we, ourselves, are unwilling to learn, grow, and change, then we have little hope of enlightening others to the truth. Though I'm quite confident our friends will not be difficult to convince that faunus are just as cultured and civil as humans."

' _Except for one,'_ Blake thought but refused to say out loud. Still, Mitsuru's easy acceptance of faunus made Blake wonder, once again, if she should reveal herself to her team leader and, hopefully, friend.

All things told, she was less apprehensive about it now compared to when she first chose to help Mitsuru. Yang already knew and had no qualms about it, though Blake was a little wary, perhaps paranoid, that she would tell someone, namely Ruby. Mitsuru was clearly an advocate of equality between faunus and humans. And Yukari openly defended Velvet, a faunus, against Cardin and his team.

The only question now was whether or not Mitsuru would expect her to tell everyone else now that she had found the courage to tell her team. She already felt bad about making Yang keep secrets from her sister. She didn't want to make her whole team keep secrets from their friends.

Perhaps if Blake had only grown close to her own team, then she would have no such reservations about asking them to keep her heritage a secret. Unfortunately, things weren't so easy.

She had befriended Chidori and, to an extent, Aigis through her Field Medicine class, and Junpei through Chidori whenever the carefree boy joined their study sessions. Through the Stealth and Recon class, she had gotten to know Ren. Out of curiosity, she had asked him about Ken and learned that, despite his age, he was very studious and surprisingly mature. A few conversations also passed on some things about Nora and their many years of friendship. Through Yang, she got to know Ruby, the blonde's socially awkward half-sister. And through her, Blake learned that Fuuka was working hard to study Aigis in order to become a proper technician for the blonde android.

Before she realized it, she had befriended at least one person from each team and had gotten to know more about the others through those newfound friends. It wouldn't feel right if she were to tell her team but not her new friends. Yang finding out was an accident so it didn't count.

If she asked them to, she was fairly certain they would keep it a secret from the rest of their team. The only exception, however, would be Ren. She was quite ambivalent with regards to his orange-haired childhood friend, but Blake didn't know if she could trust her to keep a secret.

She glanced down at the notebook at the table. Then again, did she really want to keep it a secret from everyone?

Like Mitsuru just said, they had to start small and they had to start with themselves. If she couldn't even be honest with her friends, then what hope did she have of bringing equality between faunus and humans the world over?

As Mitsuru began gathering up the books they used, Blake took a deep breath to steady herself. "Mitsuru?" The redhead paused her task and turned to her teammate with a quiet hum. "There's something I need to-"

"Mitsuru." Blake was interrupted by a familiar voice coming from behind her. Turning around, she found Akihiko approaching them, his fingers holding onto a few sheets of paper. Before either girl could say anything, the silver-haired teen held the papers out to the redhead. "Here's the list you asked me to make along with a couple of good places."

As though sensing something in his tone that she couldn't, Mitsuru took the papers wordlessly and began reading whatever was written on it, her eyes repeatedly moving from left to right at a rapid pace. "I see," she said, just as her voice dropped to a lower volume.

She addressed Mitsuru just as she folded the papers and slipped them into the satchel on the table. "What is it?" Mitsuru also put away her notebook and began packing away the books.

"Since today's testing was unexpectedly cancelled, I asked Akihiko compile a list of things we needed for the house since he went there yesterday and the previous week." Mitsuru's response was calm though the act of packing her belongings were slightly rushed. "While the basics are there, many things are still missing such as kitchen appliances, cookware, spare beddings, and other similar things."

"I take it you're going to get them now?"

"Once I drop off these books at the dorm, yes, that was the plan. You're more than welcome to join us if you want." Despite the invitation, Blake chose to decline as she helped Mitsuru by gathering together the books that belonged to the library.

Once she was done packing the books that belonged to them, Mitsuru picked up the satchel by the handle, rather than slinging the strap over her shoulder. Mitsuru had already half-turned to the exit when she suddenly paused and turned her gaze back to her teammate. "Ah, before we leave, what was it you were about to say earlier?"

Blake paused for a moment to think then shook her head. "It's nothing important. I can tell you later when you get back."

The redhead nodded in response. "Alright. If anyone needs me, please let them know that Akihiko and I went to Vale for the day. We should be back before dinner but they can send me a message or call me if it's urgent."

"I will. Take care." Blake waved farewell as the two older teens left, their gait relaxed but slightly rushed, much like Mitsuru had been when she packed the books away. Once they were out of sight, Blake waited just a bit longer before taking a deep breath, and letting out a long, weary sigh. Her forehead meeting the table with a loud thud next to the small pile of library books.

Just when she had mustered up the courage to confess her secret too. Provided her courage doesn't desert her entirely by then, she'd try her luck later that night.

* * *

Sadly, it wasn't to be. But rather than her courage, it was her luck that deserted her.

She had started reading a novel to keep herself relaxed rather than worrying over her decision. But so engrossed was she over the book that she hadn't noticed the multitude of messages her Scroll was alerting her to. It was only during dinner that she remembered, courtesy of Chidori, that they had agreed to go over the next day's readings for their Field Medicine class.

With the class taking place first thing tomorrow morning, Blake had returned to the dorm swiftly to finish the second half of the assigned readings. Given how quickly they were moving through the subjects, even just that second half took her a few hours to finish. And rushing through it all had tired her out mentally.

By the time Mitsuru returned that night, at a little before half-past nine despite having said that she and Akihiko would return before dinner, Blake was already fast asleep.

* * *

 **November 2, XX13**

"Who here can name all the varieties of Grimm found in the areas around the City of Vale?"

A handful of hands rose at the question posed to them by Professor Port. Seeing the confident looks on their faces, however, the academy's oldest teacher decided to go down a different route. "Ms. Xiao Long."

"Huh?" Yang looked up from her notebook, which she had been filling with useless scribbles and doodles, upon hearing her name. It took a moment for her to remember where she was, and another to realize who had addressed her. "Oh, sorry Professor. Could you repeat that? I didn't quite hear what you said."

She would have been surprised if he had actually bought her excuse. Instead, the shaking of his head in disappointment was pretty much what she expected to receive in response. And now he would give her a bit of a scolding, remind her to pay attention, and look for his next victim.

"Please name all of the varieties of Grimm found in the areas around the City of Vale."

Or he could go down the 'let's humiliate the student who wasn't paying attention' route. Too bad for him that the question was quite an easy one. "Beowolves, Ursai, Creeps, Nevermores, Stalkers, Taijitu, and Goliaths."

"Well, it's good to see you've kept up with your studies." She almost scoffed in response. That question had been way too easy. History and Geography was one thing, but Grimm Studies? No self-respecting trainee, especially one who grew up on the nearby island of Patch, wouldn't know something that simple about the things they were training to fight against. "But clearly you need to pay more attention to the class itself rather than the book."

Before she could even question him, his attention had already turned to the person sitting next to her. "Ms. Belladonna, would you care to complete the list your partner has already given us?"

Blake responded without a pause. "While rare, Griffins have been known to approach the city. Though given the distance of their nesting areas from the city, it would take a large concentration of negativity to draw them towards the city, such as the tragedy of Mountain Glenn."

"Correct."

Yang resisted the urge to growl. So she had missed one, big deal. Like Blake said, Griffins were an incredibly rare sight so close to the city. That particular species of Grimm nested high in the mountains far to the south of Vale. It would take something incredibly tragic to draw them in from that far away. That or something incredibly stupid.

She sighed and slumped down in her seat, tuning out another of the portly professor's – that was a good one to try next time she had the chance – autobiographical ramblings. As she did, Yang wondered, once again, what was wrong with her.

These days, it wasn't just Yukari or reminders of the brunette that set her off. Things that would normally just be a minor irritation set of a fire rather than a spark. Twice today, thrice if she included the incident just now, she had nearly growled out loud for things she would normally shrug off and forget within the next two minutes.

Not everything that irritated her was amplified, however, which was a good thing. Otherwise the sheer number of them probably would have caused her to explode days ago.

Lately, she wasn't even sure if her growing anger had anything to do at all with Yukari. Sure, it might have started with her but that might have just been because of that conversation they had outside the restaurant. For all she knew, she would still be facing the same problem even if Yukari hadn't spoken to her that time. The only difference might have been who or what would set off her anger first.

She knew she wasn't getting angry for no reason at all. She didn't know how she knew that for certain, she just did. She just needed to find a pattern or sorts. That's what the police did in those TV shows, right? Look for a pattern that the criminal, her anger in this case, was leaving behind and you'd be able to tell when or where they would strike next. In her case, finding out that pattern would also tell her _why_ she had been getting angry at seemingly random moments.

At least, that's what she hoped she would discover.

She flipped the pages of her notebook until she got to the second-to-the-last page. On that page was a list of sorts. And at the bottom, she added another line. _'Grimm Studies.'_ Below it, she wrote a brief description of what had just taken place.

She glanced up at the portly man – she was definitely going to try that one out before the day was over – then back down to her notebook once she was sure he wasn't looking her way. So far, none of the incidents had taken place at any specific location. None of the people, save for Yukari during those first few days and that wasn't always because of her physical presence, were consistently involved. Not even the time of day held any consistency.

But she wasn't just lashing out. She knew she wasn't. If it was that erratic, then wouldn't she be getting mad even when nothing happened?

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Even as Professor Port bid them all farewell, throwing in a reminder to read about one topic or another, all the students began gathering their belongings and rising from their seats.

Yang did the same and joined her team, putting on a smile as they departed for the dining hall. All the while, her mind was one the list sitting inside her back. There had to be a reason for all this. There just had to be. And she was going to find it.

One way or another.

* * *

Forty pairs of eyes locked onto the blonde professor down in the combat area, their voices silenced as the bell rang to signal the beginning of their class. "This week will be the last one wherein you will be expected to fight alongside your partners." Her announcement brought out some quiet but excited murmurs. "Beginning next week, you will be paired with one of your other teammates rather than your partner."

The murmurs rose in volume, but not enough to be considered disruptive. Only this time, there was a notable air of confusion. Glynda hid a grin, knowing that their confusion would soon turn into something else. "In addition, rather than fighting against a random pair, you will be facing your partner as well as the final member of your team."

Murmurs turned into loud exclamations of shock, and Glynda took a small amount of pleasure in seeing the chaos she had caused. The one-on-one matches had avoided having a student face their teammates. The two-on-two matches they were currently doing also did not pit a partnered pair against their teammates. None of the students could have expected that they would soon be fighting against their own team.

More importantly, they would be fighting against their own partner. A partner whom they had been training with for the past two months. Training that had most likely intensified in the face of their two-on-two matches, in order to perform better as a pair. And now she had just forced all the students into a match where they would be fighting against someone who was intimately familiar with how they fought.

Stern green eyes glanced around the room, taking in the expressions of each student as they briefly spoke with their team. Many were still confused, but the majority had mixed reactions. Some were excited. Others, like Jaune Arc, were understandably despondent given who his partner was. Surprisingly, however, there were several who looked contemplative.

It wasn't unexpected that someone would work out the purpose behind having someone fight their partner. The nine she counted, however, was a new record as far as Glynda was concerned. And most of them belonged to the same group of friends.

It took her a while to get the class to settle down. It always did whenever she made this announcement. When she did, she called down the first pair she had scheduled to fight for the day. "Blaise Argo and Lianna Kross. And Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee."

As the four she had called down made their way to the combat area, the other students went back to talking about her prior announcement.

It was, after all, no small matter. Not only had they been training alongside their partner this past month, whether in class or on their own, but they had also been training against their teammates. Few teams would ever consider fighting alongside someone other than their partner.

They may form temporary partnerships during a fight if they fought as a whole team against another team, but few would ever dedicate an extended amount of time training with someone who wasn't their partner. During their first year at Beacon at least. It was a much more common way of training later on once they realized the necessity of learning how to fight alongside their other teammates just as well as they do with their partners.

' _After all,'_ thought Glynda, watching as the two pairs she had called down took their places on the combat platform. _'No one can ever fully predict the conditions of an upcoming fight.'_

* * *

"Hey Weiss? Me and Yang were thinking of going to the arcade this weekend with Nora and Junpei. Do you… uh… wanna come with us?"

Pale, slim fingers stopped short of her locker as an irritated sigh left Weiss's lips. Bad enough that she and Ruby lost their match because the girl couldn't properly coordinate her attacks with that unwieldy scythe of hers, but now she even had the gall to approach her as though she had done nothing wrong.

To make things worse, the girl had even blamed things on her. _H_ _er_. Ruby had been the one to suddenly switch targets even though she had been the one to pick her target in the first place. Ruby had been the one to knock Weiss's target away AFTER Weiss executed her attack, not only knocking _Blaise_ out of the line of fire but also causing the stream of fire to land squarely on Ruby. Ruby had been the one to switch opponents without letting Weiss know, leading to Weiss being attack from behind by Lianna, Ruby's original opponent.

Ruby had been the one to cost them what should have been an easy match. And yet she blamed Weiss for hitting her with friendly fire and getting ambushed. It was a sore reminder of the events of initiation where the two of them could have easily fought off a small pack of Beowolves.

She turned around, stern, ice blue eyes meeting hopeful silver. Hope which slowly faded upon seeing the expression on the Schnee heiress's face. "You've asked me similar questions at least once a week for the past few weeks now. What makes you think I'll answer differently today?"

"Um… Well… I was…"

Weiss groaned audibly at her partner's timidity, though she resisted the urge to palm her face. Skilled though she may be in combat, Ruby was completely socially inept and her intelligence was questionable in some regards. Her inability to understand that Weiss wanted little to do with her beyond the necessities of school was merely evidence of her observations.

Her groan had silenced the silver-eyed girl, and she bowed her head down in shame, her eyes looking away from the heiress. "Let me make things clear, Ruby. And I suggest you listen well because I will only say this once," she stated firmly, crossing her arms and straightening her posture, making her look even taller as Ruby huddled down on herself. It gave her no small amount of pleasure seeing Ruby, who was taller than her when they both went barefoot, look so small.

"I am here to learn how to be a Huntress. I am not here to make friends. And I couldn't care less what you do in your spare time so long as you don't drag us down, either as partners or as a team." Each statement made Ruby cringe, slightly curling up even more as though trying to hide. "If you want to go off gallivanting, wasting your precious time on useless pursuits when you could be studying to better yourself, then be my guest. But leave. Me. Out of it."

Weiss leaned forward, looming over the lightly shivering Ruby and glaring down at her. "Do I make myself clear?"

Unable to find her voice, Ruby nodded hastily several times, looking like some sort of broken puppet being shaking around. Satisfied that she had made her point, Weiss huffed, straightened up, and walked away, leaving the dejected and petrified girl behind.

"Honestly," Weiss muttered under her breath as she walked past several rows of lockers. "That girl can be so-" She abruptly stopped just a few steps away from the exit when she felt something tapping against her thigh. Looking down, her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Myrtenaster still hanging from her waist. Because of Ruby's interruption, she had completely forgotten to replace it inside the locker.

Should she turn back and return it? Or should she just come back later? No, she had to turn back. It would just be a waste of time if she went to dinner now and then came back later on just to put Myrtenaster in the locker. _'Besides,'_ she thought as she turned around and went down the aisle next to the one she had just come from. _'I can just wait for Ruby to leave then put Myrtenaster back. She's probably on her way out already.'_

With that thought in mind, Weiss made sure to be extra attentive whenever she walked past a gap in the rows of lockers. All it would take was for Ruby to catch her out of the corner of their eyes and she would be seen. It might not matter much if the others saw her, but she didn't want to see Ruby so soon, especially not after the scolding she gave her. Her patience had run out as it is and it wouldn't do for her to blow her top in public.

Eventually, she reached the area where her team's lockers were located. Hearing voices coming from that area, she continued to walk past the periodic gap between each row of lockers, circling around so that her locked would be between her and the exit. That way, whoever was there would be less likely to spot her. She made to peek around the corner to check who was present, but a familiar voice reached her ears before she could.

"-nted to be her friend."

Weiss held in the growl that nearly slipped past her lips as she recognized the voice. _'Ruby.'_ The younger girl was clearly dejected if her tone of voice was any indication. At least the lack of sniffling and such was evidence that she wasn't upset enough to cry over it. That would have lowered her opinion of the girl even further, if such a thing was even possible.

Regardless, her still being there would mean that Weiss would have to wait a bit longer than expected before she could deposit Myrtenaster into her locker. And that thought was only reinforced by what she heard next.

"What exactly did she say?"

' _Fuuka.'_ The heiress repressed the sigh that bubbled up within her. If she was going to speak with Ruby, then the two of them wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. That brought up her earlier question. Did she leave and return later? Or did she wait it out?

* * *

Fuuka had just gotten to her locker when Ruby asked her a question. "Hey, Fuuka? You're friends with everyone on SEES, right?" Fuuka felt that was a bit of a strange question to ask, especially for Ruby, but she nodded in response all the same. "So… what am I doing wrong?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Fuuka watched as Ruby turned her back to her locker and leaned back against it. Then, slowly, she slid down until she was sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped dejectedly around her knees. "I think Weiss hates me."

Now, Fuuka wasn't entirely sure where that belief was coming from but looking back on Ruby and Weiss's interactions, she felt she had a good idea. She placed Ancile in her locker, shut it, and took a seat on the floor next to Ruby. "Ruby, I don't think she hates you."

"Then why is she always mad at me?" Fuuka could feel her heart breaking at Ruby's downtrodden tone. "I know we didn't exactly start off on the right foot back before we became partners but it's not like I meant anything bad. And now she… I just wanted to be her friend."

There was a big chunk of missing information there. And while she didn't want to pry, the only way she could help Ruby was if she was more informed of the situation. But she wouldn't force Ruby to speak about it if she didn't want to. "What exactly did she say?" she asked, her tone soft.

She listened carefully as Ruby recounted the events of just a few minutes prior, having taken place while Fuuka was speaking with Aigis earlier. Taking that event, and adding past events into the consideration, Fuuka now had a better picture of the issue at hand.

Unfortunately, she wasn't sure that Ruby would like the answer.

"Do you really have to be friends with Weiss?" Ruby's head snapped up at those words so quickly that Fuuka was almost certain she had used her Semblance, if not for the absence of rose petals. More telling was the expression of shock on the younger girl's face. "People can live and work together for years but never become friends. Weiss did say that that was what she wanted, right?"

"But… we're partners." It was clear that Ruby never considered the possibility of _not_ being friends with her partner. "We didn't exactly choose one another but… still!"

Fuuka smiled sadly and slid closer to Ruby, close enough to wrap an arm around the younger girl's shoulders and gently pull her closer. She felt Ruby tense up for a moment before relaxing. "Did you know that Chidori-chan was part of another group before she joined SEES?" She felt Ruby shake her head.

No, of course Ruby wouldn't know. Chidori's past was pretty much the only one still mostly unknown to the rest of the group. "She was with them for many years but even though they lived together and worked towards the same goal, she couldn't claim to call them proper friends. Close acquaintances, maybe, but not really friends."

"And she was fine with that?" Ruby's voice sounded small, weak. Once again, it showed just how young she was. And how much of the world she had yet to experience.

Fuuka nodded, having heard the answer straight from Chidori herself prior to coming to Vale and Beacon. "At that time, none of them really cared or wanted to be friends with one another. It was enough that they understood one another enough that they could live and work well together. In fact," she added quickly, realizing something now that she failed to notice before. "They knew enough about one another that they _could_ be called friends."

"Huh? But didn't you say that-"

"They knew each other, but they didn't really reach out to one another," Fuuka gently interrupted with an understanding smile. It was probably a hard concept for the younger girl to understand. "Being friends is more than just knowing each other, or spending time with one another. Or even," she giggled as a thought came to her. "Or even getting along with each other."

"Huh?"

"Look at Yukari-chan and Junpei-kun," she pointed out. "The two of them argue a lot but they're still friends. Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai don't talk to each other about small things like movies and hobbies, but they're still friends. Nora does things that Ren often scolds her for but neither of them hate the other for it. And one of my best friends outside of SEES back then, Natsuki-chan, actually used to bully me."

"Wait, what?"

Fuuka had to resist the urge to laugh at the expression of absolute confusion on Ruby's face. The girl was being bombarded by so many things that broke her understanding of the word 'friend' that she probably thought they were talking about two completely different things by now.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are different kinds of friends, just like there are different kinds of people. I'm not saying you and Weiss can never become friends, but you also have to respect what she wants. If you keep pushing even when she doesn't want to be friends, then things will just become worse." Quickly thinking of an alternative, Fuuka said, "Why not try to be her partner first?"

"What do you mean? Aren't we already partners? Then again…" Ruby let out a dejected sigh. "I don't think Weiss thinks I'm a good partner. Or that I can actually do this. But… Sure I'm not that smart but I haven't failed a single class yet, right? Professor Ozpin let me take the initiation and I passed, so I'm not weak, right? So what else am I missing? What else can I do to show Weiss that I can actually do this?"

"Officially, yes. But…" Fuuka searched for the best way to deliver her message without hurting the young girl further. The problem was clearly deeper than she fight thought. Fuuka wanted to ask for advice, maybe from Mitsuru, but she felt that leaving now, even with a promise to continue later, would end badly.

She would just have to try her best. "Let's take the fight earlier. What went wrong?"

Ruby's answer was almost immediate. "Everything was fine until Weiss hit me with her Dust and then she wasn't paying attention and got hit from behind. Then she started yelling at me and-"

Fuuka gently squeezed Ruby's shoulder, calming her down and interrupting her at the same time. Once she felt the tension leave the girl's shoulders, she spoke again in that same gentle tone. "Did you try thinking about how Weiss might have seen it?"

"How Weiss might have seen it?" Ruby repeated, humming in confusion.

"Let's start from the start of the fight. Why did you go after Blaise when the fight started?"

"That's because Crescent Rose would be better against her." It was times like these that Fuuka saw that Ruby was just as qualified as the rest of them. "She uses a staff so our range is about the same but my scythe can get around her weapon easily. Lianna uses bladed gauntlets so it would be harder for me to fight if she got too close."

"Then why did you suddenly attack her?"

"Well…" She felt Ruby squirming uncomfortably. "I _thought_ I knocked Blaise out of the ring. So I thought I'd help Weiss. But then she attacked me after I hit Lianna out of the way and-"

Again, Fuuka squeezed Ruby's shoulder, not letting the girl work herself up again. "Did Weiss know?"

"Know what?"

"That you were going to help her?" clarified Fuuka. Ruby shook her head. "I don't think you saw it, but Weiss had already used her Dust even before you jumped in. Weiss didn't mean to attack you, but when you knocked Lianna out of the way, you ended up taking her place."

"O~oh…" Now Ruby was realizing her mistake. "Uh… oops?"

Fuuka could almost see the sheepish grin on Ruby's face. "And because Weiss didn't know you were trying to help her, and because she got hit by Blaise from behind since she didn't actually get knocked out of the ring, Weiss probably felt that you weren't thinking about what you were doing."

"But I…" Ruby began to argue but deflated almost instantly. "Yeah, I guess I didn't really think it through."

Fuuka laughed good-naturedly. "I can't really tell you what you should do to make things better, but maybe you should try to consider what Weiss wants, instead of thinking that what you want is also what she wants." Ruby did her best to crane her head to look up to Fuuka's face. "Weiss strikes me as a very private person. It's why Aigis and I don't bother her when she's busy."

"She's always studying though," Ruby pointed out. "I just thought she'd want to go do something to relax or something."

"Maybe she finds studying to be relaxing." What little Fuuka could see of Ruby's face told her what the younger girl thought of that idea. "Still, I think you just need to be more considerate of her feelings. You and Weiss are two different people. What you like, what you do, how you do things, almost everything about the two of you could be different. It's hard, finding something that two very different people have in common. But I think you should start there."

"But what if-" A rumbling growl interrupted her words, and Fuuka could see the blush that appeared, colored like the girl's namesake.

A quite giggle broke the silence that settled upon them, though Ruby just huddled down on herself further out of embarrassment. "Maybe we should continue later," offered Fuuka, slowly pushing herself up to her feet and helping Ruby stand. "Besides, I think there are better places to talk about this than here."

Looking around, Ruby could only agree. The floor of the locker room was definitely a strange place to hold the conversation they just did. When Fuuka made to leave, Ruby felt herself move without thinking, suddenly wrapping her arms around the older girl from behind.

Now that they were standing, Ruby could feel just how small Fuuka really was. It was a… strange experience, to say the least. She had known since the beginning that Fuuka was shorter than her. Both Nora and Weiss, when the latter had her heels off, were also shorter than Ruby.

It was weird embracing someone she had come to depend on when that person was smaller than her. She was used to hugging Yang, her father, or even her uncle whenever they comforted her or gave her advice. But Fuuka?

It felt strange, but familiar all the same. There was just something about the teal-haired girl that made her seem larger in Ruby's eyes. Stronger and dependable like her sister, father, and uncle. Even now, though the older girl in her arms was obviously shorter and thinner than her, she kept expecting to blink and find that she was just imagining things, that Fuuka was actually the taller girl between the two of them.

Or maybe for Fuuka to suddenly have a three-second growth spurt then and there.

She couldn't say she understood everything that Fuuka had just tried to tell her, but Ruby was grateful all the same. More importantly, she was grateful, now more than ever, to be on the same team as her.

"Thank you, Fuuka."

"You're welcome, Ruby."

* * *

 **November 3, XX13**

In a move that broke their weekly Wednesday night gathering, SEES gathered on the roof of the dorm that Tuesday night. The more observant members of their teams took note of this. Even voiced it in some cases. While no explanations were given, none of them were turned away when asked if they could join. Unspoken was the fact that they may not receive an answer to their similarly unspoken questions.

Out of their eight teammates, Ruby had her Advanced Weapons Designing class while Blake wasn't curious enough to join them. Ren would have stayed behind as well if not for Nora wanting to go. As such, six people accompanied the Japanese teens up to the roof.

And it was there that six teens, an android, and a dog sat or stood near a corner of the roof. Some stared straight ahead, others turned their head to the side in the same direction, but all of them had their gazes locked onto the full moon across the horizon with an indescribable emotion glossing their eyes. The group's eighth human member stood next to her boyfriend, looking as bored and disinterested as she usually did as she observed the others. The remaining six teens watched in curiosity, each one wondering what sort of memory their friends were reliving.

Yes. A memory.

They had long since gotten used to seeing their friends in their current state. Eyes glossed over and unfocused, looking at something that was no longer there, watching a scene that was not taking place at that very moment.

Sometimes they had smiles on their faces, soft, nostalgic, even regretful. Nonetheless, they were smiles. Other times they were despondent, the memory bringing more sadness and pain than anything else. The latter never lasted long as the members of SEES were well aware that wallowing in such memories for too long would do them no good.

Regardless, it was a sight they had grown accustomed to. Sometimes they would inquire as to what they were remembering. Other times they would leave them to reminisce, patiently waiting until they were ready. With only Chidori not lost in memories of a time long gone, this was a case for the latter. Whatever it was they were remembering, it was something that had affected the rest of them deeply.

By now, all of them knew that Chidori was different from SEES. For one thing, she never wore a Gekkoukan uniform, which hinted that she had not attended that school with the others. Having seen her fellow redhead's wardrobe, Pyrrha could confirm that she did not own the uniform at all. Whether she had gotten rid of it at some point or simply never owned one in the first place was up for debate as nobody asked.

Another was that she admitted to being the newest member of SEES, having joined at a much later time even when compared to Ken, who had joined a little more than a year ago. She did mention, however, that she had been part of another group of Persona-users prior to joining SEES. Other details had been left out.

She also wasn't as close to the other members, with the obvious exception of Junpei. It was clear that she was friends with them, but they could see that she lacked the same closeness that the others shared. Even her closeness to Junpei could possibly be attributed to their relationship, rather than a close bond of friendship. Was it because she had joined them at a later date? Or was it something else?

During those few weeks of mourning that SEES had gone through, Chidori had been the least affected. She showed some sadness at the loss of life, but it was far from what one would consider grieving. It was almost as though she felt nothing for all those that had died. Like someone who understood the tragedy that had occurred but felt ambivalent towards it. It had been… disconcerting, to say the least, when some of them considered just what it meant for her to be so cold.

Not to say that she was heartless. Small displays of emotion, and some displays of affection towards Junpei, showed that she was not emotionally broken or disconnected. Still, it made one curious as to how she had kept such a calm face even when remembering such a tragedy. Even Aigis, Mitsuru, and Akihiko had broken down emotionally. Chidori alone remained stoic.

Last month had been the one-year anniversary of Shinjiro Aragaki's death. And though their grief and sadness had been for all those they had lost, it did not change the fact that their friend's death on that day had affected them all.

That they had all gathered together once more was further evidence of the fact that they were remembering some event that they had all been witness to, perhaps even as participants. What sort of event had taken place on this day the year before, they all wondered.

It had only been ten minutes since their gathering at the roof, ten minutes that seemed far longer than it truly was because of the solemnity of it all, before the silence was broken.

"Do any of you ever wonder how things would have been different had we not fought that night?" The voice that cut through the air was the regal tone of the leader of SEES, long crimson locks dancing in the night breeze. "If we had discovered the truth much sooner?"

The other members, save for Chidori, nodded but no verbal response came from any of them. Even Mitsuru hummed and nodded in turn, still lost in the sea of memories.

When the silence was once again broken, it was Aigis's slightly stiff and formal manner of speaking that greeted their ears. "I do not believe it was possible for us to make any other choice." If anyone was shocked by her words, none of it showed on their faces. But they could almost feel the way the mood in the vicinity dropped even further at her words. "Whether or not we killed it, the outcome would have been the same. It was only a matter of when it would all end."

Her words confused those who lacked the proper context to understand, but they could, at least, understand that something terrible had happened. And when Mitsuru spoke next, their thoughts were confirmed.

"But perhaps my father would still be alive."

They could see the way Aigis grew uncomfortable. It wasn't difficult to understand why. Mitsuru's father was a casualty of whatever event they were revisiting in their minds. By saying that the outcome would be the same regardless of their choice was the same as saying that he would have died either way. And while Mitsuru's tone held no malice, it did not mean that she could accept such an outcome so easily.

Then the discomfort faded from the blonde's face, replaced by sadness. "Yes. And perhaps even…" Her voice trailed away, her eyelids slowly sliding shut even though her face remained turned up towards the moon.

More than once, they wondered why SEES seems to be drawn to the moon. Every night that they came to the roof, there were always times when one or more of them would glance up at the moon and stare at it for a while. Even on nights when they did not, they would glance up at the moon regardless. Whether they were in the dorm room, or walking to or from their evening classes, they would always spare a moment to look up.

Someone, either Yang or Nora, perhaps even both, once joked that SEES were like the people in one of those stories where the full moon turned them into monsters or such. Or at least, were affected by the various phases of the moon in some way. Though SEES found the theory amusing, no one explained their habit of moon gazing.

Eventually, Yukari broke the somber silence, turning to the blonde. "Hey Aigis, how are the new clothes I got you? Do they fit well?"

The shift to a lighter topic broke the spell on them all, the mood lightening immediately as everyone delved into conversation with one another. Or not, in some cases.

Yang, Junpei, Jaune, and Nora were making plans to visit the arcade for some fun the coming weekend. Fuuka joined the conversation between Aigis and Yukari. Mitsuru sat on the ledge, still lost in thought but less tense than she had been earlier, with Chidori next to her, the redhead just as silent as the other.

Ren sat on the ledge as well, though a short distance away from the pair of silent redheads, with Ken taking the spot next to him and Koromaru sitting on his haunches between them. The black-haired boy kept an eye on his orange-haired friend and partner while the twelve-year-old gently ran his hand over the top of Koromaru's head, content to just relax after remembering the events of a year prior. Their team leader was off to the side, speaking with Pyrrha after the latter approached him.

With Mitsuru, the only one she wanted to speak with at that time, clearly not in the mood to converse, Weiss slipped away and returned to Team ASYR's room. Ruby still had an hour and a half of class, and Fuuka and Aigis never returned before midnight whenever they stayed on the roof. She still failed to understand the latter ritual, but this gave her some time to herself, a rarity in itself since she shared the room with three other people.

While Aigis and Fuuka respected her need for silence whenever she was busy, Ruby wasn't as quiet even when she was trying to be. The girl had learned early on that Weiss was not fond of overly loud noises, or even noise in general, and knew not to bother the heiress when she was studying.

However, the scythe-wielder was easily excitable, and that often led to the volume of her voice increasing, forgetting her unspoken agreement with Weiss. Sometimes she caught herself, silencing herself before Weiss could even turn around. Other times Weiss had to glare at the girl, perhaps even get her attention, before she realized her mistake. Thankfully, Fuuka had become aware of the situation and did her best to keep Ruby's excitement under control whenever Weiss was around.

At that point, Weiss released a heavy sigh. Thinking of Fuuka reminded her of what she had overheard the day before in the training building's locker room. The diminutive teal-haired girl hadn't sided with her or Ruby. Instead, she had simply provided a listening ear to the dejected girl and offered her some advice. Advice, Weiss noted, that benefited both parties.

She hadn't realized just how… considerate the Persona-user was. Certainly, she did her best not to disturb Weiss during her studies, independent or not, but to Weiss that was simply common sense. But looking back, she could see that Fuuka wasn't being polite for the sake of politeness. She was polite because it was simply how she was.

For all her confidence in her ability to read people, an ability born of her upbringing, she had utterly failed with regards to Fuuka. All because she had never once met someone who was so naturally polite and considerate. She had mistaken the older girl's actions as that of someone who was being polite because it was what society expected of her. Only now did she realize that, even if nobody cared if she were to curse every three words, Fuuka would be exactly the same as she was now.

Weiss went into the restroom with a change of clothes to prepare for the night. She stripped off her clothing, leaving her standing there in only in her underwear. When she went to deposit her clothing in the hamper, her eyes caught sight of the door leading to the bathing area.

That brought to mind one of Fuuka's habits that had confused her at the beginning. The need to shower at the end of the day rather than at the beginning. Listening in on the other teams' conversations revealed that all seven Japanese teens – Aigis didn't really count in her mind even though the blonde wiped herself off at night – did the same.

Weiss, like the others, bathed in the morning to freshen up for the day. The Japanese, however, bathed before retiring for the night so that they went to bed clean. Weiss had never considered it that way before. And that had been the simple explanation she overheard. The more detailed one was even more interesting.

Bathing or showering in the morning meant that they went about their day clean, accumulating sweat and dust as the day went on. Their clothes were discarded at the end of the day because they were, undoubtedly, dirty. Even if it was simply dust from the air, walking around would generate even a thin layer of perspiration, especially around certain body parts that were less ventilated, that would seep into their clothing. It was simply unhygienic to think of those clothes as 'clean'.

But then that left their bodies. They had Combat class five days each week, and each one of them fought at least twice in one week, they would perspire more during those times. Perspiration that would seep through their skin before being absorbed by their clothing. As such, their bodies were just as dirty as the clothes they wore. And all that would transfer to their nightclothes and their beds.

But the members of SEES did things the other way around. Because they bathed at the end of the day and went to sleep not long after, their bodies were clean and didn't soil their nightclothes and beddings. And when they woke up, they were just as clean.

It wasn't necessarily wrong, but their seemingly backwards routine had certainly confused her for quite a while. Still, that meant one less person showering in the morning in case they were ever in a hurry. No doubt Fuuka would be showering later on after they returned from the roof. Even if it had to be after midnight, Fuuka never failed to stick to her routine. No doubt the others were the same.

After brushing her teeth and finishing her own nightly routine, Weiss exited the restroom and nearly shrieked in surprise. Standing in front of her was the unclothed form of Aigis, her mechanical body parts bare for all to see, with a pale blue nightgown draped over one arm. And now that Weiss was without her heels, Aigis stood taller than her by a good few inches.

"Ah," came Aigis's soft exclamation, turning her eyes down and away. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to startle you. I was unaware that anyone else had returned."

Weiss held back a sigh of relief at those words, instead nodding curtly in response as she stepped around the android without a word. At least that eliminated the possibility that Aigis had followed her down from the roof. Still, that meant that her moment of solitude was now gone. Aigis would undoubtedly remain silent as the two of them did not get along very well, if at all in Weiss's mind, but her mere presence would prevent Weiss from relaxing completely.

The door to the restroom was shut with a soft click, the mechanical girl entering for her own nightly ritual. Strange as that may sound, Fuuka had reassured Ruby and Weiss that Aigis could safely submerged herself in water without risk of damage. Within certain limits of course.

Even so, Aigis didn't really shower like the rest of them. Instead, she simply wiped down her body with a damp cloth rather than showering. Her hair wasn't real and did not need to be washed like real hair, even if she did rinse it out with water every few days.

Now that her mind was on the android, Weiss had to wonder why she had come down early. She couldn't possibly be tired. Aigis herself had once explained that she could function for several days straight provided she did not have to fight since her Papillon Heart provided her with a slow but perpetual energy charge. Even if she fought a few times, she could go on for a few days as the most draining act for her was summoning and using her Persona.

No, she couldn't possibly be tired. But the fact that she had gone into the restroom with a change of clothes meant that she was preparing to sleep. So why had she come down early?

The door to the side clicked open once more and Aigis slipped out, wearing the long nightgown that she usually wore to bed. Ruby had once asked why Aigis wore it to bed. The response was as expected. It was in case someone who was unaware of her secret came into the room due to an emergency or anything of the sort. It was highly unlikely, but clearly they weren't taking any chances.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

It was only when Aigis spoke that Weiss realized she had been staring at the blonde since she exited the restroom. She considered just turning away but she remembered the events of the other day when Fuuka discovered her extracurricular studies. As distasteful as it may be, she would have to do her best to be civil to the android so as not to arouse her suspicion.

And since Aigis was a machine, the slightest but of suspicion may very well be enough to blow open her entire charade.

"It's nothing. I was just…" She paused, her thoughts running at full speed as she tried to think of an excuse. Fortunately, she had found one soon after. "I was just curious why you were down here so early. You usually stay up later than this whenever you all go up to the roof."

All of a sudden, Aigis turned away, looking ashamed of something. "I…" Weiss wondered just what it was she could be so ashamed of that it had caused her to leave her friends. "I do not deserve to be there with them. Not tonight."

Weiss could feel her eyebrows rise at those words. Could it have something to do with what they were thinking about earlier? No, that wasn't even a question she should have to ask. It went without saying that whatever it was Aigis was ashamed of, it was connected to the events of one year ago.

"Do you mind if I ask about what happened?" The words were out of her mouth before she realized it. She wondered what made her ask such a thing. She and Aigis were hardly friends. And though they were teammates, their relationship, at best, was that of acquaintances outside of any school-related activities. So where had such a personal question come from?

"I…" Again, Aigis hesitated, and Weiss could see her struggling with herself for some reason. She had never seen the blonde act this way before. What could have happened that she was so ashamed of? She was about to retract her query, not wanting to tread on something so personal, when the blonde spoke again, her voice softer, weaker, than any other time Weiss had heard her speak. "I betrayed them. A year ago tomorrow."

That… that was far from whatever scenario Weiss had imagined in her head. At worst, she thought that she had not performed well against whatever they had fought against the previous year. But betrayal? Was it even possible for her to betray someone? Surely her creators had not been so foolish as to not make her capable of such a thing. Or had they expected her to develop a form of loyalty on her own?

If so, then that was beyond foolish in Weiss's opinion. People could not be counted on to be absolutely loyal to someone other than themselves. If humans were capable of betrayal, then what made them think that a machine, one that they created to be as human-like as possible, wouldn't be the same unless specifically created to be completely loyal and obedient?

"I… see." An uncomfortable silence descended upon them, not that they had anything else left to say. She didn't know what else to say and Aigis didn't look like she was going to say anything else, not that Weiss wanted to know more. Well, she did, but it would hardly be appropriate for her to pry deeper into it. As it was, she shouldn't even have asked in the first place.

Eventually, Weiss walked forward, sharp eyes noticing the way Aigis tensed at her approach as though afraid of whatever judgement the heiress had in store for her. But the just walked past the blonde, her gaze aimed at her bed situated next to the bathroom door.

"I'm going to bed," she announced needlessly, perhaps simply to break the silence. If she wasn't going to be able to enjoy a moment to herself then sleep would be the next best thing.

"Ah. O-of course. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Weiss almost asked. She swallowed the words at the last moment. She didn't need to know the blonde's reason nor did she truly want to. The question was just simple curiosity rather than a deep desire. Instead, she just nodded in acceptance even though Aigis was most likely looking away. "Switch off the lights," she ordered softly. Then, as an afterthought, added, "If you don't mind."

There was no response from the blonde, but Weiss heard the soft rustling of clothing from behind her. And just as she reached her bed, the lights went out. Even so, the room was still illuminated by the rays of moonlight coming through the windows, the full moon high above them shining down on a good third of the room.

She settled into her bed and closed her eyes, hearing only a brief rustling coming from the direction of Aigis's bed before the room fell silent. But as her consciousness faded, she felt curiosity take root in her thoughts once more.

There were still two hours before midnight, before SEES returned from the roof to bathe and proceed to bed. What was Aigis going to do now?

* * *

She wasn't sure at which point her mind had woken up enough to make sense of her surroundings. It could have been caused by one of several things. The light from the hallway shining on her face during the brief moment the door was open, the faint sound of the bathroom door clicking shut, twice in fact, the soft rustling of clothing moving past her, or perhaps even the soft whispers coming from across the room.

All she knew was that, at that very moment, two people were speaking in hushed whispers. She didn't know whether to be grateful or not that they thought she was asleep. Their close proximity to her meant she could hear every word they were saying. What would the consequences be should they learn of it at a later date? Or would they let it go seeing as she hadn't done it on purpose?

Without some sort of power that allowed her to see the future, the answer was beyond her grasp. And the last five words she overheard did not make it any easier to answer.

* * *

 **And that's that for our slightly longer holiday special. Though I do apologize for the chapter's lack of holiday spirit. XD**

 **Not much to say here at this point. Everyone should know by now that everything I've done has been planned out for a long time. Especially the power scale and power balance between Persona and Aura/Semblance.**

 **As I said at the beginning of this chapter, I'm sure there'll be at least one person who'll find a reason to complain, especially with regards to the Yang/Mitsuru match.**

 **As always, I welcome any and all reviews, positive and negative. All I ask is that any criticisms are presented constructively and politely. It can be kindly written or you can be mean about it, but please don't spend half the review cursing me and whatnot for doing something you don't agree with.**

 **Besides, just because Christmas was a week ago doesn't mean we can't practice that same spirit throughout the rest of the year. XD**

 **Anyway, once again…**

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR HOLIDAYS!**

 **P.S. This chapter was uploaded at precisely midnight from where I am. XD**


	16. Ch 14 - Test the Waters Dive Headfirst

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

 **Warning 2 :** **With the ongoing status of RWBY Volume 4, it's to be expected that many of my ideas will go against what is canon, such as when more of each character's respective pasts are revealed. I will do my best to incorporate what I can, but expect that many will be blended with my own ideas or perhaps even ignored completely if incorporating it will be detrimental to my existing story plans.**

* * *

 **BIG NEWS EVERYONE!**

 **Actually, not that big. XD**

 **I've set up a forum on site for group discussions about the story. I'm honestly not too sure how many people I'll get there who want to talk about it, but a friend of mine, one of the story's followers but never reviewer (Yeah, you know who you are XD), convinced me to set it up all the same.**

 **So… yeah.**

 **Just use the search function, set it to search for Forums, and input my name 'LeiCiel'. Or you can follow the link at the bottom of my profile. Either one works. Please read the rules I put there before posting as I'm quite strict about playing nice. Thank you.**

 **Anyway, where were we?**

…

 **Right, the story.**

 **I know I said it last chapter but HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Here's to another year of fun, fanfiction, and other words that start with 'F'. XD**

 **...**

 **Bet I know what 'F' word most of you are thinking of.**

…

 **Yeah, that's right. FOOD! XD**

 **Speaking of food here's a brief announcement, by request of** **Qruis** **, XD**

 **WARNING! Chapter length is roughly 24,000 words minus the Author Notes. Please have sufficient food and drink nearby so as not to interrupt the flow of reading the story by taking a break midway. A bathroom break would be recommended too. XD**

 **Also, this chapter brings to it even more changes to some character profiles. If there are still people reading this who hated that I made changes to Jaune's character development and history, then, well, you are most likely going to hate what I'm gonna do here even more.**

 **Not to mention that I took the liberty of filling in one character's past. It gets a bit dark but nothing that would warrant an M rating. I think.**

 **So… yeah. That's how it is.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE:** **I have no idea how it slipped my mind, but I completely forgot to include a scene in the previous chapter. It's a scene between Fuuka and Ruby that takes place after Weiss storms out of the locker room. I only realized it was missing when I was writing this chapter, since part of it references that scene. If you don't know what that scene is, then I recommend going back to Chapter 13 and reading that scene as it is a fairly important one.**

 **Sorry for the interruption. We now return to our regularly(?) scheduled update.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14 –** **Test the Waters; Dive Headfirst**

 **November 4, XX13**

A fierce, almost bestial, roar rang throughout the classroom, followed by a human body flying off the combat platform and tumbling along the ground. A loud buzz followed soon after, signifying the end of the match.

Professor Goodwitch announced the end of the match, but Yang was already to the center of the platform where they would be evaluated. She ignored what the blonde teacher had to say to their opponents. It didn't really matter to her what they needed to work on or what she recommended they do about it.

Soon enough, it was their turn.

"Ms. Belladonna." Yang could see her partner straighten up just a little but more at being addressed. "Your agility, combined with your Semblance, remains your strong point. But as you've no doubt noticed with your three recent matches, it will not always be enough. Ms. La Rue, Mr. Bronzewing, and Mr. Thatcher all managed to force you back simply due to your lack of physical strength. I recommend working on that with your partner. You don't need to be as strong as Ms. Xiao Long, but a little more power behind your blows and stronger defenses won't hurt."

Blake _had_ noticed that her opponents lately had been able to match her movements well enough. Not always enough to hit her, but enough that she had difficulty breaking through their guard. They were also skilled enough to be able to force her into a direct confrontation, rather than taking them out from the flank or from behind as she usually preferred.

Her fight just now against Gazon Thatcher nearly ended in her defeat. He was about as quick and agile as she was, despite his large size and bulky frame, and at least twice as strong. With that combination, she often found her attacks repelled and her defenses broken with contemptuous ease. It was only with Yang's intervention that they won the fight before Blake was eliminated.

She didn't think that those matches had been set-up precisely to target her weaknesses. Professor Goodwitch clearly knew what she was doing.

"And as for you, Ms. Xiao Long." The blonde teen repressed a sigh. She knew what was coming. "Meet me in my office after class."

Yang blinked as she nodded mechanically. That was new. She had expected another brief lecture on staying calm, perhaps even more than just a brief one since she had been getting that same lecture for weeks now. Jumping from 'brief lectures' to 'office visits' was a highly unexpected surprise. And if she were being honest, one that she was not looking forward to.

She ignored the concerned glances she received as the quartet made their way back to the spectator's area, passing by the next quartet called down to fight. There was little that she could do about Goodwitch's request. _'More like demand.'_ Best to just get it over and done with. Hopefully the blonde professor wouldn't try beating around the bush and just get straight to the point when they met.

* * *

"Let me get straight to the point. Are you even trying to reign in your temper?"

That was definitely as straight to the point as it could possibly get. No greeting, no questions about her well-being or performance in other classes, not even a glance in her direction as the blonde teacher worked on something on her Scroll. Still, her words were spoken calmly. Yang couldn't even detect a hint of accusation or disappointment, nor were they condescending even though she didn't meet Yang's eyes when she spoke.

Despite how quick she was to show her displeasure when facing down unruly students, Glynda Goodwitch was the poster girl – poster woman? – for professionalism at any other time. Even now, after having told Yang at least half a dozen times to reign in her temper when fighting, she did not go on to berate the younger blonde just because she didn't heed the given advice.

"Not really," she answered honestly. Yang was fairly certain that Professor Goodwitch already knew the answer and just wanted to hear it straight from her.

"And why not?" Again, just a calm, ordinary question as bright green eyes remained on the Scroll, which was showing a replay of a fight. Yang's most recent fight to be exact. "I believe I first told you more than a month ago that you need to work on remaining calm rather than allowing your frustrations to turn into anger."

"It's just…" She hesitated. What did she say here? That it was just how she fought? That she didn't really care if her anger made her sloppy since a single Semblance-powered punch could end most, if not all, fights? "… It's bad to bottle up your emotions, right?"

That was quite possibly the lamest excuse to ever slip past her lips. Perhaps even the lamest excuse of all time. And judging by how the green-eyed blonde took the time to glance up from her Scroll, meeting Yang's lilac-colored eyes with a half-lidded stare, Professor Goodwitch was most likely thinking the same thing. She didn't even grace it with a verbal response. Instead, she laid her Scroll down on the desk and gave Yang her full attention, pausing the recording of the fight.

Yang squirmed in place. There was that feeling of discomfort again. A friend or a classmate looking at her so intensely wouldn't have been too bad, though sometimes it still made her uncomfortable depending on their reasons. But a teacher? The Deputy Headmistress to boot? It almost made her feel like a civilian staring down the Grimm, helpless and just waiting to be struck down.

"Keep in mind that what is said here will remain between the two of us, is that clear?" She wanted to ask what they were going to talk about that needed secrecy, but she just nodded. "Does your… temper have anything to do with your Semblance?"

Yang had known that it was only a matter of time before someone noticed. Barring Mitsuru and Fuuka's abilities of course. And given that both Giolla and Goodwitch often got on her case about her temper, it had always been a question of which of the two who would confront her about it first.

She nodded "Yeah."

"I see. If you don't mind telling me, is it your anger that affects your Semblance? Or does your Semblance cause your anger?"

' _If only that was it,'_ Yang though in response to the second half of Glynda's question. The mystery of her bursts of anger was one she had yet to solve and she was no closer to the answer than when she started. She had clues aplenty, but not a single theory. If one didn't count those that had already been disproven and discarded. Her Semblance making her angry would have made sense if not for the fact that she Semblance was reliant on her anger and not the other way around.

"The first one." She didn't feel uncomfortable letting her know that detail about her Semblance. It may even get the older blonde to stop trying to get her to keep her anger in control. It wasn't as if she became angry on purpose when she fought. She just didn't bother holding it in when it wanted to come out.

"And is it the only way for you to use your Semblance?"

"… no."

"I see. In that case, I'll have to continue insisting that you learn to control your emotions." Yang definitely saw that coming even before she answered that last question. "Regardless of what your Semblance may be, overreliance on one ability or skill is never a good thing. It may not be today or tomorrow, it may not happen for another ten years, but one day that one ability or skill will not be as effective as it once was. Moreover, your anger clearly affects your judgment in combat as shown by some of your previous fights."

Yang just nodded wordlessly, but she could see the way Glynda's lips narrowed slightly at the lack of a verbal response. They both knew the younger blonde was just going along to get the conversation over with. Yet without actual knowledge of her Semblance, which Yang wasn't obligated to reveal, there was little the teacher could do to force Yang to do as she was asked.

Green eyes watched her from behind oval spectacles, urging her to say something. Anything. And yet… "You are free to go, unless you have anything you would like to say."

Again, Yang just nodded then turned around to walk away. She had already known how that conversation would end. Neither Goodwitch nor Giollah understood how she fought. Couldn't understand that the anger and rage she felt empowered her and that it was her greatest trump card.

They probably didn't even care to. The fact that Goodwitch kept insisting was proof of that. Besides, Yang was following her advice to not limit herself to one thing. Her Semblance activated one of two ways after all. Accumulated physical damage, or a burst of rage. If she never used the latter and relied only on the former, then she would be stuck waiting until she got hurt enough. Not only would that waste time, but it also drained her Aura. Since that was the case, wouldn't it be better to be able to have both options open?

More importantly, what kind of idiot would purposely get hurt just to use their Semblance? She may not focus much on defense, but even she didn't ignore her defensive abilities altogether. And that part was what Giollah failed to see. What he saw as a lack of style _was_ her style. Her defenses weren't impregnable, nor was her offense a sure-win thing, but it worked for her and that was what counted.

And if they didn't like it then… well… that was their problem.

Besides… Yang glanced down the hallway, spotting the rest of Team KYBT waiting for her not far from Goodwitch's office. She released a brief sigh before walking in their direction. Forget Goodwitch and Giollah. She had a weekend movie marathon to plan for.

* * *

For the second time in just as many days, Weiss found herself in the dorm room with only Aigis as her companion. Well, companion would be stretching it since neither of them had planned on being the only two occupants of the room.

For some strange reason, SEES had once again gone up to the roof. An oddity in itself once Weiss thought about it. Usually they only spent Wednesday and Saturday nights on the roof. Not only did they break that trend last night, a Tuesday night, but they broke it again by returning to the roof tonight.

And as always, nobody answered as to why they did so. The closest answer they received, asides from the time when Mitsuru told them that they always trained at night back in Iwatodai, was that it was a SEES tradition. It was only after they parted that she realized just how skillfully they had evaded the question.

Which was the tradition, she wondered. Gathering twice a week? Staying up late? Watching the moon? Or perhaps it was something they had yet to see. Something they did only once everyone else departed for bed. As far as Weiss knew, nobody had ever thought to stay with SEES the entire night.

Perhaps it was because of the time when Mitsuru displayed her displeasure with Yang, and the rest of them as well to some extent, just last month. She would never admit it out loud, but something in Mitsuru's expression and demeanor that night had scared Weiss, calling to her deepest, most primal instincts to survive and screaming at her to avoid the redhead at all costs when she was in that state. And that was when it was directed at someone else. After seeing that, nobody was likely to want to cross her again.

She'd have to see if she could remain behind one time without being too intrusive. Definitely on a Saturday rather than Wednesday. That way she wouldn't have to worry about having to wake up early the next day.

Either way, Aigis was her concern at the moment.

Despite leaving the rooftop not long after arriving, Aigis had gone straight to the windows, standing in front of it to gaze up at the moon. Why she didn't just do so on the roof was a mystery. But when Weiss remembered the blonde's words from the previous night, she supposed it made sense.

And yet, even that was strange. What sort of machine felt things like guilt? Aigis, obviously, but it still confounded her. Displaying emotions was one thing, but actually feeling them? What use was there for a machine to feel such emotions? Or even to just feel?

While Weiss would never wish to be completely without emotion, there were certainly times when she felt it would be better if she couldn't feel them. Or at least, switch them off like a light bulb. Such as the times she dealt with the sibling pair of Yang and Ruby. If she couldn't feel any emotion during those times, then she wouldn't be annoyed by their antics. And if she didn't feel annoyed, then she wouldn't be wasting precious time and energy getting mad at them.

And it was certainly a waste of time since they very rarely listened for very long. Thankfully, Ruby had been giving her more space since the incident in the locker room the other day. Fuuka's doing no doubt, since the younger girl had been persistent in her attempts to form a bond of friendship. The elder sibling hadn't been bothering her lately for some reason. She wouldn't take it for granted, but she did wonder how long that would last.

Realizing her thoughts were straying, Weiss forced her attention back to the two notebooks on the desk in front of her, ignoring the android staring up at the moon.

After revealing her extracurricular studies a few days ago, Weiss was able to procure a copy of Fuuka's notes on Aigis dating back to the time when Fuuka and Aigis began to work on the latter's systems.

The earlier ones, as she had been told, were simply diagnostics for the basics such as Aigis's motor skills. Comparing them with her own notes showed that, while slightly different, Aigis was more or less similar to what the Atlesian Army currently had. Provided, of course, that what she was studying was completely up-to-date. For all she knew, what she was studying was from the very first generation of androids rather than the latest.

Of course, it was impossible to truly compare which was designed and programmed better with motor skills alone.

Which was why she was dedicating every free moment she had to deciphering the rest.

Instead of trying to decipher the android herself.

Like she was doing again.

The Schnee heiress bit back a growl as she forced her eyes away from Aigis for the fourth time that night. Her curiosity was getting the best of her again and it didn't help that it was connected to SEES as a whole rather than Aigis alone. Had it just been the latter then she could have ignored it. Instead, the blonde's words the night before still tickled her curiosity.

Why did she betray SEES? Why was she still with them if she turned her back on them once before? Were they unaware of her betrayal? For that matter, in what manner _did_ she betray SEES? Did her betrayal have anything to do with the death of Mitsuru's father? Or was it just a coincidence that the two events occurred at roughly the same time?

The mystery only grew the more she thought about it. And the more it grew, the less she was able to focus on the notebook she was studying. So with a resigned sigh, she shut both notebooks, hers and Fuuka's, and put them away.

Forcing herself to study when she clearly wasn't in the proper state of mind to do so wouldn't end well. The few times she had done so only did more harm than good at the end. So her studies would have to be put on hold for the moment.

There was, however, something else she could do.

"Aigis?" The blonde turned around when her name was called – unusually cordial in manner given who had spoken – and two pairs of blue eyes met in short order. "If… you don't mind me asking, what did you mean last night when you said that you… that you betrayed them?"

As expected, Aigis's expression fell at Weiss's question. The heiress could practically feel how disheartened she was just by having the topic brought up. But if she didn't ask now, then her thoughts were sure to linger in the coming days. It was just too big an issue for her to ignore. Especially considering Aigis was her team leader.

"I… That is…"

Weiss watched patiently as Aigis turned away, seemingly struggling with herself. Normally she would have said something the instant she sensed hesitation. Now, however, she would make an exception and be as patient as she needed to be. Some things, especially sensitive issues like this, were best coaxed out gently rather than by force. Even _she_ knew that much.

She wasn't asking just for curiosity's sake after all. She _had_ to know what happened. She _had_ to know how and why Aigis betrayed SEES. She _had_ to know if there was a possibility that Aigis would do it again. Nothing more, nothing less. Her future as a Huntress may very well be on the line after all.

And this may be her only chance to ask without anybody else overhearing or learning of her interest in the matter.

"Last year…" Aigis began but then hesitated once more, looking down and away. This time, it didn't take long for her to make up her mind, though she kept her face turned away out of shame. "Last year, a man we trusted betrayed us." Weiss held back a frown, wondering what the mysterious man had to do with Aigis's own betrayal. "He brought me to the Kirijo laboratory earlier that day. Under the guise of maintenance, he tampered with my programming. As such, I was unable to disobey him when he ordered me to capture and restrain everyone else later that night. Kirijo-san, that is, Mitsuru-san's father, was among them."

' _So they were aware of it,'_ thought Weiss. More important, however, was the mention of the Kirijo patriarch. Was this connected to how he…

"Later, once they regained consciousness, he explained the reason for his betrayal and ordered me to kill Kirijo-san." A gasp nearly slipped past her lips, but she couldn't hide the way her body tensed at those words. "I resisted the order." Some of the tension faded, but most remained as she listened to Aigis's next words. "But I was unable to regain full control of myself. In the end, he shot Kirijo-san himself and proceeded to order me to kill everyone else."

There was no need for her to feel tense any longer. SEES was very much alive. But she couldn't help but want to know more even though her question had already been answered.

"I fought against the command once more. Twice more he ordered me to execute them. Both times I resisted until I finally broke his hold over me, releasing everyone from their bonds rather than killing them."

"Why would you consider that betrayal?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Though she schooled her features to hide it, Weiss was certain that she felt just as shocked as Aigis looked at that moment, the blonde finally turning to face the heiress properly rather than looking away in shame. "Had you been human then it wouldn't have mattered if he forced you in some manner, like coercion or blackmail. A human in your position still made the conscious decision to give in at the beginning."

"But you _aren't_ human." For some reason, saying those words felt both repulsive and relieving. Hopefully, neither one seeped into her voice. "You said so yourself, he tampered with your programming. He _made_ you do all those things without giving you a choice in the matter. That you resisted him was enough. I'm certain that Mitsuru wouldn't have blamed you even _if_ you killed her father. You even broke free and regained control of yourself before you could kill everyone else."

Rather than be relieved or encouraged, Aigis simply looked down and shook her head sadly. "At that time, the primary directive in my system, one that could not be overwritten, was to remain with Minato-san. Killing him contradicted that directive. Unlike the way I am now, I was still more machine than human at that time. I did not yet possess a proper 'will' beyond fulfilling my orders. As such, if not for that directive, I would not have been able to resist."

"But you didn't stop at him, did you?" countered Weiss, her voice firm and her expression fierce. "If that was all that mattered then you would have killed everyone else. Even before that, you still managed to not kill Mitsuru's father. That is not what I would consider betrayal."

Yet, once again, Aigis found her own counter. "Even so, my inability to resist sooner resulted in that outcome." Weiss was very close to reaching up with her hands. Whether to tear her own hair out in annoyance, or to throttle Aigis for being the cause of her annoyance was still up for debate. "I played a role in Kirijo-san's death, unwilling though I may have been. That they do not blame me at all does not feel… right."

Weiss clenched her fists tight, keeping the muscles in her arms tense lest she do something she regret. With those last few words, she understood now just what the problem was. Just why Aigis felt the way she did despite being a victim of the betrayal rather than one of two traitors.

And it had nothing to do with the actions that she had been forced to perform.

"May I… ask you something in turn?" Weiss nodded, not trusting herself to speak calmly just yet. Not after what she just realized. "Do you… do you hate me?" This time, she didn't move at all, not trusting herself to not do something she would regret. "You said before that you kept your distance from me because you wished to maintain a professional relationship with those in school. And yet, I cannot help but feel that you are actively avoiding me."

Despite the accusation coming from her, it was Aigis who looked uncomfortable while Weiss remained unmoved. Even so, the blonde went on, her voice and tone soft, almost pleading. "Have I done something to offend you? Or is it because I am-"

"I don't like you." Her words, spoken so plainly as though they were having an ordinary conversation, interrupted Aigis before she could finish her next sentence. She knew what the blonde was about to say. And if she said it, then Weiss may not be able to stop herself from revealing the full truth. "But I wouldn't say that I despise you," Weiss continued in a slightly softer tone once all of Aigis's attention was on her.

For now, an obscure answer would have to suffice to tide her over. Hopefully.

Then, with a barely audible sigh, she turned away from the blonde, pulled out a change of clothes from her wardrobe, and went into the bathroom. But just before she shut the door, she glanced at Aigis over her shoulder and said, "Make of that what you will." Then, without another word, she shut the door behind her.

Once it was shut, she listened for any sounds coming from the bedroom. Hearing none, Weiss folded her nightgown into a thicker bundle, buried her face into it, and let out a muffled yell.

And prayed that it was enough to hide the sound from Aigis's enhanced hearing.

* * *

 **November 6, XX13**

" _You_ want to fight _me_? One-on-one? Without your weapons?"

Akihiko gave Pyrrha a raised eyebrow filled with skepticism, wondering just where that request had come from. Next to him, Mitsuru was doing the same and was most likely asking herself the same question.

It was even more surprising since she waited until the end of their weekly training session before asking for the match. All around them, everyone had stopped preparing to leave when they heard the unexpected request.

All, that is, save for the red-haired girl before him who just nodded in response, giving no sign as to her intentions. "Yes."

The boxer exchanged looks with the fencer, the latter shrugging as though to tell him that it was his decision. Even so, Akihiko thought carefully about the request. It was beyond strange from his perspective especially since she was forgoing the use of her weapons.

In terms of overall combat experience, they were roughly even, although she may have a slight edge since she fought against a larger variety of fighters while he, up until recently, only fought against boxers and the other members of SEES. His form would be better since he had been boxing for years now while Pyrrha most likely only learned unarmed combat just in case she was disarmed, unlikely given her Semblance.

Though on her part, Pyrrha would most likely incorporate kicks into her fighting style, he had seen her do so in several fights already. That would inconvenience him as it was only here in Beacon where he had the opportunity to train against kicks. And judging by the look in her eyes, a strangely familiar gleam hiding within, she most likely had no intention of holding back to give him a fighting chance. If anything, she-

' _Ah, so that's it.'_ Akihiko barely managed to hold back a grin. That was why her eyes looked so familiar. They were the kind of eyes he had seen so often in the past, all the way back in Iwatodai. He briefly wondered whether the challenge was a mere twist of fate or if she had known how it would turn out.

Either way, he would gladly oblige.

"Alright," he answered with a nod, doing his best not to give himself away. "But if you don't mind, I'll have Junpei backing me up with Rakukaja. I don't exactly stand a chance against you without that much."

He saw the way Pyrrha's eyes lit up at his acceptance as she nodded in response. Even his request did little to dim them. If anything, her excitement seemed to grow. Of course, her face gave nothing away. To anyone who didn't know what to look for, Pyrrha was simply accepting his terms.

Naturally, this meant that Mitsuru knew exactly what was going on. A quick glance out of the corner of his eyes showed his red-haired friend sighing discreetly in exasperation. Still, she said nothing. And that was the only sign he needed.

"Go get ready," he said to the Mistralian. "I'll let Junpei know what's going on. And maybe a quick stop to the restroom won't hurt."

As Pyrrha walked away, Akihiko turned around to seek out Junpei, who was off to one side with Jaune and Chidori. Walking alongside him, Mitsuru spoke to him in a low voice. "Try not to get carried away." He was sure that the grin that blossomed on his face did little to reassure her.

It only took a few seconds to let Junpei know his role in the coming fight. Before that, it took at least a minute to convince him that it was going to be a strictly one-on-one fight even though Junpei would be supporting him. Afterwards, he left the training room but returned in short order. He made one last stop to the side of the room, where his duffel bag was, before walking to the training area where Pyrrha was already waiting sans sword and shield.

Already, he could hear the excited chatters of his friends. He supposed it was understandable, considering Pyrrha was fighting. Unarmed at that. But he knew that they were expecting him to lose at the end either way.

After all, Pyrrha was both faster and stronger than he was. Pyrrha, known as the Invincible Girl, was the four-time consecutive champion of Mistral's yearly tournament. Pyrrha, Sanctum's top student in both combat and academics, was currently tied with Aigis for the top combat student in their year.

And that was precisely why he was going to make this a fight to remember.

* * *

As Akihiko was preparing for the fight, everyone else gathered to one side to watch the coming match. But the unexpected challenge from the Invincible Girl had caught all of them by surprise. Some began throwing out theories and speculations. Others chose to consult someone who might be more knowledgeable on the matter at hand.

"Why would she challenge him to this sort of duel? If she wanted to test her skills in unarmed combat then Yang or Ren would be a better opponent. Maybe even both at the same time."

Mitsuru glanced down at Weiss out of the corner of her eye, the shorter, white-haired heiress stepping up beside her and away from their more rambunctious friends. Even so, her question reached their ears despite their own conversations.

Yang, in particular, turned to KYBT's team leader as well. "She's got a point, Mitsuru. With the way she was grinning the entire fight last week, I thought Pyrrha would challenge Aigis to another fight. Why'd she choose Akihiko? And why fight without her weapons?"

Why indeed. She and Akihiko have been friends for nearly four years now, even if their relationship for most of that time was more of colleagues than actual friends. As such, she caught not only the grin that he had tried to hide, but also the one Pyrrha had been trying to hide. "I have my suspicions," she admitted out loud. "But I think it would be best not to say anything, just in case I'm mistaken."

After seeing what she did, however, there was very little chance of that. No, Mitsuru was absolutely certain that she was right. Hopefully they don't end up taking things too far the way Shinji and Akihiko used to.

Both fighters were now inside the training area, with Junpei standing just outside it with Trismegistus summoned, ready to provide Akihiko with a constant defensive boost. Everyone saw Akihiko's lips move, but his voice was low enough to not be heard.

Save for one person, that is.

When Blake heard that question, she had to struggle not to show her shock. Even more so when Pyrrha responded positively. She wasn't sure what was going on with the two who were about to fight, but she knew that it wouldn't end well. Not with what she just overheard.

* * *

Pyrrha stood ready, fists raised in a boxing stance much like Akihiko's. The question that the boxer had just posed threw her thoughts into a frenzy. It was a good frenzy, however, as she just barely managed to hide a grin that would have been wide enough to split her face in two.

"That's perfect, actually," she responded. And by the faint grin that blossomed on Akihiko's face, she knew that he at least suspected the reason for her challenge.

"Whenever you're ready, Junpei," Akihiko called to the teen standing not too far behind him.

Hardly a second passed before a familiar blue glow surrounded the boxer, providing him with a pseudo-Aura defense. And the moment the glow settled, Pyrrha charged forward.

She was a little disappointed that Akihiko opted to wait for her to approach. When she reached him, however, her disappointment turned into excitement.

In Combat class, Akihiko focused on defense as a single hit would spell defeat. The same went for their previous training matches as he lacked the ability to use Rakukaja by himself, and he didn't want to get used to having it since Junpei and Aigis won't always be there. Last week and earlier today, he focused on fighting alongside his Persona. But now…

She raised her arms to block another flurry of punches, weaving and sidestepping left and right to try and avoid them. But Akihiko was two steps ahead of her whenever she tried, circling around her to cut off her attempts to evade or aiming a punch where she attempted to move to. And when she tried pulling back to gain some distance, he advanced at the same moment as though anticipating her retreat.

Similarly, her own attacks were evaded with contemptuous ease, predicted long before her fist was halfway to its goal. Moreover, her unfamiliarity with boxing slowed her down. For every punch she threw, Akihiko threw nearly half a dozen back in response.

She had heard from Junpei that boxing was mainly done as a sport even if it could be used in an actual fight. Was this how Akihiko fought against other boxers? Though he was protected by Trismegistus's Rakukaja, he hardly needed the protection. Her fists couldn't even get close to him, never mind actually hitting him.

' _I suppose this is what I get for trying to take him on with his style.'_

She didn't tell him but, for this fight alone, she decided to limit herself to the same style that he used to keep the fight as even as possible. While she didn't know the specifics of boxing, she had seen enough to know that he used only punches and that his feet never left the ground at the same time.

Even when moving around, his feet would just glide over the ground rather than rising and falling with each step. The only time he did so was when he needed to close the distance between him and a distant foe. But when he was close enough, he remained solidly grounded.

Against someone utilizing a different fighting style, boxing, which was strictly punching and land-based combat, seemed highly inefficient. But now, facing him with the exact same limitations, she could actually appreciate the way he fought.

Swift and relentless punches setting the opponent up for the slightly slower but more powerful ones. Nimble, almost graceful, footwork that danced around the opponent but was equally steady and stable when pressed. He was like the reed that danced and swayed in the midst of a storm yet refusing to break.

It wasn't difficult to see why he was undefeated in his chosen sport. No, calling it a sport now was a severe insult. Perhaps the Japanese saw it as a sport. But her? A Mistralian? She called it art. A beautiful one at that.

After a few minutes of exchanging blows, with a poor exchange rate on her part, the two of them broke apart, fists still raised and breathing heavier than normal, though no worse for wear. It was only now that she noticed the lack of metal plates on his gloves, and that the gloves themselves were different from what he normally used. She hadn't really thought about using her Semblance this fight, but clearly he thought that she might.

Then he shot her a taunting grin.

"What's wrong?" he called out to her. "Don't tell me you're actually thinking of taking me on with just boxing." She grinned back, and was about to respond in the affirmative when he spoke again. "If you're just gonna go into this half-assed then I'll just end it here and now."

The grin on her face fell but then came back in full. Only this time, it looked far more vicious. Disadvantageous as it would have been for her, she _had_ been planning on keeping it a boxing match just to see how she matched up to him first. But now…

She charged forward and responded to his taunt with a powerful spin kick aimed at his head. A raised forearm stopped it, but she quickly lowered it and spun in the other direction, her other leg coming up to his side. Again it was blocked, but his lack of familiarity when facing kicks was showing. He stumbled a bit, though she noted that his overall posture was now defensive in nature. And that gave her the opening she needed to take control of the fight.

Unarmed combat wasn't her preferred form of fighting, but she was still fairly adept at it.

It didn't take her long to wrest control of the flow of battle from Akihiko. And in no time at all, their situations were reversed. Akihiko was now the one struggling to block and dodge her attacks, unable to sneak in more than one or two punches for every ten attacks she made.

Most of her attacks failed to breach his defenses, but a few glancing blows landed, enough to know she reached his skin but not enough to truly affect the battle. But as the seconds turned into minutes, more and more got through as she analyzed his defenses and adapted. He adapted to her changing tactics as well, but not as fast as she adapted to his defenses.

Despite that, however, she could see the fire in his eyes even as they darted in every direction to keep up with her attacks. She wasn't fighting at full strength just yet, not wanting the fight to end too soon, but she made sure to keep it at a level slightly higher than his. Just to see how he fared, how he would react.

And he certainly didn't disappoint.

Despite constantly shifting her attack patterns and styles, changing the speed and timing of her attacks, and keeping the overall flow of combat in flux, he was still able to adapt with only slight difficulty. And however limited his own fighting style and combat experience may be, his instincts served him well and helped him anticipate most of her attacks even when she was confident she would finally succeed in breaking through.

Even her more acrobatic and airborne attacks failed to surprise him enough to fully pierce his defenses. Either he had already gotten used to fighting such opponents during his two months at Beacon, or his fighting instincts were naturally great, enough to anticipate even something he had never or rarely encountered before.

And then he turned the tables on her.

The first real blow of the match landed, her leg connecting with his right side. His opposite leg shot out to the side to widen his stance, keeping him upright and steady as the blow rocked his body. That, in itself, was a surprise since it was one attack she hadn't expected to land. It was relatively slow, even if powerful, but it was a kick that had been meant to drive him back rather than hurt him. So her surprise was understandable.

Yet allowing herself to feel that brief moment of surprise was her first mistake.

In retaliation, his fist quickly lashed out and struck the side of her face, her shock at actually hitting him allowing the punch to land unchallenged. The punch hadn't been powerful, just a quick jab of his right hand aimed to knock her off-balance. And with one foot off the ground, the punch was doubly effective.

Pyrrha stumbled back while maintaining her balance, keeping her attention on Akihiko the entire time as he would undoubtedly capitalize on her situation. And that was her second mistake. It barely took him a second to close the short distance between them. Soon, punch after punch rained down on her, from every direction. From the front, from the sides, from below, and even a few that came down from above.

Having regained control of the flow of battle, Akihiko pressured her and came at her relentlessly. Using her superior speed and agility, she was able to block and evade every attack that came her way. But his boxing experience came into play and he kept her from counterattacking by making sure her arms were too busy fending off his attacks. In fact, move of his punches targeted her arms rather than her face or body, keeping them pinned down and unable to strike back.

And as close as he was, kicking would only make things worse for her. He was too close for her to properly kick. And while kicks were stronger than punches, for the most part anyway, they also took longer to execute. Akihiko could punch her at least once in the brief span of time it would take for her leg to reach its target. And as with earlier, that would be enough to throw her off balance.

As it was, there were only two ways she would be able to regain control of the battle.

She could let some of his punches through, sacrificing some defense to be able to strike back offensively just like he had done just now. She was stronger than him so a few hits would be enough to make him stagger and give up control.

She could also disengage from the current bout. Even if he chased after her, that would be enough time for her to regain her bearings and re-engage him in a manner that benefits her.

But both options stung her pride just thinking about it. One would mean willingly allowing him to strike her just for the opportunity to strike back. Even without her tutor's lessons, she found it a mark against her skills to resort to such a tactic. The other would mean being the first to retreat, a sign that she was overwhelmed. The earlier incident didn't count in her mind as both she and Akihiko pulled away at the same time.

It shouldn't have been difficult to decide. Retreat was an acceptable strategy, even by the standards of the most critical of Mistralian martial artists.

But whenever green eyes met gray, her resolve wavered.

Those cunning gray eyes sought her green ones out at every opportunity. Every moment they weren't scanning her defenses or watching out for a counterattack, they were looking directly at her. Chiding her. _"Why aren't you fighting?"_ they seemed to ask her.

His grin was the same. Smug and vicious, almost beast-like in ferocity. Yet even without moving, his lips seemed to be able to convey his message. _"Can you keep up?"_

There was no doubt in her mind now. Akihiko didn't just suspect it, he already knew why she had challenged him. The only question now was, why?

This was it. This was her chance. So why couldn't she rise to the challenge? Why was she suddenly hesitating?

Then, all of a sudden, the relentless barrage of punches stopped. It didn't even register immediately. She stood there for a few seconds, arms raised defensively and eyes searching for where the next attack would come from, before she noticed that Akihiko had dropped out of his stance and was just standing there calmly.

Pyrrha lowered her arms slowly but remained tense, wondering if this was one of his many ploys. He had shown, both in class and in training, that he was incredibly shrewd despite his straightforward fighting style. But even when her arms were hanging straight down and her back had straightened, he didn't move. Her ears barely registered the sounds of confusion coming from beyond the transparent blue barrier surrounding them as she wondered just what Akihiko was doing.

Then, just when she was about to open her mouth to ask, he sighed with a small frown on his face. "Let's do this another time." She froze briefly, wondering why he would suddenly say that. He must have read the question through her expression since he spoke again. "You've clearly got something else on your mind right now. You may be able to fight but you're obviously more than just a little distracted. That punch I landed earlier shouldn't have hit you."

She didn't want to admit it but he was right. She normally would never have been so slow, so unfocused, that his counterattack would strike her so solidly in the face. Even surprised as she had been at that time, he was still in front of her where her eyes could see. At worst she would have just barely dodged it, or perhaps put up a hasty guard.

But neither one happened. Instead, his punch landed squarely on her cheek.

Then she had allowed him to retake control of the battle. Instead of cautiously waiting for his next move, she should have put more distance between them or even rushed back in to intercept his counterattack. Again, she did neither. She foolishly waited for him to approach her, leading to the loss of initiative and momentum, which he gained in turn.

Akihiko was already walking away by the time she came out of her thoughts, the transparent blue hard-light walls fading away as the training session was ended prematurely. He didn't turn back, nor did he answer the questions from their friends. He essentially just waved them away as he packed his belongings and left the training room.

But Pyrrha remained in place, asking herself once more why she had hesitated at such a crucial moment. And all around her, everyone just watched in confusion, wondering what had happened.

* * *

Everyone could only watch as Pyrrha rose from the table and quietly left the dining hall, Jaune following after a few indecisive moments. Once the pair left, everyone turned to Akihiko, who was the only person who might have the answers they were looking for. But before anyone could even open their mouths to ask, he had already cut them off.

"Don't ask." There was certainly no way he could be clearer than that. "Even if I knew what was bothering her, it's not my place to say."

Some accepted his words, and some pouted and deflated. Only one was undeterred. "But you do have an idea, don't you?" asked Mitsuru, to which the boxer nodded, taking another bite of his meal. "Assuming you're right, is it something we need to worry about?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Not right now, no. Best to let her try handling it herself." He looked up from his meal to face Junpei. "Though if I were you I'd keep an eye on her in case things get worse. But unless she says something first…"

Team JACN's leader nodded. "Yeah, got it. But if it takes too long I'm talking to her. It ain't healthy keeping stuff like that in for too long."

"You're her team leader so it's your call, not mine," was Akihiko's response, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his junior's decision. "You can do whatever you want so long as you man up to whatever happens."

"No need to tell me that." The response was accompanied by a wry grin. "That's pretty much the rule we lived by since that day, right?"

When not just Akihiko, but all the members of SEES nodded, Nora turned to the boxer and asked, "What rule? What day?"

In response, a sardonic grin matching Junpei's appeared on his face. "A rule that woman made us agree to follow before she trained us."

"To live our lives of our own free will, and to face the consequences of every action," recited Aigis, speaking with her eyes shut as though remembering the moment she heard those words. "It was only after we agreed that Elizabeth-san began to train us."

"That doesn't sound so bad," commented Yang. But her words earned a head shake from Blake. "You don't think so?"

The amber-eyed girl turned to her partner. "You'd be surprised how easy it is to run away from responsibility. Even words like 'It's not my fault', 'I was told to do it' or 'I had no choice' are ways of running away from responsibility."

"It's easier to blame others than to accept that you made a mistake." Surprisingly, to the Aura-users at least, those words of wisdom came from the youngest person at the table. Ken looked down sadly. "It's easy to say that our actions are because someone else wronged us first, or that it was only natural we would do it after something that someone else did."

It was strange, they thought, to see a boy as young as he was speaking such words. But they could tell by the hollow gaze in his eyes that he was not just reciting words he had read somewhere. This was not mere knowledge. This was wisdom born of experience.

The question now was, what had happened to cause him to learn such a lesson at a young age?

"Hey Ken?" called out Nora from across the table. "Are you…"

The orange-haired girl hesitated to ask what was on her mind, but also uncertain as to where to begin, and that was enough for the door to shut before she could set foot into the room beyond. "I'm fine," Ken answered, looking up with a smile that everyone could tell was forced. Then, he rose from his seat and picked up his tray, his meal only mostly consumed. "I'll go take Koromaru for a walk. I'll see you back in the room."

Nobody made a move to stop him, just like they did with Pyrrha. Only this time, nobody made to check on him even though some people turned expectantly to Akihiko. "He'll be fine," was what he said in response to their looks. "This is something he's already settled long ago. Doesn't mean it won't hurt to remember. He's still young after all. But he's got it handled. Don't worry."

Nora looked like she wanted to argue, but a hand on her shoulder, courtesy of her long-time friend, stopped her. She backed down, but everyone could tell she wasn't happy leaving the matter alone.

All the while, bluish-green eyes followed Ken's form as he walked out of the dining hall, greeted soon after by a white dog, and remained locked onto him until he disappeared from sight.

* * *

"Are you alright Pyrrha?"

Jaune could only watch sadly as Pyrrha shook her head. He had expected that. Ever since the unexpected end of fight with Akihiko earlier today, his partner had been more than a little distracted.

The two of them were the room's only occupants at the moment, with Junpei sending him a message that he and Chidori would be in the library to finish the week's homework to give them some time alone. Though the image Junpei typed up with various symbols – what did he call it again? And emochi or something? – one that depicted a smiling face giving a thumbs-up, made his cheeks burn just a little bit.

What did he think they were gonna _do_ in the room?

Pyrrha was lying listlessly on her bed, her shoes the only thing missing from her usual combat ensemble. Everything else was still the same as she, obviously, hadn't bothered to change into something else.

Idly, he wondered if this was how he looked to everyone else back when Scarlett told him that she would be taking him home, before the 'special' training began. Then again, his red-haired partner didn't exactly look like she was told the world, or even just her world, was ending. Just… distracted. And perhaps more than a little frustrated for some reason.

Jaune sat down on the side of his bed that faced his partner. "Do you… Do you wanna talk about it?" he offered. He couldn't exactly help if he didn't know what the problem was.

But no response was forthcoming at all. Not a nod or a shake of her head, or even so much as a whisper or groan. And yet the blonde waited patiently, knowing first-hand that some things were just that difficult to talk about, even to close friends and family, never mind people you met just two months ago. So he would wait. Even if the only answer he received was a 'no'.

Eventually, his patience paid off.

"What do you know about Mistral?"

Well, it wasn't what he'd expected but he would take what he could get. Better than being unable to do anything at all. "Honestly, not much. Just that it's one of the four Kingdoms, the location of Haven Academy, and that someone called Invincible Girl lives there. I mean, seriously, who names their kid Invincible?"

Pyrrha's lip didn't even twitch. Given her mood, his attempt at humor had probably been dead long before it even left his lips. Still, he thought with a barely restrained sigh, he had to at least try even if he knew it had very little chance of succeeding. His entry into Beacon, both legal and otherwise, had been the same after all and yet he managed to scrape by.

"Mistral, or at least, the territory controlled by the kingdom, covers several different ecosystems as well as varying cultures because of that same diversity." Pyrrha's tone was bland, like someone reciting words from a book they had no interest in. "But in spite of all that, the people of Mistral all valued one thing in common. Nature."

"Whether it was the life-giving breath of the wind, the bounties of the sea, or the many blessings of the earth, any and all aspects of nature were highly revered. It's said that even the mightiest and fiercest of storms had blessings to bestow."

"And so hundreds of years ago, not long after the City of Mistral was first established, people turned to the arts in its various forms to show their appreciation of nature. Paintings, and music and literature were said to be the first. One captured a visible image while the other two projected an image through words. Less direct interpretations followed later such as stage plays and sculptures. Later still, it extended to other things like fashion and architecture."

"Soon, the Kingdom of Mistral came to be known as a kingdom where art in all its forms is the very heart of its culture. And that holds true to this day. Visual or aural, material or abstract, nearly any form of art is greatly valued within the Kingdom of Mistral. Even the art of combat."

Something changed in Pyrrha's voice when she spoke those last few words. The bland, monotonous tone had given way to a hint of emotion, one that Jaune couldn't properly identify. If he had to guess, she sounded… pained? Troubled? He knew the feeling. He couldn't quite put it to words but he knew that he was supposed to know that emotion.

He didn't know why he did, but he did. That tiny speck of emotion that seeped into her voice at the very end resonated deeply within him for some reason. He knew. He understood. And yet he couldn't put it into words or give voice to it.

Ignorant of Jaune's sudden confusion, Pyrrha continued to speak. "But just because someone studied martial arts didn't mean they were artists. Martial arts is not about the ability to overcome your opponent." This time, Pyrrha's words sounded rehearsed, something she, or someone else, had repeated many times until the words were engraved into their memories. "Those who fight only for the sake of fighting, who lose themselves in a quest for power and seek only to achieve victory, are nothing more than uncivilized brutes."

"So… Yang?" _That_ got a tiny twitch of the redhead's lip. Certainly, Weiss had called the blonde brawler that one enough times that it was practically a nickname already. Or a comedy duo title. The Uncivilized Brute and the Ice Queen.

But that moment of levity faded in an instant as Pyrrha resumed speaking in that same flat tone. "I… I've always…" Though monotonous in tone, the hesitance was clear and Jaune knew at that moment that the next words out of Pyrrha's mouth would be the most important part of their conversation tonight.

"I can't remember when I first realized it, but I've known for years now that I could never be called an artist." Again, those words resonated within him, calling to an emotion he couldn't name. But he was much closer now to remembering what it was. He could only hope further explanation of her situation would help. "Unlike true martial artists, who found contentment just by going through the motions, I wasn't even the least bit satisfied unless I was testing my abilities against another person."

"My classmates were so far below my level that I grew more frustrated fighting them. Joining the Mistral Regional Tournament brought some relief, but by my second championship I had surpassed them all to the point that I was barely satisfied even by the final match. My tutor and teachers would lower their ability to around my level but I couldn't be satisfied knowing that, even if I beat them, they were not fighting at their best."

"So… you wanted to fight someone strong?" deduced Jaune, picking up the bits and pieces that Pyrrha gave him to complete the picture. "Then why'd you challenge Akihiko? Why not challenge Aigis to another fight? The two of you are pretty much equal, right?"

Much to his confusion, Pyrrha shook her head. And instead of answering his question, she posed one of her own. "Tell me Jaune, what do you feel when you fight?"

Though unexpected, the blonde swordsman mulled that question over in his head, thinking back to his own fights and what he felt. "Well… afraid, I guess?" Then, so as to avoid a misunderstanding, he hurried to explain. "Well it's… I guess it's because I'm not that good yet. I mean, I noticed I was doing better this week, even though I still got knocked out of the fight, but I'm not losing as quickly as I used to."

When his explanation was over, Pyrrha nodded to show that she understood, but her expression remained tired and empty, and her gaze dull and lifeless. "Aigis feels a sense of duty when she fights, since it is what she was made for. But going by what she said, it sounded like she also feels hopeful that the fighting will one day end, and she can live for something beyond her original purpose. And so she keeps fighting until that day comes."

"When she told me that, I was… disappointed." The redhead sighed and slowly shut her eyes. "Not in her, but the situation. I thought that I'd finally found someone like me. Someone who strives to always be better, someone who can't be content not being the best at what they do."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at that and leaned forward. "But… isn't everyone like that?" he asked. "I mean, wouldn't it be stranger if nobody ever wanted to get better?"

Pyrrha shook her head, her eyes still shut. "Most people just want to be at the top. But I don't want to be at the top just for the sake of it." Emerald green eyes opened, and Jaune saw a strange fire burning in them. Her arm rose, reaching for the ceiling with an open hand. "I want people to keep climbing up to me, to try to take my spot and knock me down. I want to struggle for that position, to fight with all I have never knowing whether I will win or not rather than fighting a battle that was all but pre-determined to end in my victory."

No, neither her hand nor her gaze were aimed at the ceiling. Her eyes saw beyond that. Her hands reached past that. Her goal was the sky that lay behind the steel and concrete. Or perhaps even beyond that.

"Aigis was the only one who could push me that far, to force me to struggle for victory. Neither fight was finished, but I know that she and I could have pushed each other to greater heights." Then, with a heavy sigh, her hand fell sideways and hit the bed, her elbow down to her hand hanging off the edge. "But she didn't feel the same way I did."

"She then suggested that I speak with Akihiko, since he, apparently, was the same as me when he first took up boxing. Nearly undefeated, a desire to keep growing stronger, a never ending hunger for strong opponents, and an unquenchable thirst for victory. It's why I challenged him today."

"So what happened? Why did…" If Akihiko had been the one she had been searching for then why did she look so down? Why did their fight end with the boxer stopping it and just walking away?

"I… I was..." The rest of her words trailed off but, due to the silence of the room, Jaune's ears still managed to catch her spoken words.

And those words resulted in his eyes shooting open in surprise, his jaw slack and partly open. "Wh-What?" He must have misheard her. There was absolutely no way she just said that. Not Pyrrha of all people.

But his hopes were for naught as she spoke those same words once more, speaking firmly this time around as her face hardened as though to scold him for making her repeat herself. "I said I was too afraid." Then she turned her head away, facing the wall as though to hide her shame at the admission of fear. Jaune noted that her hands were now clenched tightly into fists.

"But… But why?" He could hear the disbelief in his voice, the sheer incredulity of her statement hitting him hard. "You're… You're you. You're one of the smartest in our year, and one of the two strongest, maybe even one of the strongest in the school. You're… you're… you're the Invincible Girl."

"So that's what you think too?" she muttered beneath her breath, too low for him to properly understand this time. But when he asked her what it was she had said just then, she just sighed wearily. "It's nothing."

Before the swordsman could ask any more, Pyrrha pushed herself up and turned to the side to face her partner. "I'm… going to walk around a bit," she announced without any warning, bending down to put on her boots. Jaune nodded and made to stand after she did, but she stopped him with a slow but firm shake of her head. "I'm sorry Jaune, but I… I need some time alone."

Though he was confused by her decision, he knew that he didn't really have any right to insist on otherwise. Besides, she wasn't a child that needed a guardian to accompany them wherever she went. And so, with another nod of his head, she turned to the door with a faint smile of gratitude.

It had been the correct decision, he was certain of that. Why then, he wondered as the door clicked shut after she left the room, did he feel like he had just made a horrible mistake?

* * *

Unknown to Jaune and Pyrrha, the room across from theirs was about to play host to a conversation that was very much related to the one they had just finished.

Akihiko stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a plain white shirt and loose black pants with his silver hair still damp from his shower. The first thing he noticed upon exiting was that Nora was now standing – or rather dancing slightly as though unable to remain still – directly in front of him, wearing a black shirt with the word 'BOOP' printed on it, short pink shorts with white bolts of lightning, and an expectant look on her face.

"So~o…"

He rolled his eyes at her sing-song voice but allowed a small grin to raise the corner of his lip. While she hadn't asked about Ken, she did pester him more about Pyrrha's situation. And so, he promised her, shortly after returning to the room, to explain what had happened earlier. At least, as much as he could without talking about personal matters. That is to say, not very much at all.

"It's nothing that serious," he began, walking around Nora and heading towards his bed. He took a seat on the side facing Nora and Ren's beds, his back to Ken's. Speaking of Ken, a quick glance showed that the adolescent boy was absent. With the absence of Koromaru as well, he could hazard a guess that the two have yet to return to the room from their after-dinner walk. "It's like I told Pyrrha earlier, she seemed distracted during the fight. I didn't think it was a good idea to continue the fight while she was like that so I ended it early."

Ren, sitting sideways on the chair in front of his desk, just nodded, accepting the answer, but Nora looked incredibly put out. And just a little bit indignant at having been made to wait for so little. "Awww… really? I waited for you to finish showering for _that?_ I thought it was something more exciting."

He knew he was going to regret it, but he had to ask anyway. "What _did_ you think it was about?"

"We~ell," she began, rising from her bed and standing up with her crossed. "It was strange that Pyrrha challenged you so I thought about why she'd do that since she could easily beat you even without her sword and shield. Then I remembered that sometimes boys bully girls when they like them because they didn't know how to tell them. So I thought, what if Pyrrha was the same? What if she challenged you since she didn't know how to confess her feelings for you properly?"

Akihiko slapped his palm to his face and groaned. "Nora…"

Ignoring her silver-haired team leader, Nora continued to narrate her thoughts, arms waving around and even acting the part of either the Pyrrha or the Akihiko in her thoughts. "I thought she was going to beat you up so you'd get fired up and fight harder. Then the two of you would grab each other by the arms and start wrestling until you were both rolling around on the ground, trying to pin the other down."

Akihiko had to wonder how she managed to wrestle herself to the ground while making it look like she actually _was_ wrestling with someone.

"After a while she manages to hold you down using her superior strength. She sits on you and asks you 'What now?' while you struggle to push her off you. Then you realize that you can't get away so you just frown and say, 'Go ahead, do your worst.' So Pyrrha just gives you this evil grin, leans down and-"

"ARF!"

"KOROMARU!" In a blur of black, pink, flesh, and orange, the girl he was just talking to suddenly disappeared, rushing towards the white-furred dog that just entered the room with the fourth member of their team, who looked decidedly better than he did earlier. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?"

Akihiko just sighed a mixture of relief and exasperation. Thankfully, no one on their team was fond of gossip and the like so no one would ever hear of Nora's expectations of the earlier fight. Still… how did she get to _that_ conclusion?

"Probably best not to ask."

"KENNY!"

Ignoring the now familiar byplay happening by the door, Akihiko glanced up and found Ren standing in front of the window, half-sitting and half-leaning on the low bookshelf with a look of understanding on his face. The boxer nodded in agreement. Asking would just invite another incredible story. And with that story, another headache. "Yeah."

"Any ideas though? About Pyrrha I mean," Ren tacked on the second part quickly to avoid having Akihiko think that the question was in relation to Nora's tale. "I'm not sure if you saw, but she looked really troubled after you ended the fight."

The boxer nodded and leaned forward on his knees with his forearms. "I have a pretty good idea why she challenged me," he said, tuning out Koromaru's excited barks and Nora's squeals as the two of them played around. "But I've got nothing on why she was distracted. Must be something big if it's distracting her, of all people, in the middle of a fight. You don't win tournaments and championships if you're easily distracted by small things in a fight."

"What about the fight itself? Anything you can tell me?"

Akihiko gave a short laugh. "I didn't think you were one for gossip, Ren."

"It's fine if you can't tell me," the raven-haired boy responded with a shrug and an understanding nod. "It's just… I'm sure I'm not the only one who was expecting Pyrrha to challenge Aigis to another fight. Not only is she the only one who can keep up with her, but that's two fights now that they didn't get to finish. I'm sure they're both curious as to how it'll end."

"The whole _school_ wants to know how it'll end." Even the ever stoic Ren cracked grin at those words. "Not sure how much is safe to tell you about why she challenged me without getting into personal territory, so I'll just say one thing."

"And that is…?"

Akihiko shot Ren a near manic grin, his lips slightly parted to show a hint of his teeth. "It's not always opposites that are attracted to one another."

* * *

 **November 8, XX13**

Today, the second set of Persona-Aura Interaction Tests would be taking place. Just like last time, everyone who was aware of the existence of Personas was gathered in the Combat classroom. However, Glynda, from her position beside the Headmaster, noted the strange atmosphere surrounding some of the students.

Pyrrha Nikos had an air of despondency around her while her teammates all looked quite concerned for her. Several members of the other three teams seemed to be doing the same. Something must have happened involving the Mistralian. Something fairly serious, if it made half the group worry for her.

Yang Xiao Long, at first glance, looked to be excited for the second set of tests. But years of experience dealing with teenagers with various personalities and temperaments showed her that this was not the case. She was restless for some reason. Since she wasn't glancing in her direction it was safe to conclude it had nothing to do with their talk about the younger blonde's temper.

Weiss Schnee was quiet, as always. Unlike previous times, however, her silence didn't seem to be for the usual reasons. Her posture was needlessly tense, as though she were expecting some manner of misfortune to occur. She was, however, quite adept at hiding it. Her eyes remained focused, not darting around searching for something that had yet to exist or occur. Again, only years of experience allowed her to pierce the façade.

And if she could see it, then no doubt Peter, Ruadh, and the Headmaster could see it as well. She knew that, for now, none of them would act upon it. The students were in no danger and have yet to approach them for aid. So they would let them handle their issues on their own, let them grow through their own experiences rather than having someone step in at every turn.

This was a school after all. And a classroom need not be limited to a room with chairs, desks and blackboards.

Glynda turned her attention back to the combat area, where Khloe, Ruadh, Aigis, Junpei, Akihiko, and Yukari were waiting for the order to begin. Off to the side, next to the combat area's exit, were Doctors Mores and Blackthorne, ready for any medical emergency that may come up.

"If everyone is ready, then let us begin," Ozpin announced without any fanfare.

Just like the other week, they would most likely stop at an appointed time so as to give the students a chance to enjoy the rest of the day. Although Glynda did feel sorry that Mitsuru, at the very least, would be needed at the debriefing that followed, cutting her weekend even shorter.

Bright green eyes watched as Aigis placed her Evoker to her temple and summoned her Persona, Athena. Counting the initiation and the previous test, this was the third time Glynda was seeing it. And she was certain she would see it more in the coming weeks, months, and years.

"Tarukaja."

Though the words were softly spoken, Aigis's voice carried up into the stands. Rakukaja and Marakukaja were SEES's defensive abilities, granting a temporary pseudo-Aura. The only difference between the two was that the former could only be used on a single person while the latter could be used to support a group, rather than repeatedly using the other.

A yellow glow surrounded Yukari as she was empowered by whatever the ability was. If it followed the same trend, then it should have a counterpart that could be used on a group. Now all that was left was to see what it did.

Or rather, how powerful the effect was. There was a reason why they needed the testers to be the same pairs from the previous test.

Tarukaja and Matarukaja, an ability that increased the offensive power of the recipient's Persona. Yang and Nora, the most excitable of the Aura-users in the room, had loudly protested how unfair that seemed. In response to their accusations of cheating – shouted with a mix of indignation and playfulness – the Persona-users just laughed. Their claims that only the Persona was strengthened did little to settle the issue.

Ruby had joined them in protesting the unfairness of it all when the third ability to be tested was revealed.

Sukukaja and Masukukaja, an ability that increased the body's, or rather the mind's, ability to process information. In their own words, they were briefly able to process things faster, the world around them seemingly moving slower. And thus, they were able to react better. They didn't move faster than they normally did, but seeing everything else moving slower allowed them to react better to attacks and such.

In a way, it really was unfair, thought Glynda. Tarukaja for power, Rakukaja for defense, and Sukukaja for evasion and reaction time. Temporary though they may be, using just one against an opponent who was unaware of it could be devastating, never mind all three. And with the Ma- equivalents, entire teams could be empowered in just a split second.

Once the glow subsided, Yukari stepped forward and raised her Evoker. Opposite her, Khloe mirrored her actions while Ruadh stepped back. A gunshot echoed throughout the room and Isis appeared, the bull-themed Persona hovering above Yukari's head.

"Garu!"

The attack brought forth wisps of green power, coloring the air as it guided the air to swirl around Khloe. The attack looked slightly larger than before but, since the last experiment was two weeks ago, Glynda couldn't say for certain. She'd simply have to compare the video recordings later on.

Then, as she'd come to expect from the series of attacks that Isis was capable of, all the gathered wind converged and struck Khloe. The lavender-haired young woman easily withstood the attack, having already known what to expect. What caught Glynda's eyes, however, was amount of 'damage' the attack did. Seven percent. Isis's Garu took out seven percent of Khloe's Aura. Two percent more than it did two weeks ago, according to the data on her Scroll.

Was it the result of the ability that Athena had used? Or was it merely a fluctuation in the results? Perhaps the attack _was_ bigger than before. Looking back, they should have performed multiple tests of a single ability to establish an average. She made a note on her Scroll so she would remember to bring it up later.

The next two attacks came soon after, Garula and Garudyne as she had expected. The results, however, were not entirely unexpected. Garula took away eleven percent while Garudyne took away a shocking twenty-five percent. That was, respectively, three and six percent higher than last time. With that, forty-three percent of Khloe's Aura was gone.

Next, Junpei stepped forward while Ruadh did the same. Aigis summoned Athena once more to boost the cap-wearing teen's offensive power. Then, much like Yukari, Junpei repeated the previous test, engulfing Ruadh in fire twice and blowing him up once. And again, Glynda made note of the damage done on her Scroll, barely acknowledging the increase from the previous test.

Then Khloe and Yukari stepped forward once again for the third test of the day. This time, Glynda actually tensed up slightly. Unlike the first set of tests, or the testing of Tarukaja's effectiveness just now, the next pair of test could very well be cancelled depending on how the ability reacted.

Akihiko raised his Evoker up to his forehead, fired, and summoned Caesar, the white armored form of the Persona materializing above him. "Rakunda." As soon as those words left his mouth, a blue glow, a shade darker than Rakukaja's appeared. Not around Yukari, but around Khloe.

Her eyes shot up to Khloe's Aura gauge, watching it for any changes. Next to her, Ozpin was doing the same, as was Mitsuru to his other side. After a few tense seconds, Glynda released the breath she was holding.

The biggest worry they had, once Mitsuru described the effects that Rakunda had on the Grimm – namely a weakening of their body structure, making them much more susceptible to damage – was what it would do to Aura. Or worse, to a human being.

That sparked a not-so-small debate that involved the teachers and the doctors, with Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Aigis providing any necessary information but not stating an opinion either way, letting the adults ultimately decide whether to take the risk.

Ozpin wanted to test it, citing that the effect was temporary and that he would be the test subject if necessary. He would not make someone go through a test unwillingly.

Glynda wanted to avoid using it on a human altogether. Just knowing what it did to the Grimm was enough.

In response, Bart mentioned needing to know whether it was something they could use should they ever face a criminal who had Aura. He hypothesized that, since it weakened the Grimm's body, that it might do the same to Aura, causing it to deplete faster. It might even reduce someone's Aura upon use, perhaps even deplete it altogether, providing a significantly easier and safer way to engage such opponents.

Flora, as a doctor, argued that if the ability targeted only a person's Aura then it was fine. But if it ended up weakening the person's body, just like it did the Grimm's, then the effect may not be reversible even if it was supposed to be temporary.

Rosalyn plainly stated that it was too risky and Khloe expressed interest in knowing but not wanting any of them to take the risk.

Peter, Ruadh, and Reuben remained mostly silent but stated that they understood both sides. Peter and Ruadh were leaning towards testing it, while Reuben, as a doctor, recommended against it.

Four wanted to take the risk, five did not. And that should have been the end of it.

Then Aigis made a sound. When they turned to her, they found her eyes lighting up like someone remembering something. She then mentioned that Athena had an ability that could undo the effects of Rakunda without needing to wait for it to wear off. When questioned why she didn't mention it sooner, she stated, "We did not use those abilities against one another so I had no reason to use it. As such, I had forgotten about it."

That changed things. Although Flora reiterated the possibility of changes to their bodies being irreversible, Aigis's revelation of another of Athena's abilities was enough to shift Khloe's stance. After questioning Aigis briefly about it, she decided to put her trust in the android and announced that she would be the one to test the ability.

In addition, she mentioned that she was the best possible candidate. She and Yukari already had a baseline to compare the results with. And Yukari's wind attacks, though forceful, were the least harmful when compared to being electrocuted, frozen, burned, or attacked directly by Athena.

For now, turning her attention back down to the combat area where everyone was looking up for the final confirmation from the Headmaster, they could only hope that their decision did not cause irreversible harm.

When Ozpin nodded, letting them know it was fine to go ahead with the test, Yukari summoned Isis once more. "Garu."

Glynda held her breath when the attack began to form, and her entire body tensed when the attack converged upon Khloe. Then she released the breath she held in, and allowed the tension to flow out of her when Khloe remained standing, looking no worse for wear. A quick glance up at her Aura meter later, and what little tension remained faded away.

Seven percent. That was all the attack took away. The next two attack proceeded with Ozpin's permission, and the results were recorded once more.

The rest of the tests proceeded without delay and, soon, the tests were over. All that was left now was to retrieve the surveillance video, erase them from the server, and discuss the results.

* * *

"So what are the numbers this time?"

Glynda glanced over at Khloe as she all but collapsed onto the chair in the teacher's lounge where, once again, the same group as before was holding a debriefing of the tests. The main teaching staff, two doctors, and three Persona-users sat around the table, each with a copy of the day's results on the table in front of them.

"Let's discuss it in the order the tests were performed," she began, glancing at her copy of the results. "When compared to the first set of test, it would seem that Tarukaja increases offensive ability by roughly thirty percent. Similarly, Rakunda appears to weaken one's Aura to allow an attack to cause a similar increase in damage."

She double checked the next set of results before speaking again. "Their Personas' healing abilities do not seem to affect Aura, and we've agreed to simply take their word for it that it heals physical wounds. As we have no means of measuring it's exact effects, we can only cite that their Sukukaja and Sukunda abilities works as noted."

"I'll say," groused Ruadh while Khloe nodded. "Felt weird seeing the world slow down like that. The difference from real-time wasn't that big like they'd do in movies, but that slight difference is enough that a decent Huntsman could probably dodge and block bullets from a dozen guns firing at him all at once. The body doesn't speed up, but since everything else is slowed down too, it still gives someone more time to react."

Then he winced as he remember what he helped test next. "The opposite was worse." At that, Khloe winced sympathetically, having gone through the same thing. "I know everything was still moving normally from the outside, but seeing everything suddenly speed up, again not by much but enough, really threw me off. Even if it felt like my body was moving faster too, my mind isn't exactly geared to moving faster so I ended up stumbling around like an idiot."

"Yeah, that's pretty much how it was for me too," added Khloe, having helped test the effects alongside Ruadh. Then she grinned mischievously at her fellow teacher. "Minus the idiot part, of course." If she was hoping to provoke Ruadh into something, she was sorely disappointed when all he did was roll his eyes in her direction. "Still, I'm no expert but I don't think it's accurate to say that it was my mind that was speeding up or slowing down."

"Oh?" Flora leaned forward in her seat, interested in the unexpected turn. "How so?"

"Honestly, I don't really know why. But something's telling me that it's more than just that. It just… doesn't really feel like my mind was what their abilities affected." Khloe shook her head and gave a wan smile. "Sorry. I know it probably doesn't make any sense but that's just how it feels to me."

When she had nothing else to say on that matter, everyone turned to Ruadh. "What do you think?" Glynda asked.

Ruadh took a slow, deep breath with his eyes shut, taking the time to think of his response. As he let out the breath, he opened his eyes. "It's hard to say. But I think that Khloe may be on to something. Something about it just feels… off. It may sound ridiculous but it almost felt like time itself slowed down or sped up. I doubt it though," he added at the skeptical looks he was receiving. "If time sped up or slowed down then my movements would have been similarly affected, not unless only my mind sped up. But if that happened, I'd think there'd be other problems like the flow of blood and other things like it."

"It may be that we just aren't used to it, but in my own, personal, opinion, we're missing something crucial. Since Personas as a whole are mostly a mystery, even to the scientists who studied them as Ms. Kirijo mentioned before, we may never really know until we learn more."

Seeing that nobody had anything to add on that subject, Glynda moved on with the next and final test performed that day. "Finally, the results of the initial test of applying the effects of Tarukaja, Tarunda, and Rakukaja on Aura-users." All eyes once again turned to both Ruadh and Khloe. "Thoughts?"

Strangely enough, both Ruadh and Khloe frowned a bit. That didn't fill the others with confidence. "It's…" began Ruadh.

"… hard to say," Khloe finished after a brief pause. "Rakukaja is easy. Everyone saw its effects. It didn't replenish our Aura or anything but, like with these kids," she waved a hand towards the three Persona-users, "The barrier it provided completely minimized all damage. It took Ruadh and I several punches before we knocked out a single percentage of each other's Aura." Despite the good news, however, her tone was subdued, almost dull, the entire time. "It may be temporary, but hell, I could fight all day with that kind of protection if I've got one of them keeping it up on me the whole time."

"It's the other two that's weird." Several people leaned forward in interest, with Glynda getting ready to take notes. "One's supposed to make us stronger while the other weakens us but… well… it…"

"We didn't feel any different," Ruadh's low, rumbling voice chimed in when Khloe struggled to find the right words. "But when I tested my attacks on Peter, it was… strange."

"How so?" asked the aforementioned man. "It certainly felt like your punches were stronger and weaker respectively."

"That's just it. We know that those abilities boosted or hindered our abilities even through our Aura. But I didn't _feel_ it at all." Ruadh took a brief moment to assure he had everyone's attention. "I didn't feel stronger or weaker. Not the slightest bit. I almost thought that, unlike Rakunda which weakens our Aura or Rakukaja which complements our Aura, Tarukaja and Tarunda failed because it affected our physical bodies, which would mean going through our Aura first. And since Ms. Kirijo explained that only their Personas were strengthened, I assumed that, if it did work, only our own Semblance would be strengthened, something which we won't be trying until the next test."

"And yet the fact that Sukukaja and Sukunda worked, even through your Aura, meant half of that theory was invalid, while the results further invalidated the other half," finished Bart, one hand rubbing his chin in thought. "Interesting. In that case, did you feel anything during the actual testing? Or did it still feel as normal as it usually was?"

This time, Khloe answered. "The latter. If you hadn't told us afterwards that our punches actually dealt more damage or less, I'm sure we would have kept believing that it did nothing at all. It's as if… as if our physical strength doesn't affect it at all. Like something was just… 'boosting' the attack itself."

The next person to speak was, unexpectedly, Mitsuru. "That's certainly a possibility." When they turned to her for clarification, the red-haired young woman glanced up from the table. "Back in Iwatodai, we mostly relied on the power of our Personas. If you truly didn't feel any increase or decrease in strength, then perhaps our own attacks were strengthened as well and not just our Personas'. We never once thought to test how it affected us personally."

"So your words earlier, that they only affected your Personas' abilities, could very well be inaccurate in light of this revelation," summarized the green-haired teacher.

"Indeed," agreed Mitsuru. "Though that does bring up the question of exactly _what_ it does."

Nobody had an answer to that. If Mitsuru and Aigis, who all of SEES vouched for as being the most knowledgeable of the group on the topic of Persona, didn't know, with Fuuka being a close second, then it would fall to them and the experiments to discover the truth.

Eventually, after going over some minor details as well as planning the next set of experiments ahead of time, the group dispersed to allow them all to enjoy the rest of the day. And soon, Glynda and Ozpin were making their way to Beacon Tower.

Sunday it may be, but there was always more work that needed to be done. Not all of them pertaining to Beacon.

* * *

"I still say having all those abilities is much cooler."

Walking down the streets of Vale, Yukari just rolled her eyes at Yang's response. "It's not like all of us can do it. Stupei only has Rakukaja, Akihiko-senpai and Chidori-chan can weaken all three, Aigis can use all three to strengthen everyone, and Koro-chan can use Sukukaja."

"And that's another thing," Yang all but spat out, though there was no real heat in her tone. Just a lot of frustration at the growing list of impossibilities turned reality. "A robot with a Semblance I can understand. It's practically an open secret that Atlas is trying to make 'em with Aura, not that they have just yet. But a dog? Really? How does that even work?"

If she didn't value her hair so much Yukari was all but certain that Yang would have grabbed her by the roots and started pulling in frustration. She'd never met anyone who was so protective of their hair before. At least, not to the point that they wouldn't let anyone so much as touch it, never mind helping her brush it like she offered one night.

"Don't ask me," she replied with a casual shrug. "Not even the Kirijo scientists could figure out how it happened back when we discovered it. For all we know Koro-chan could have been human at some point." Yukari giggled at that suggestion. "Yeah, right. Like that's possible."

Yang stopped walking and turned to face Yukari with a flat stare. "If that turns out to be true, I'm going to shave my head bald, give up being a Huntress, and live by myself up in the mountains where no more impossible stuff happens."

Yukari scoffed. "Good luck with that. You wouldn't even touch a pair of scissors with that goal, never mind actually cutting your hair."

The pair stared at one another, waiting for the other to give in and admit their mistake. Then Yang shrugged in defeat. "Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't."

A familiar voice reached their ears before their conversation could continue. "Wouldn't what?" Turning, the two saw two familiar girls walking towards them with two boys following close behind.

Yang recognized Coco and Velvet from the other week. It was hard to forget since that was the day that Yukari- She shook those thoughts out of her head.

She already knew that, though Yukari's lecture was the one to start it, her continued bursts of anger were not caused by her, directly or otherwise. The first few days after the talking-to she received, perhaps, but only because the memory was still fresh in her mind. Afterwards, Yukari had nothing to do with them at all.

Turning her thoughts back to the present, her eyes sought out the two people she didn't recognize.

The first was a dark-skinned boy with copper red hair reaching just past his ears but with a long fringe. He wore a dark orange, zipper vest showing off toned arms, and loose, black jeans. What caught her attention the most were his pure white eyes and the numerous scars on his arms and face.

She turned to the other person and, coming face to face with his chest, looked up. And up. And up. Without a doubt, he was the tallest person she had ever seen, in or out of Beacon.

The tall teen had light brown skin and buzz-cut black hair, the latter making Yang briefly think of Junpei. He was wearing a pale green robe, of which only the right half was present, cutting diagonally across his torso and revealing the upper-left side of his chest, which was covered by a sleeveless black undershirt. The robe reached down to his thighs, a wide, leather belt holding it in place, accompanied by loose brown pants tucked into black, steel-plated boots.

"Hey Coco," greeted Yukari. "You guys on a team outing or something?"

"Just a quick supply run," explained the tall brunette. "I'm low on ammo, Velvs needs some parts for her weapon, and we're low on maintenance stuff in general." She looked down to the shorter brunette and tilted her sunglasses out of the way. "And you still didn't answer my question."

The archer just rolled her eyes in response before turning to Yang. "This is Team CFVY in full. You've met Coco and Velvet before so no introductions needed there. Behind them are Fox and…" she paused briefly, the corner of her lip twitching in barely concealed amusement. "Yatsuhashi."

"You know," the massive teen named Yatsuhashi began, his eyes turning towards Yukari. "You still haven't explained why my name amuses you." Yang thought that his voice was surprisingly soft and gentle for someone his size.

The archer reined in her amusement. "S-Sorry Yatsuhashi, it's just that you have the same name as a snack we have back home."

"Oh?" Yukari nearly froze at Coco's tone. And it took her a moment to realize the mistake she made. "Looking to try and get a taste of _our_ Yatsuhashi then? I'm sure we can arrange something so that the two of you can have our room to yourselves for a day."

"Wha- Hey, come on, you know that's not what I-"

Coco's laughter, joined by Yang's snickers, cut off Yukari's indignant response, the two of them finding amusement in the way Yukari had blushed red all over. The rest of Team CFVY just looked on with a sigh, more than used to their leader's… vibrant personality.

Once she had her fill of laughter, Coco sidled up next to Yukari and placed an arm around the shorter girl's shoulders. "So where are you two headed?" she asked, a teasing grin dancing on her lips. "Or were we interrupting your date?"

Unlike her last attempt at teasing, this one just received another roll of Yukari's eyes in response. Followed by a sharp looked aimed at her blonde teammate when Yang made to speak. "First of all, it's not a date." The blonde's mouth snapped shut at being headed off, though the grin remained. "Besides, I'm not really looking to get into a relationship now. Probably not for a long while either. Second," she added quickly, interrupting Coco as the fashionista opened her mouth to speak. "Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I'm just not attracted to girls in that way."

"And lastly, I was going to buy some more arrows and Yang came along since she needed some stuff of her own. My last opponent in Combat class cut up most of my arrows so I need to replace them all. After that, we were going to go to lunch then meet up with some of the others to watch a movie or two. And maybe something else afterwards."

Coco made to speak but was interrupted. "Do you want to join us?" Velvet offered, sending Coco a warning glance. "We'll be buying supplies too then we'll be going to lunch afterwards. You're more than welcome to come with us if you want."

Yukari turned to Yang, thus missing the grin Coco sent the rabbit faunus. "What do you think?" she asked the blonde.

In response, Yang just shrugged. "I don't mind. Though do you really want them around for our date?"

That elicited a groan from Yukari. "Don't start."

"Hey, relax Yukari. I'm just…" The blonde paused briefly and grinned before continuing. " _Yang_ king your chain."

 _That_ elicited a groan _and_ a face-palm. "Why do I even bother?" Yukari muttered, shaking her head in exasperation and gently removing Coco's arm from her shoulders. "Just try to remember never to make a pun in front of Mitsuru-senpai. I know Junpei warned you about it already but I'm not taking any chances."

"Oh come on, why not? Even if she doesn't like them what's the worst she could do?"

"A year ago, she would have just ignored it. Now?" Yukari shivered and everyone could almost feel the terror coming off her. "Don't ask Yang. Some things are just better off never being known."

The other five glanced at one another, each one shaking their heads or shrugging in response to the unvoiced question. "Is it really that bad?" asked Velvet. "I haven't spoken to her but she doesn't seem like she'd hurt someone over a pun."

"Yeah," Yang agreed with a resolute nod of her head. "I mean, no matter what she'll do it's not like she's going to kill me, right?"

"She won't." A victorious grin blossomed on the blonde's face but was quickly reversed by the brunette's next words, spoken in a flippant, matter-of-fact tone. "She'll just Execute you. _Then_ you'll wish she killed you."

"H-huh? W-wait, what? What do you… how does that even… what exactly _is_ she gonna do?" Yang's confused queries went unanswered as Yukari continued down the street, her expression completely neutral and giving nothing away.

The blonde briefly exchanged confused glances with the members of Team CFVY before walking after her teammate, the second-year team following soon after. "H-hey, you were just kidding, right?" she called out after her teammate, sounding almost desperate. "She isn't actually gonna hurt me just because of a pun, right? Right, Yukari? Y-yukari?"

* * *

"Hey, Junpei? Mind if I ask you something?"

Junpei hid a grin as he looked up from his food. That was way too easy. "You just did but sure, you can ask me another." Unfortunately, his joke fell flat, Jaune's dejected expression barely even changing. The leader of Team JACN sighed, already having an idea of where this was going. "So what's up?" he asked with a more serious expression. "I'm guessing this is about Pyrrha."

The blonde swordsman nodded, cradling the side of his head in his hands and resting his elbows on the table. "I just… I don't know what to do. I tried talking to her last night but she never really told me what the problem was. I tried talking to her again this morning but she just said she wasn't in the mood to talk about it yet. I was going to try again after lunch but then…"

Junpei sighed, remembering how Pyrrha went her own way earlier, claiming she wasn't that hungry and that she'd just come back and eat when she was. It was hard to tell if she really wasn't in the mood or if she was trying to avoid the questions. Speaking of which...

"What about last night? What did she say?"

Jaune recounted his and Pyrrha's conversation from the previous night as best as he could. He couldn't remember everything she had said about Mistral, but he remember most of what she said that involved herself. Probably because he felt the latter was more important.

After recounting how Pyrrha eventually went for a walk, Junpei frowned. "Sorry dude, don't really understand what's going on more than you do. Sounds like Pyrrha's got some issues of her own to work out but I'm not really seeing what it is so I can't help you there. I think we should just give her some time and some space to work it out on her own, but let her know we're here for her."

Jaune let out his own sigh, looking down in defeat. "Guess that really is all we can do, huh?"

He had been hopeful that Junpei, who had been able to give him plenty of good advice so far, would have an idea of what to do, or even what was bothering Pyrrha. But now those hopes were diminished. It didn't sit well with him to just let Pyrrha handle it on her own when she had been helpful with regards to his many problems, both big and small.

But without knowing the problem there really wasn't much he could do. Acting carelessly and without enough information might even result in making things worse.

"Junpei-kun."

The soft voice that called to the team's leader pulled their attention from Pyrrha's situation and to the team's other redhead sitting beside the leader. "What's up Chidorin?"

The redhead didn't even bat an eye at the nickname, more than used to Junpei's childish naming sense. "I forgot to tell you earlier that I won't be able to go to Vale with you and the others later on."

"Huh? Why not?" Junpei looked confused for a brief moment before a look of concern overtook his expression. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," asserted Chidori, though she smiled at his concern and how quick he was to worry. "I received a message from Doctor Blackthorne last night while you were in class. She made a mistake with the assigned readings and forgot to include two chapters. I'll have to stay behind if I want to finish the readings in time for our next class tomorrow."

"Oh, I see." While he was disappointed they wouldn't be able to go together, even if their plans included most everyone else, he was just relieved it wasn't anything bad. "Want me to stay behind and keep you company?"

The white-clad redhead just shook her head with a soft smile. "That's sweet of you but I'll be fine. I'm going to see if Blake can help me with it. Knowing her she's already done with it, if she didn't already finish it even before we got the message last night."

Junpei chuckled, aware of Blake's bibliophilic tendencies. "Well, alright. Want me to pick up anything from Vale before we get back?"

She hummed in thought but then just shook her head. "Nothing in particular." Then, Chidori looked around them. Satisfied that nobody was looking, not even Jaune, who had gone back to playing with his food, she leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips to his cheek. Even before she pulled back she could feel the heat rush to her cheeks at having done that in the dining hall of all places.

Not giving Junpei a chance to recover from his shock, she rose from her seat and picked up her tray. "I-I'll be going ahead then," she managed to squeak out with just a bit of a stutter. "I-I'll see you later then."

She hurried away as calmly as she could, dropping off her tray and its contents at the small station at side of the room, and exiting the dining hall. She stood outside the doors for a moment, gathering her composure. Once she did, also managing to settle the rapid beating of her heart, she extended her senses through Hecate.

Hecate was not as skilled in detection as Medea. For that matter, Medea had never been specialized for detection the way Juno, and previously Lucia, was. Even so, the limited ability Hecate had was enough for her current task. It only took a minute to locate her quarry, having grown familiar with the presence of all her new acquaintances.

With her destination in mind, Chidori made her way in that direction. She didn't know what would happen when she got there. But she couldn't just leave things the way they were.

* * *

"What kind of weapon do you have if you need to buy that much?"

Coco laughed off Yukari's question, the shorter brunette still staring wide-eyed at the ammo crate next to the store's counter. It was bigger than one of Aigis's own ammo crate. Big enough to fit even someone like Yatsuhashi. Yukari didn't think that Aigis even went through that much back when they were still exploring Tartarus. And that had been months of exploration.

Then again, an hour a night averaging three or four nights a week depending on their school schedule wasn't that much in the long run. Even then, it's not like Aigis relied solely on her firearms to fight, further lowering the amount of bullets she went through.

"If you really wanna know, why don't we have a fight?" the fashionista asked while leaning on the crate, waiting for the cashier to finish checking the rest of her order. "You never did get back to me on my offer for a joint training session."

"Wait, they asked to train with us?" Yang cut in before Yukari could respond, three head-sized boxes of her own ammo in her hands. "And you didn't tell us?"

The archer shrugged, only looking halfway apologetic. "Honestly, I _was_ going to ask senpai but it slipped my mind. That was the day we heard about Jaune's problem so I think you can understand why it wasn't really the biggest thing on my mind."

"What about now?" Coco asked as she turned around to pay. "I heard you kids have been holding group sessions every Friday so why not this coming Friday? Second years have Combat class in the morning until noon. Just give us some time for lunch and we're pretty much free the rest of the day."

The archer shook her head and placed the three large bundle of arrows down on the counter. "That won't work since we've got our own Combat class at three. And senpai likes to have a meeting after the training session to discuss the results."

Despite the sunglasses, Yukari could tell that Coco was giving her a strange look. "A meeting? Isn't that a little too much? I mean, we're all still just in school after all, even if we do go on missions later on in the year."

"She just wants us all to be at our best," said Yukari, defending her friend and leader. "Don't forget, we were there when the Grimm pretty much destroyed our home." _'Even if we didn't actually see it happen.'_ "We know we aren't strong enough. So we have to keep getting stronger, getting better."

"All the more reason to expand your horizons then." Coco certainly didn't miss a beat as she and Yukari stepped aside while Yang set her own boxes of ammunition on the counter. "Tell you what, let's talk about it over lunch."

"If you say so," relented Yukari. "But if you ask me, then only way it's happening on a Friday is if you skip class. Otherwise, the only other time everyone is free is Sunday. And good luck convincing everyone to give up their Sunday."

For some reason, the grin that Coco sent her way made her very uneasy.

Once all their purchases were paid for and scheduled to be delivered to Beacon the next morning, the group of six left the store with Velvet in the lead. After a while, Yukari recognized the area they were in and wasn't completely surprised when they came up to that same little faunus-fun restaurant they had eaten at last time.

Velvet had probably seen the expression on her face since the rabbit faunus addressed her. "Yatsuhashi and Fox wanted to come here after we told them about it the other week. It's…" Her face fell and she turned away slightly. "It's rare to find a faunus-run business, especially one that hasn't been…"

Yukari withheld the sigh that bubbled up when Velvet trailed off again. There was no need to finish that sentence. If what they learned in History class from Professor Oobleck was even half-true, then it took no stretch of the imagination to know what happened to "unwanted" faunus businesses.

They arrived before the lunch rush but there were still a fair number of guests inside. They sat at a long, rectangular table at the back corner as it was currently the only table available for a group their size. Yatsuhashi and Fox took the two inside seats while Velvet and Yang sat beside them.

When Yukari made to sit down, Coco tapped her on the shoulder. "Mind if I take that seat?" she asked the archer, pointing to the spot beside Yang. "I'm not too fond of having a wall take up most of my view."

The shorter girl just shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind."

The fashionista grinned. "Thanks."

Yukari felt that there was something more to that grin than just gratitude, but didn't let it bother her much. She took the seat next to Velvet and picked up the menu, her face morphing into one of slight distaste as she scanned the contents.

Despite having lived at Beacon for a little over two months, Yukari still wasn't too fond of the mostly western style food that was available. It wasn't that the food wasn't delicious. It was, there was never any doubt about that. It was just that she, and just about every member of SEES, longed for a taste of Japanese cuisine once more.

Eventually, a waitress came with several glasses of water and took their orders. Noting the tone in Yukari's voice when she made her order, Velvet turned to her and asked, "Is something wrong? It almost sounded like you didn't really want to order that."

Yukari shook her head. "It's not that. I just miss eating Japanese food. Everyone on SEES does, actually."

"SEES?"

"I guess I never told you guys about that, huh?" And so, Yukari launched into an explanation of SEES. Or at least, the explanation they agreed to tell everyone else.

It surprised the members of Team CFVY that the group of eight hadn't actually chosen to be Huntsmen and Huntresses, or whatever the Japanese equivalent was. Even more surprising was the fact that they had chosen that path now, after losing their homes to the Grimm, despite having the opportunity to live quieter lives. Yukari refused to tell them the exact reason why, only that they not only owed it to a lot of people to see things through – whatever those 'things' were – but they also had to do it for themselves.

"Sorry," she said, but not looking very apologetic despite her words. "It's… It's a pretty personal thing. Let's just say we each have a reason for fighting and leave it at that."

Though they were curious, none of them pried into the matter further. Instead, Coco switched to a different, but slightly related, topic.

"So," she began, leaning back into her seat. "Any ideas how we can convince those friends of yours to spend their Sunday training with us?"

But before Yukari could respond, an unfamiliar voice reached their ears. "'Scuse me, any chance I could speak with the owner of this place?"

Six pairs of eyes, as well as many that belonged to the other patrons, turned to the adjacent corner of the room, where they found a fairly tall, red-haired man wearing a black suit with a red tie and black-tinted sunglasses addressing the cashier. Next to him was a short and slim young woman with chin-length black hair, wearing a similar suit but wearing red-tinted sunglasses instead.

"I'm sorry, but he isn't in at the moment," replied the cashier, a black-haired faunus with scales on the right side of her face that Yukari recognized as their waitress the other week. "He should be back in about half an hour though if you want to wait for him."

"Sorry, can't really wait for 'im," the man replied with a careless shrug. "I got some other stuff I need to take care of before a meeting with my own boss. Mind giving him something for us instead?" The young woman next to him place a plain brown business envelope, which bulged lightly from its contents, on the counter. "Let him know there's no hurry and that he can get back to us whenever. Or even never if that's what he wants."

"I can do that." Though the faunus accepted the envelope, it was clear that she was a little suspicious of the man, probably due to his appearance.

"Thanks. Come on little lady," he said as he turned towards the exit. "Off to the next one."

"S-Sir," the young woman protested for some reason. "I keep telling you. I'm not a woman."

All 'her' protest got in return was a kind laugh and lots of surprised stares from the observers. "And I keep telling you, I'm not gonna judge. Heck, you could wear a skirt and the matching top and jacket made for women if you want to and it wouldn't matter to me so long as you can do your job. 'Sides, with that cute face and slim body of yours I'm sure the other guys won't even notice that you're physically a guy underneath it all."

"S-Sir!" cried the young woman(?), sounding quite distressed. "That's not-"

The door shut behind them, cutting of the rest of their… interesting conversation. Interesting enough that everyone in the restaurant stared after them, their meals and conversations forgotten for the moment.

"Sooo…" began Yang, sounding more than just a little bewildered by the exchanged. "Anyone else think that that… guy… was way too cute to be a guy?"

"You and me both," a male, brown-haired cat faunus sitting at the table next to theirs answered. "There's just no way a guy could look like that."

"I think it's pretty brave of him to come out in public like that," came a female voice from another table.

That started up a small debate as to whether the man's companion really was a man or if they were just joking around for whatever reason.

Coco, however, just leaned forward in her seat. "So," she drawled out, looking over her sunglasses at Yukari. "About that training match."

Yukari could only roll her eyes at Coco's single-mindedness.

* * *

There was still plenty of time before the next airship left for Vale so Fuuka decided to return to Team ASYR's room to pick up a sweater. It wasn't that cold out yet, but since their plans had the potential to extend to a time when it would be colder, she felt that bringing one just in case was prudent.

When she entered the room, the sight that greeted her was that of Weiss, pacing around the room. "Um… Weiss?" she called out, noticing that the white-haired girl had yet to notice her entrance. "Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" Weiss looked up and paused, surprised to suddenly hear someone speaking to her. "Oh, Fuuka, it's you. It's… No, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something. What about you? Didn't you have plans with the others?"

"I just came back for a sweater," she replied even as she moved to the wardrobe she shared with Aigis for the aforementioned article of clothing. "We might end up coming back later than expected so I wanted to be prepared."

A single white eyebrow rose in response. "I thought you were just going to watch a movie."

"We were," responded the Japanese girl, searching for the sweater she wanted. "But some of the others thought it might be nice to stay in the city a bit longer since we rarely go as a group. Actually," she turned around to face Weiss. "Are you sure you don't want to come along?"

"I'm sure," came Weiss's swift response. If Fuuka had been the sort to be more skeptical of things, she might have even labeled it as 'too swift'. As such, she didn't pay it much mind. "I'll just continue looking into the results of Aigis's last scan. I think I found what we're looking for in one of the later chapters, but I'll need to read everything else in between before it makes sense."

"If you're sure but… won't you be lonely by yourself?" she asked, turning around with the sweater in hand. "Please don't misunderstand. Aigis and I are grateful to have your help, but…"

"But what?" Weiss prodded gently.

"I don't mean to be presumptuous but…" Fuuka fidgeted nervously, looking away for a moment before meeting Weiss's gaze once more. "I'm a little worried."

Weiss blinked in surprise but kept her features free of evidence of such. "Worried?" she parroted. "About what?"

The teal-haired girl nodded, holding her sweater to her chest. "It's just… Asides from classes, group training, or mealtimes, you always seem to spend your time alone. Aigis and I weren't sure of how to approach you, and Ruby's more… direct approach didn't seem to appeal to you. So Aigis and I tried to give you some space rather than force the issue."

Weiss's breath was caught in the back of her through, and she felt her heartbeat speed up for some strange reason as she listened to her teammate's words. But why? Why did… why did she feel this way?

"But now…" Fuuka hugged the sweater tighter and looked down and away, her voice soft, sounding almost guilty, as she continued to speak. "Lately, I've been worried that we went about it the wrong way. I've been worried that maybe you thought we didn't like you, or that, even though you took the time to help us, we only see you as a teammate and not a friend. I'm worried that we ended up pushing you away instead."

Weiss took the time to digest Fuuka's words, not really knowing what to say in response. That, and she needed to breathe and calm her heart. But… how long has she felt that way? She knew that Fuuka was kind and considerate to a fault, but this?

Whenever she thought she understood something about SEES, about any of them, they suddenly defy her expectations and reveal something new, often something that left her speechless for a time.

Mitsuru's willingness to bend the rules. Junpei's staunch defense of Jaune even against the latter's family. Akihiko's vast knowledge of training and combat that allowed Jaune, of all people, to fight at a much higher level, however briefly it lasted. Yukari's sudden bout of consideration despite their less than amicable relationship. Aigis's feelings of guilt despite not having done anything wrong. Ken's brief display of maturity and wisdom just the night before. Even, to a slightly lesser degree, Koromaru, a dog, having a Persona.

And now… now she's realizing that that she had underestimated the depths of Fuuka's kindness. It was one thing for the diminutive Japanese girl to be considerate of her requests for silence and respect for personal space. But this? To worry that those same actions were responsible for why she often chose to be alone? To feel that her inaction was the reason for Weiss's seclusion?

That was so preposterous, so utterly ridiculous, that it wasn't even within the realm of amusement any longer.

Weiss wanted to tell Fuuka that she was not responsible for those things. That she appreciated her consideration and that she stayed away because she wasn't interested in anything more than a professional relationship as classmates and teammates.

And yet, for some inexplicable reason, her lips refused to open. Refused to allow her to speak those words. Why?

Before Weiss could answer, both Fuuka's concerns and her own questions, the teal-haired girl shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you with my worries. I'll… I'll leave now."

Some part of Weiss was screaming from within her to stop Fuuka, to explain herself and let her know that she was, in no way, at fault. And yet, once again, the words were lost before they could reach her lips, nor was she able to will her body to move, to stop her even if it meant getting in her way.

So when Fuuka stopped just beneath the door frame, turning around, Weiss fought with herself even more, not wanting that small chance to go to waste. "But for what it's worth," said the teal-haired girl, completely unaware of her teammate's inner struggle. "We _do_ still want you to be our friend, and not just our classmate and teammate. If you'll still have us, that is."

It was only when the door clicked shut that Weiss found her body responsive once more. By that point, she knew it was too late to explain herself. She walked over to her bed and fell back onto it with a sigh.

' _Good job telling her what you_ really _think, Weiss,'_ came her sarcastic reprimand. _'Now what?'_

* * *

Fuuka walked along the pathway leading to the airships. Up ahead, she could see a fairly large gathering of people, most of whom she recognized even from afar.

She tried not to let the conversation with Weiss bother her, but the thought of leaving the heiress by her lonesome really _did_ bother her. If she were being honest, she had absolutely no idea why Weiss often chose to remain by herself.

It could be that, like she had told Ruby the other day, Weiss was simply a very private person who preferred to keep to herself. Minato had been, in a way, similar. He did not turn people away when they spoke with him, but neither did he often seek out someone else simply for companionship. It was only much later that he began to do so and not for any sort of need such a clubs or SEES-related matters.

Mitsuru once said that, when she was younger, she was often expected, or even outright required, to join her father when meeting with business partners. Some of those her age or fellow heirs to other groups and companies often had an overly inflated opinion of themselves, believing that only those on their level were worth noticing. As such, it could also be that, as someone of high-born status, Weiss could be one of those people. Though the fact that she did not completely ignore, or even openly disdain, the rest of them meant that she was, at least, willing to interact with them to a degree.

Or, as ridiculous as it may sound, Weiss might just be incredibly shy, hiding her insecurities and such behind a cold façade so that people would not notice.

That last one, however, was incredibly unlikely and something Fuuka only thought of when she remembered a manga she once read. After all, not only is it contradictory for a shy person to be able to put up such a mask, but Weiss gave off an air of absolute confidence that tread on the realm of arrogance. Someone like that couldn't possibly be shy or insecure. Not to mention her upbringing would have prepared her for dealing with people.

So no, as interesting as it might have been, a shy, stuttering Weiss was simply beyond the realm of possibility.

' _Although it would be funny if it was true,'_ she thought with a giggle.

"And what, may I ask, is so amusing?"

The voice stopped her short and she turned around to the source to see something, or rather someone, she didn't expect. "Weiss?"

Indeed, standing there was her teammates, whom she had spoken with not even ten minutes earlier. The same teammate who said she wouldn't be joining them in Vale.

"Shouldn't we be going?" Rather than pursue the answer to her first question, Weiss asked a different one. "I believe the airship will be leaving in a few minutes. If we dawdle any longer it may leave without us."

"Huh?" Fuuka was sure that she looked suitably confused. "But weren't you-"

"Obviously, I changed my mind," Weiss interrupted with a brief roll of her eyes, but with only a slight hint of annoyance in her tone.

Then, without any warning, she began to walk towards the airship. Fuuka took a moment to regain her composure before jogging briefly to catch up with her teammate.

Fuuka opened her mouth to ask something but then thought better of it. Instead, as they approached the rest of the group, who were beginning to board the airship, she asked, "Do you like any kind of movie in particular? We haven't decided yet so it would be good to know if there's anything you don't like watching."

"I'm not too fond of comedies myself," Weiss responded plainly, if a little on the cold side. "I find that making comedy for the sake of it is just…"

Hearing Weiss speak more than she normally did, even for just something as insignificant as movie preferences – or rather because it was something so insignificant – Fuuka knew she made the right decision not to question the heiress's change of mind. Instead, as they boarded the airship and joined their teammates and friends, Fuuka just smiled and accepted the unexpected outcome. Unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome.

* * *

As the majority of the members of Teams KYBT, ASYR, ANKR, and JACN as whole boarded the airship, a long figure watched from a short distance away, hidden behind and in the shadow of one of the many trees scattered around the courtyard.

As they watched, their hand, resting on the trunk of the tree, curled into a fist and trembled slightly. Once the ship began to rise and depart for its destination, the hand slowly opened as the tension in their body slowly bled out, the opportunity lost.

Just as the figure prepared to leave, an unexpected voice spoke to them from behind. "You really should be more honest, Pyrrha." The Mistralian spun around, shocked that someone had managed to get so close to them without being noticed. But upon seeing a familiar head of red hair framing a calm, almost emotionless, face, Pyrrha relaxed. "If not with others then, at the very least, with yourself."

"Wh-What are you talking about?" she stammered out nervously, all the tension returning two-fold at Chidori's mysterious words though Pyrrha tried her best not to let it show.

No words passed Chidori's lips but her brown eyes seemed to almost glow in the shadows of the tree, boring straight into Pyrrha. She felt as though the girl dressed in white was staring straight into her soul, seeing into the innermost depths of her very being.

Then Chidori stepped forward. Each step she made Pyrrha's heart beat faster, her own feet frozen in place by some strange force and unable to escape Chidori's cold, predatory gaze. She didn't know why she felt so nervous at the shorter girl's approach. She simply was.

And when Chidori was only two steps away – Pyrrha found it strange that she was unnerved by this tiny girl whom she towered over by nearly a foot – she broke eye contact and went to stand beside Pyrrha, facing the direction of the airship in the distance.

"A long time ago, there was a girl," Chidori began in her usual tone - that is, calm and near emotionless – while Pyrrha was still trying to settle the rapid beating of her heart. "This girl, along with many other homeless children, were gathered by a group intent on using them for their research."

Already, the tale carried a dark undertone and the few details Chidori provided told Pyrrha that the story was unlikely to end well. She wanted to speak, to perhaps lighten the mood somewhat, but her throat had gone dry for some reason. All she could do was turn around, to face the now distant airship as Chidori was, and listen to her fellow redhead's tale.

* * *

"You don't trust me, do you, Coco." Yukari's words were not a question but a declaration of what she felt was the truth.

The aforementioned girl smirked at her friend, walking closer and wrapping an arm around the shorter girl's shoulder. "Of course I trust you, Yukari." At the deadpan look she received, the grin grew wider. "I trust you to 'forget' to ask your team leader again about that joint training session we were talking about."

For the fifth time since leaving the restaurant, Yukari took Coco's arm in her hand and removed it from her shoulders. "You _could_ just admit that you'd rather just talk to senpai about it directly. I'm not gonna get mad at you for that, you know." The challenging grins that Coco _and_ Yang gave her made Yukari sigh in surrender. "Alright fine, I would have been a little mad. But you don't have to make up excuses like walking us to the movie theater."

"Who says it's an excuse?" Coco threw back, that same taunting grin on her face. "We actually talked about it when you went to the restroom earlier. Since we didn't have any other plans for the day, we thought we'd join you and do a little bonding with our fellow trainees."

"Trainees who just so happen to be the same people you wanna train with for some reason you still won't tell me."

"Exactly!" Never let it be said that Coco didn't admit to things after the truth was brought up.

Wanting to switch topics, Velvet increased her pace so that she was walking next to Yukari. "What movie were you thinking of watching?"

"We haven't decided yet, actually." Yukari would never say it out loud, at least not in front of Coco, but she was glad for the change in topic and conversation partners. She liked Coco, but her strong personality could be a little stressful to deal with at times. "It's why we're meeting this early. We're hoping we could catch two movies, maybe three if we're lucky, instead of deciding on just one that not everyone might like."

"So a movie marathon then?"

"Yang's idea." Yukari replied, jerking her head in the direction of her blonde teammate, who was walking ahead of them next to Coco and laughing about something. "She wanted the whole group to hang out more often so she spent nearly the whole week convincing everyone to do this."

"Why a whole week?" Fox asked from behind them. "We've seen your group and you all seem quite close."

A short, resigned sigh left Yukari's lips. "We're close, yeah, but we're lucky if we can get any four people who want to do the same thing at a given time. Most of us have our own thing we like to do so unless we plan ahead this far, like Yang did, then you're not likely to get us all in one place that easily. Not unless it's to eat."

"Well, everyone is different, I suppose," the copper-haired boy commented with a thoughtful look. "It would be far stranger if all sixteen of you liked and did the exact same things."

It wasn't long before they arrived at the Vale City Theater where they found Akihiko and Ren already waiting. After exchanging brief greetings, the silver-haired boxer turned to Yukari and Yang. "So, friends of yours?" he asked, his eyes glancing towards Team CFVY, who had hung back a little.

"Three friends and one maybe," Yukari replied jokingly, to which Coco just smiled in response. "This is Team CFVY. That's Coco, their leader and the 'maybe'." The aforementioned girl waved in response. "Next to her is Velvet. Beside her is Fox. And last is Yatsuhashi. Before you ask," she added quickly, seeing the slight shift in Akihiko's eyes at the name. "Yes, like the snack back home but no, his parents didn't know that there was a snack by that name."

Akihiko stared at her for a moment. Then, with a deadpan tone, he said, "You laughed didn't you?"

Yukari seemed to choke on air, or her own saliva, while Yang just snickered. "You totally nailed it," she stage-whispered in Akihiko's direction.

Doing her best to ignore the amused looks Team CFVY was giving her, never mind those coming from Akihiko and Ren, Yukari swiftly changed the subject. "Where are Ken and Nora?"

"We got here early so Ken decided to go for a walk with Koromaru," explained Akihiko. "Nora decided to go with them. They should be back before the others get here. If the airship's on schedule anyway."

Hearing an unfamiliar name, Velvet turned to Yukari and asked, "Who's Koromaru? I don't think you've mentioned him before."

"I haven't?" Yukari was honestly a little surprised by that since she had told Team CFVY quite a few stories. "Guess it slipped my mind. Well, Koromaru is-"

"Arf!"

"HIYAAAAHH!"

' _Well this is oddly familiar,'_ was the thought shared by Yukari, Akihiko, Yang, and Ren, even as three members of Team CFVY went on high alert, searching for whatever it was that had scared their fourth team member. When they found it, all three could only stare in surprise.

Twice before, Koromaru's arrival gave someone a good scare. The first time was after the formation of their teams, on the way to the requested meeting with Headmaster Ozpin. The second was the other Friday, when Blake went into a panicked frenzy in the training room. This was the third time the Persona-using dog scared someone. The only difference, was the absence of a certain black-haired girl.

Instead, Yukari watched, both amused and bemused, as Velvet used her much larger teammate as a meat shield against the Shiba Inu that was now standing next to Akihiko. Koromaru seemed curious, crimson eyes looking in the direction where Velvet currently was, despite Yatsuhashi's frame blocking the way.

"Are you alright Velvet?" she called out, kneeling down next to Koromaru and speaking with him breifly. "Let's try not to scare anyone else like that, alright?"

"I-I-I'm f-fine." With all that stuttering, Yukari was ready to mention that the faunus girl didn't sound fine at all. The only consolation was that Velvet was peeking her head out from behind the tall boy, even if her face reflected just how nervous she was. "J-just… a l-little scared." Or scared.

"I know it doesn't help but Koro-chan's pretty friendly and-"

Velvet shook her head rapidly, almost violently, cutting off Yukari. "I-It's not that. It's… he…" she squeaked and hid behind Yatsuhashi once more when Koromaru turned his red eyes towards her.

Seeing that they weren't getting anywhere, Coco placed a hand on Velvet's shoulder, and gave a smile to the girl hiding behind her teammate. Then she turned to Yukari, her expression notably absent of accusation. "What Velvet's trying to say is that she had a run-in with that dog of yours before. He chased her around for a good half-hour before she managed to get away."

"What's strange," Coco continued before anyone else could speak, "Is that Velvet's never been afraid of dogs. At least, not for as long as we've known her. A little nervous when it comes to the fiercer looking ones, but never like this. Not saying it's yours or your dog's fault." She knelt down in front of Koromaru with a smile and began rubbing the top of his head, which Koromaru reacted quite happily to. "Just that it's weird she gets this way around a dog that's a bit on the small side and more than just a little cute."

After a moment of silence, Coco grew curious, and admittedly slightly suspicious, at the lack of response. Glancing at the girl kneeling beside Koromaru, she found Yukari deep in thought. Looking up further, she found Akihiko in the same state. "Something wrong?" No response. "Yukari?"

Hearing her name seemed to pull the girl out of her trance, she her brown eyes sought out Coco's sunglasses-hidden ones. "Huh? Sorry, did you say something?"

"Is something wrong?" Coco repeated, looking a bit concerned.

"Not… wrong. Just…" Yukari looked up towards Velvet. "Hey Velvet, when did Koromaru chase you around? I think we would have heard of something like that happening since he's usually so well-behaved."

"Th-the day of the initiation," the rabbit faunus replied, sounding much calmer compared to earlier. "I got away from him just a little before Ozpin announced the new teams. Why do you ask?"

Instead of answering the question, Yukari turned her thoughtful expression to the dog next to her, who was enjoying the head-rubbing he was receiving. "Hey, Koro-chan?" The albino dog whined softly and turned to Yukari, looking both expectant and curious. "Do you remember the day after we arrived at the school?" Surprising the members of Team CFVY, and startling one of them, Koromaru barked happily and even seemed to nod. "Didn't you tell Aigis when we met up again that you were playing with a rabbit?"

"Wait, what?" Coco's confused question went mostly unnoticed as everyone's attention was now on Yukari.

Again, Koromaru's response seemed to be the affirmative. Yukari then turned to Velvet. "Was Velvet that 'rabbit' you were talking about?" A third bark, much like the other two, came from Koromaru.

"Okay, seriously, how was he able to tell you that? Do you have a dog translator or something?"

"Pretty much," Yang answered vaguely. It wasn't much, but Coco looked slightly placated to have her question answered. Even if she was giving Yang a clear look of doubt.

Yang just shrugged at the look. She wasn't really sure whether she could explain who, or rather what, Aigis was, never mind how she was able to understand 'dog'. She turned her attention back to her teammate only to freeze at the archer's next question. "And later, you called Blake a 'cat', right?"

Koromaru barked once more before Yang could interrupt. Her mind instantly went into high gear, trying to find a way to mask her partner's secret. She could already see the gears turning in Yukari's mind. And while the brunette wasn't on Mitsuru's level of intelligence, she was far from stupid. With all those clues provided by Koromaru, of all people – or would that be 'of all dogs'? – it was almost impossible for anyone with even a semi-decent working brain not to connect the dots.

"Koromaru!"

Yang's relief came in the form of Ken and Nora, who rounded the corner of the building shouting the dog's name. In response, Koromaru turned around and barked happily, tail wagging furiously as he watched the two run up to him.

"There you are," Ken breathed out, panting a bit as he came to a stop. "Why'd you… run off like that?"

"Don't worry about it, Ken-kun," said Yukari rising to her feet and smiling at the boy. "Koro-chan probably realized we were here with a friend of his."

"A friend?" Nora exclaimed, looking around excitedly. "Ooh, where is he? Where is he? Or is it a she?"

"She, actually," Yukari replied with a grin then pointed at the seven-foot tall boy. "And _she_ is standing over there, behind Yatsuhashi."

With all attention turned in her direction, Velvet squeaked in surprise once more and hid behind her teammate. When Nora ran around Yatsuhashi and her blue-green eyes landed on Velvet, the rabbit faunus froze in surprise. But then, Nora kept looking around, searching for something.

"Hey Yukari, I don't see her anywhere," Nora said in a loud voice, her head turning this way and that. "Did she run away?" Then her eyes locked onto Velvet once more. "Oh hey, did you see a dog around here?"

On the opposite side of the human wall named Yatsuhashi, Yukari was giggling in amusement, Yang and Akihiko laughing quietly as well. Unfortunately, this left Ren to go reign in his friend before Nora bothered Velvet too much, though Yukari did spot a brief grin on his face as he walked over to Nora, who was still waiting for an answer from a nervous and tongue-tied Velvet.

"Did I miss something?" Ken asked innocently, looking around in confusion.

"A bit, yeah," replied the archer, looking quite amused. "You remember that 'rabbit' that Koro-chan said he played with back when we were taking the initiation?" Ken nodded. "Turns out that Velvet," she paused to gesture to the rabbit-eared girl with her hand, "Was that 'rabbit'. Since he's never seen a faunus before, I'm guessing their scent or something is what made him call her a rabbit."

Ken looked a little uncertain. "Oh. That's… good? I guess?"

Then, as an afterthought, Yukari added, "And I managed to figure out what he was trying to tell Aigis afterwards." Ken and Akihiko gave her curious looks. Yang, unnoticed due to standing slightly behind Yukari, had frozen with a look of utter panic on her face. "Remember how he was calling Blake a 'cat'?" Understanding dawned on the two boys immediately. "Not exactly sure why she's hiding it but I'm pretty sure that Blake's actually a faunus. She's probably-"

"SHE'S A WHAT?!"

The sudden outburst that came from behind Akihiko and Ken brought a halt to everything as everyone turned their attention to the source. Everyone, that is, save for Yang, who palmed her face, lowered head, and shook her head while muttering curses under her breath.

Standing there were the rest of their friends save for Chidori and Pyrrha, whose absences would have been noticed were it not for the current issue. And that issue was the incredulous shout that came from none other than Weiss Schnee, who, along with everyone else in the recently arrived group, was now staring at one particular person in disbelief and shock.

Said person, standing at the back of the group, was equally shocked, her eyes as wide open as they could possibly get along with her mouth. But it was not just shock that she was feeling and expressing. Mixed with her surprise at someone knowing her secret was a massive dose of fear and panic. And seeing over a dozen pairs of eyes staring at her, Blake did the only thing she could think of.

She ran.

"Wha… Blake!"

Several voices called out to the departing girl, and none of them could say for certain who shouted first. They followed after her, chasing her down the sidewalk and into the alleyway next to the movie theater. But when they got there, they found it absent of their friend and teammate. A quick glance up was the only reason they had even seen her as she pushed off the wall one more time to climb up the roof.

And then, without even turning back once, she was gone.

Silence reigned for the better part of the minute as everyone tried to process what had just happened. It was the sound of flesh meeting flesh, though one that was not loud enough to have been a slap, that broke the silence. They turned to see Yukari palming her face and shaking her head, what little they could see of her face twisted in regret. "Me and my big mouth."

* * *

 **And here we have the beginning of the next story arc as well as developments for several others.**

 **I have to be honest though. This chapter gave me a lot more trouble than I was expecting. I had already pre-selected which scenes to include, but I kept changing which scenes to write while writing the story since the flow of the chapter felt wrong a lot of the times.**

 **I managed to finish it, obviously, but I can't say I'm 100% satisfied. More like 95% satisfied, 4% uncertain, and 1% 'I don't think I should upload this and just redo it'. Needless to say, I didn't listen to that tiny part, but I can't help but worry that I should have.**

 **Oh well, nothing I can do about it now since I've obviously uploaded the chapter.**

 **Some of you may be wondering why I chose to present the effects of SEES's support spells, specifically the Taru- and Suku- spells, in that manner, rather than just outright making someone stronger and faster. But as much as I would like to answer that now, the answer is actually plot-related. So unless someone PMs me to ask or goes to my forum to talk about it, and risk spoilers from a long way into the future of the story, then all I'll say here is just that. It's plot-related.**

 **As I've already mentioned above, I started a forum as suggested by a friend, though I doubt I'll get a lot of visitors. Still, just search 'Leiciel' under forums using the site's search function and the forum should come up.**

 **On another note, I recently posted a teaser to a Code Geass story I'm working on. Planning the story is partly why this chapter took this long to finish. If there are any Code Geass fans reading this, please check out the teaser/preview and let me know what you think.**

 **And finally, I put up a poll on my profile with regards to this story. The topic in question is the Vytal Festival. Originally, I was going to go with the canon tournament format. But recently I've been toying with the idea of creating my own tournament format just to mix things up a bit.**

 **This will be one of the very few times I will ever let readers decide which direction the story should go, mainly because the tournament format is a fairly minor thing since the events I've planned will, ultimately, be left unaffected. So yes, check out my profile and drop your vote.**

 **The Vytal Festival arc is a long way away so it shouldn't be an issue for me to change the format once the poll is closed. On that note, the poll will officially be closed when we start the arc BEFORE the Vytal Festival Arc. That will give me time to, if necessary, adjust the plan.**

 **As always, please consider leaving a review to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated, criticism in general is also appreciated, rudely phrased criticism will be considered but will not receive a response, and outright being rude will be ignored completely.**

 **With that said, have a nice day everyone. And here's to another new year. \\(^o^)/**


	17. Ch 15 - The Cat in the Bag

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

 **Warning 2:** **With the ongoing status of RWBY Volume 4, it's to be expected that many of my ideas will go against what is canon, such as when more of each character's respective pasts are revealed. I will do my best to incorporate what I can, but expect that many will be blended with my own ideas or perhaps even ignored completely if incorporating it will be detrimental to my existing story plans.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15 – The Cat in the Bag**

 **November 8, XX13**

"You knew?!"

The solemn evening air surrounding Dormitory 3's rooftop was broken by the incredulous yell. Surprisingly, given her outburst earlier, it was not Weiss who made the exclamation, but Yukari, whose brown eyes were turned in the direction of her blonde teammate.

Said blonde shuffled uncomfortably as eighteen pairs of eyes turned in her direction. "Well… more like I… found out." She then explained how she had returned to the dorm room one morning just as Blake finished her morning shower and, possibly due to carelessness or forgetfulness on Blake's part, her bow had been absent from her head.

"She made me promise not to say anything," she finished with an apologetic look aimed at Yukari and Mitsuru, the former sitting on the ground and resting against the knee-high boundary of the roof while Mitsuru sat on it. "She said she wanted to tell you two on her own terms."

Yukari took a deep breath, and Yang tensed up, waiting for the storm to be unleashed, only for the archer to let out a sigh of annoyance. "And I just made things worse. Great."

Yang blinked, almost unable to believe that she hadn't been scolded or something. "You're… not mad?"

"Of course not," Yukari replied, leaning her head back to rest on the barricade as the day's trials caught up to her, her gaze focused on the night sky, and pulling her white jacket tighter around her to stave off the cold. "It's not like it was your secret to tell so I can't blame you for keeping a secret for a friend."

"That's a pretty mature way of looking at it," came the words of Team CFVY's outspoken leader. "Most people would have been screaming her head off for keeping something so important a secret."

Yukari rolled her eyes, something that Coco was coming to learn was a common occurrence with the archer. "In that case, most people are idiots. Considering we have people like Cardin in the school it's not exactly a surprise she'd be careful about who finds out." She sighed and shut her eyes. "I just wish she trusted us a bit more. I mean, it's not like we would have started treating her badly just because she's a faunus."

"We wouldn't have become friends if you did," Velvet commented with a nervous smile. Though her nervousness was probably due to the presence of Koromaru, who was watching the proceedings from beside Ken.

Yang sighed in relief. Keeping that secret for Blake, while not something she hated, was a little stressful. Especially after that incident in the training room between Blake and Koromaru. Her partner might not have been afraid of dogs in general, but it was clear that her being a faunus had something to do with why she was so afraid of Koromaru.

After that day, Yang noticed that it wasn't just Blake. The faunus on campus tended to avoid the Shiba Inu, even though he was, by far, one of the friendliest and most well-behaved dogs she had ever seen. Her family's own dog was still number one in her eyes, of course.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Velvet, who was edging away from Koromaru and moving to a position where Yatsuhashi's larger frame could obstruct the canine's view. Yang would have to see if she could talk to Velvet about that.

Yang suspected it might have something to do with Koromaru somehow having a Persona. It was the only reasonable explanation she could think of that could explain why Blake, and the other faunus, were afraid of Koromaru but not of other dogs. Now that Blake's secret was out, she could run her theory through to Mitsuru and see what she thought about it.

"So, what now?"

All the tension and gloominess from earlier returned as Junpei finally addressed the elephant in the room. Or on the roof, as it were.

After Blake's sudden retreat, the present members of all five teams split up into pairs to search, with the exception of the trio of Mitsuru, Yukari, and Yang. Messages were sent and calls were made, but neither received a response from their wayward friend.

They had covered a fair amount of ground due to their numbers, but Vale was a large city. All the time they spent searching just barely covered the commercial district, never mind the city itself.

If Blake ran away in a straight line, unlike them who took the time to almost literally search every corner, then she could be anywhere in the city or, at worst, outside the city. They might have even ran past her since not all of them were capable of reaching the rooftops without first entering the building.

As such, after hours of fruitless searching, the five team leaders conferred and agreed to temporarily put their search on hold.

That suggestion received some complaints, but cold hard logic put an end to them in no time. Even if they searched well into the night, all they would accomplish was tiring themselves out. And so, the seventeen teenagers returned to Beacon, where they explained the situation to the two redheads who had stayed behind, and gathered on the roof of the dormitory after dinner to discuss things.

All eyes turned to Mitsuru. As the leader of KYBT, of which Blake was a member of, it was more or less her opinion that mattered most. That, and the fact that SEES was used to deferring to her when it came to bigger and more important matters that involved the group as a whole.

Wine red eyes surveyed the group on the roof. Predictably, everyone was quite expectant and most of them even looked ready to head down to Vale to search if that was what Mitsuru wanted to do. Unfortunately, Mitsuru knew that searching again would be useless at the moment. "For now, I believe the best thing to do would be to wait."

Once again, people reacted more or less as expected. Shock and surprise that she wanted to wait, confusion as to why she didn't seem to see the urgency, a hint of anger at the possibility that Mitsuru didn't care, and, most importantly, understanding from a handful of people who had already worked out the reason for Mitsuru's decision.

It was that last group that Mitsuru took note of.

Team CVFY was understandable. With a faunus on their team, they probably understood better than the others why it was important to give Blake time to herself. Of course, that understanding did little to ease Velvet's worries. Or was she more worried about Koromaru's presence? Mitsuru, remembering Blake's apprehension around the white-furred, red-eyed dog, made a mental note to speak with Velvet about that.

Akihiko and Chidori were two of the most level-headed among SEES. While Akihiko was prone to excitement when a fight was involved, his disinterest in most other things allowed him to calmly analyze a situation without getting too emotionally invested. Chidori's similar lack of interest granted her the same advantage, though Mitsuru felt that it was also due to her apathetic nature in the past.

They were undoubtedly concerned on some level – Chidori more than Akihiko since she and Blake had grown close – but they were experienced when it came to temporarily setting emotions aside when necessary.

And finally, Weiss.

One does not learn about faunus and not eventually learn about the White Fang. And one does not learn about the White Fang and not hear the Schnee Dust Company being mentioned once or a dozen times. And when one put together those three specific topics, one would come to learn about the SDC's role in faunus discrimination. Moreover, Yukari had approached her earlier, once they were away from everyone else, and confessed that she been keeping an eye on how Weiss acted around the faunus in school.

To her credit, Yukari only observed Weiss when they were in the same room and did not go out of her way to stalk or spy on the white-haired heiress nor did she prioritize her observations over her academic obligations. It was for that reason that Mitsuru chose to let the matter rest rather than reprimand the archer. Still, Yukari's insight on that particular matter did help.

Weiss did not openly act against the faunus, nor were Mitsuru and Yukari aware of any time when Weiss so much as spoke ill of them in the open. As far as they could tell, Weiss was simply wary around the faunus, just as they were wary of her for her heritage. And since the worst that happened was a glare in her direction, which she sometimes returned, they felt it was safe to conclude that the Schnee heiress was innocent of wrongdoing towards the faunus. Not unless one counted ignoring them as a crime.

Now, with Blake's secret out in the open, Mitsuru tried to gauge Weiss's feelings but found that the heiress was quite adept at masking her feelings. Her expression now was one of uncaring coldness. She most likely did not care if Blake ever returned. The fact that the girl in question was a faunus was probably the only thing Weiss cared about. Though what she felt about it was a mystery.

Holding up a hand, Mitsuru waited until everyone else calmed down before addressing them all once more. "I understand your feelings, but at the moment we have no clues as to her whereabouts. The fact that she has yet to respond to any of our missives means that she has either chosen to cut ties with us…" Again, she raised her hand to forestall any arguments and denials. "… Or she is not yet ready to speak with us."

Many faces notably calmed down at that point. "I've already sent her a message letting her know that we won't be searching for her anymore, but that we'll be waiting until she is ready to speak with us. So for now, I propose we give her time to think and clear her head. None of us here have shown any tendencies to discriminate against the faunus. I'm confident she is aware of that and will take that into consideration when she decides whether or not to meet with us again."

"But what about school?" asked Yang. "Missing a class or two is one thing but if she's gone for days then the professors are gonna start asking questions."

"If anyone asks, tell them that Blake isn't feeling well," came Mitsuru's calm response. "I'll handle speaking with the teachers. I've already asked for some of Professor Goodwitch's time before first period tomorrow morning so the teacher's shouldn't be an issue after that. Although," she turned to Aigis. "Since your Field Medicine class will take place before the meeting, you'll have to speak with Doctor Blackthorne and tell her that Blake isn't feeling well. Also, tell her that I'll be speaking with Professor Goodwitch about it."

Yang, as well as all the other Aura-users, looked stunned by the confidence in Mitsuru's tone as well as how quickly she had handled everything. More surprising was the sheer confidence that SEES had in her. None of the Japanese looked even the least bit concerned about Mitsuru's self-appointed role. It was as though the results of her talk with the Deputy Headmistress were a foregone conclusion the moment Mitsuru made her decision.

Mitsuru continued to speak, seemingly oblivious to the looks she was receiving. "The best thing we can do now is clear our heads and consider how we feel about what we've just learned. That way, if Blake chooses to meet with us again, we can speak clearly, without any doubts."

An amused chuckle came from the direction of Team CFVY, and when they turned to look, they found Coco to be the source. "Well, looks like you've got things handled pretty well. And here I was thinking we'd need to reign you all in, or maybe even stop you from marching to the airships and catching the last ship down."

Yukari gave an unladylike snort. "Good luck with that," she muttered too softly for the fashionista to hear. Then she caught the curious look that Velvet sent her way. _'Right. Faunus hearing.'_

"Since we're obviously not needed anymore, I think we better get back to our own dorm," continued Coco, rising to her feet and brushing off the seat of her pants. Then she draped an arm around Velvet's shoulders and began leading her away, the silent duo of Yatsuhashi and Fox following soon after. "We girls need our beauty rest after all. Try not to stay up too late kids."

Before she crossed the threshold into the stairwell, she turned around and grinned at Yukari. "And don't go forgetting my little offer now, alright?"

Soon, the quartet of second years left, leaving the fifteen first years by themselves. As one, everyone but Yang turned a questioning eye to Yukari, who was shaking her head in exasperation. "She wants to have a joint training session with us," she said, speaking before anyone could ask about Coco's parting words. Then she turned to Mitsuru. "I told her I'd ask you first. And there's the fact that our schedules won't let us train together on Fridays, so the only free time all of us have in common, and I really mean _all_ of us, is Sunday."

A large majority had a look of distaste at that idea. Excluding the Leadership and Tactics classes, which took place at the beginning and end of Saturday classes respectively, only Yukari and Nora had to attend class on Saturdays. But of course, they were teenagers. And what sane teenager, a student no less, gave up a weekend?

The only person that Yukari could think of would be Mitsuru and, perhaps, Akihiko, but the brunette knew that Mitsuru also valued any time she could have to herself. She was just more willing to give up a weekend if the event in question was important or urgent.

"I'll consider it," Mitsuru responded without delay. But then, she turned to Yukari. "Do you trust them?"

While some were confused, Yukari immediately understood what her partner and friend was asking. "I do. Coco talks enough to make up for Velvet, Yatsuhashi and Fox being mostly quiet, but I don't ever remember her gossiping about other teams and stuff like that."

Mitsuru nodded, but said nothing more on that subject. Then, all of a sudden, there was a sharpness in her eyes that hadn't been there until that moment. Seven people were startled at the sudden change. They could almost feel the air shift, as though in response to the change in Mitsuru's demeanor.

"Aigis, Fuuka." Even her tone had gained an edge to it. It was a tone that only SEES had ever heard before. "Are we clear?"

Clear? The seven who were shocked by the change in Mitsuru's bearing glanced at each other, the question obvious in their inquisitive eyes. Clear Of what?

As one, both Aigis and Fuuka nodded and said, "Yes."

"Then you know what to do." Those sharp red eyes turned to the other members of SEES. "Keep an eye on our surroundings. Akihiko, you're with us."

"Got it, senpai."

"Right."

"Of course."

Every member of SEES suddenly rose to their feet, leaving their teammates looking quite perplexed. Ken and Koromaru, Junpei, Chidori, Yukari, and Aigis all took positions near the roof's edges. If Mitsuru's words were any indication, they were there to, for whatever reason, ensure that the group had privacy.

"No one on this side, Mitsuru-senpai," Ken called out, followed by a bark from Koromaru as though to agree.

Junpei, Chidori, and Yukari gave similar reports.

"Some windows are open," Aigis reported in turn, leaning over and gazing straight down the edge of the roof, on the side where most of the rooms had their windows. "But I believe we should be able to proceed provided we do not raise our voices."

Unable to restrain her curiosity any longer, Yang turned to her team leader. "Mitsuru, what's going… on…?"

Yang's voice trailed off, and any other questions were similarly cut off when they saw Fuuka, standing close to the doorway, draw her Evoker. With a familiar bang, a pale blue light emerged and grew in size, surrounding the teal-haired girl for but an instant before the familiar form of Juno appeared, its summoner encased within its glass, globe-like dress.

Remembering the capabilities of this particular Persona, Ruby asked, "Are you… are you searching for Blake?"

Had they not already been staring at the sudden, unexpected summoning, then Ruby's question, hopeful and optimistic, would have guaranteed that they would be.

But instead of answering her, Mitsuru's attention was solely on Fuuka. After a tense minute or so, Fuuka finally spoke. "I've found her. Thankfully she's within range, since Juno can only see about a third of Vale from here." Her words elicited cheers from the more excitable members of the group, but a quick glare from Mitsuru silenced them. "She seems to be doing well. She's calmer now, but I can feel that she's still deeply worried even though she's not panicking anymore. Give me a moment to match the location to an address."

Not long after, a chime was heard coming from Mitsuru's pocket. And when the former heiress pulled out her Scroll and opened it, she found a message from Fuuka, bearing the address of Blake's current location. "Good work," she said, while Juno began to dispel into motes of light. "Thank you, Fuuka."

"Yeah, thanks Fuuka," added Yang, quickly walking past Juno's disappearing frame towards the door. "Now we can grab the next airship to Vale and-"

"Who said anything about going to Vale?"

Yang's hand froze, her fingers just barely brushing the doorknob, when Mitsuru spoke from behind her, eliciting a gasp not only from Yang, but also from others like Ruby and Nora. She spun around, thinking that perhaps Mitsuru was playing a joke on her – a cruel one at that if it was a joke – but only came face-to-face with that steely-eyed gaze, arms crossed in front of her, and her body posed in that same imperious stance as when she had talked down Cardin Winchester.

Eyes wide in surprise and apprehension, Yang could only gasp out a single word. "W-what?" Such was the shock at both Mitsuru's words and domineering posture that she was unable to even give voice to her entire question.

And she was not the only one. Split into two groups of three, one group standing on either side of the showdown, the Aura-users of the teams were growing uneasy, eyes rapidly shifting between the red-haired former heiress and the blonde brawler.

Contrary to the shock and surprise of the Aura-users, the Persona-users were all calm even as they stood in a similar grouping, one group each of four and three that stood next to their friends. But though they were calm in response to Mitsuru's unspoken declaration, their tense postures showed that they were just as worried about the confrontation between the two.

"I meant what I said earlier Yang." Mitsuru stood tall and strong in front of Yang, her gaze sharp, her voice commanding, and her tone unwavering. "Or did you think that I said all that simply because Team CFVY was here?"

"W-well, yeah," the blonde admitted, sheepish yet bewildered. "I mean, they don't know about your Persona so…"

"Make no mistake." Though calm, Mitsuru's voice was still as sharp as her gaze, like a finely honed blade poised to cut. "I am just as concerned for Blake's safety and well-being as you are. It's why I had Fuuka search for her, so that we know she is well. But little will be accomplished if we go into this while we are filled with doubt."

"What d'you mean?" Yang's voice was gaining strength once more and her stance and posture changed to match it. "What doubt? I know exactly what I'm gonna do."

"What about what you're going to say?" Again, Mitsuru's sharp words cut through flesh and pierced right into the heart of the matter. "Do you plan to say anything other than 'Come back' or 'It will be fine'? Mere platitudes and empty sentiments will avail us nothing in this situation."

"Oh yeah?" challenged Yang, the hands at her sides tightening into fists as she ground her teeth. "And you think you know better?"

"Of course not."

The response, though sharp and strong, was like a tiny bump in the road. Normally small and almost insignificant. Yet when one was moving towards it at full speed, it was almost unnoticeable until it was too late, hitting it and causing a great shock to those that ran over it.

Such was its effect that Yang suddenly froze at the unexpected turn, pausing her metaphorical advance to take stock of what just happened.

She was used to taking things head-on, used to having things come at her head-on. But Mitsuru's seemingly sudden change of heart, her admission to knowing just as little as Yang, struck her from a blind spot. Hard.

She was ready to hear Mitsuru claim that she _did_ know better. That perhaps she had experienced something similar in the past, perhaps even be the one to run away from something or someone. She was even ready to face Princess Mitsuru – or Queen Mitsuru depending on which rumor she paid more attention to – as she was sometimes referred to in rumors and whispers after that incident with Cardin. But now…

How did someone respond when the person they were arguing with suddenly seems to agree with them?

Taking advantage of Yang's pause, Mitsuru plowed on. "And that's only one of the reasons why we aren't going to Blake right now. The other is as I've said earlier. Just as I'm certain that none of us know exactly what we're going to say to her…" she glanced around as she said this, as though daring anyone to tell her otherwise. "… Blake is certainly just as confused as we are. She wouldn't have run away otherwise. We need to give her time to think, just as we, ourselves, need to do the same."

Yang and Mitsuru's eyes were locked onto each other, the latter waiting for the former's response to her words. Nobody interfered, or even dared to say a word. Most of them had already made their decisions, one way or another, while the remaining few who were undecided continued to watch, waiting to see whose determination would win out.

In the end, it was Yang who settled down first, taking and releasing a deep breath as she allowed her body to relax just a little bit. "Even if I said I was going to Vale, you aren't gonna give me the address, are you? And I'm sure Fuuka won't either even if I asked her when she's away from you."

"I'm sorry, Yang," came Fuuka's voice, soft but loud enough to reach the blonde's ears.

Yang shook her head. "Don't be," she said, sounding quite bitter but still accepting of the other girl's decision, however grudgingly. Then her next words came. "You're just following Mitsuru's lead after all."

A few people tensed up at those words and their eyes swiveled quickly to Yang, shocked that she would say that especially since she once accused Akihiko of doing the same. Then their eyes turned back to Mitsuru in worry, wondering what she would say in response to the blonde's words. Ren and Nora noticed that Akihiko's eyes narrowed dangerously in the direction of the blonde brawler.

Contrary to their expectations, the response came from Fuuka, who shook her head firmly with her own eyes hardening slightly to show just how serious she was. "It's not that, Yang. I'm not keeping Blake's location to myself just because of Mitsuru-senpai. In fact, she hasn't said anything to me at all about keeping it to myself." Her expression softened, but it did little to dull the resolve in her eyes. "I'm doing it because I feel the same way as senpai, because I know that we _all_ need to take the time to think about this."

While not as powerful, there was now that same look in Fuuka's eyes that challenged them to speak otherwise. Ruby and Weiss, who spent the most time around the teal-haired girl, found themselves taken aback by the sudden change in their teammate.

It was not the first time she had spoken with such conviction, but it was the first time they had seen such steel in her eyes, seen the diminutive Japanese girl stand so strong and tall that her presence made _them_ feel small. There were still traces of the kind and gentle Fuuka they had grown familiar with, but now she carried herself with the same inner strength that the other members of SEES had shown on various occasions such as Yukari standing up to Cardin, and Junpei defending Jaune from Weiss, crude though his method had been.

"I believe I understand where Blake is coming from." All eyes turned to yet another unexpected speaker. In response, emerald green eyes met all the rest with a firm but gentler resolve. "Many faunus are looked down upon and treated poorly all because they are born different, when all they want is to be treated normally just like any other human. Any other person."

Pyrrha looked down, a sad smile on her face and a hand on her chest, not far from where her heart was. "People look at me and see the Invincible Girl. It may be a title I earned through my own efforts but, in the end, I believe our situations bear enough similarities. Just as many people might see a faunus, and not Blake Belladona, people look at me and see a symbol, and not Pyrrha Nikos."

Nobody noticed when a single person turned their head away, trying to understand why those words pierced deeply into their heart.

"Racists would literally spit on her, perhaps even strike her, if they ever met," she began with a deep frown. "Many of my admirers shower me with hollow praise, and unnecessary gifts. Blake would be wary of those who approached her for fear of being mistreated. I am wary of those who approach me for fear of being used. Blake hides her heritage so that she would be treated as a person. I dislike my fame because it turned me into a symbol that is all but worshipped."

"It's not entirely the same," she concluded, slowly moving her gaze around to watch her friends' reactions. "But I believe I understand well enough the feeling of wanting people to see me for who I am, not what I am." Then she smiled softly, gratefully, at each of them. "I am fortunate to have met you all. You acknowledge my skills, my abilities and strength, yet none of you have treated me as anything more than I truly am. If you can extend that same courtesy to Blake, I'm sure she'll see that any fears she has of being treated poorly by any of us is unfounded."

"So… are you saying we should…" Yang trailed off, sounding quite hopeful. If Pyrrha understood, then surely she could speak to Blake now instead of having all of them wait for Mitsuru to give up the address or for Blake to contact them.

Unfortunately, Pyrrha turned an apologetic smile in Yang's direction and gently shook her head with her eyes closed. "As similar as the case may be, it's still not entirely the same. And I'm also unaware of how Blake, herself, sees the situation, nor am I aware of her own personal experiences. Perhaps she was only someone who saw it happen, or perhaps she was someone who experienced firsthand how cruel people can be."

Then she looked down, a dark expression shadowing her face. "And you'd be surprised just how cruel people _can_ be. I know I was. Enough that I could find no words to give to my thoughts."

Nobody was sure where that comment had come from. Nobody, save for a red-haired girl whose lip twitched in response along with a slight lowering of her gaze.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought their attention back to Mitsuru, whose expression was noticeably softer, her posture less tense. "If any of you want to continue searching for Blake on your own time then that's your prerogative," she began, knowing that it wasn't just Yang who wanted to keep doing so. "Just be certain that you are ready to speak with Blake if, by chance, you do find her."

Then, without another word, Mitsuru walked off, moving past Yang without so much as a glance and leaving the rooftop. The tension visibly lessened without the red-haired team leader, but that just left the apprehension that half the group felt at being told to leave the matter alone, even if only temporarily.

With the target of her displeasure gone, Yang's anger abated somewhat. She turned to the rest of SEES, Yukari in particular, with a look of annoyance. "Not to say that I hate her, but where does she get off being that bossy? I mean, she acts like she's the leader of every team here."

"Bossy?" Yukari exchanged confused looks with the rest of SEES before returning her attention to Yang. "What are you talking about? You _do_ know that Mitsuru-senpai never actually told you _not_ to look for Blake, right?"

Of course, Yang's irritation grew at what she felt like was an unjust defense of the redhead. "What are you talking about? She just said-"

"No, she's right." And for the third time that night, the words that were spoken came from yet another unexpected source. "Mitsuru never once said not to go, just that she felt it was best if we left her alone for the time being."

Heads and eyes turned, meeting the contemplative gaze of the white-haired, blue-eyed heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. "In fact," continued the heiress, uncaring that she now had an audience of fifteen, "She said it just before leaving. We can search for Blake if we want to as long as we do it during our free time and as long as we're ready to face her. It goes without saying that she won't give us Blake's location, but she won't stop us from going on our own."

"Funny," Yang commented with a scoff. "You make it sound like you _want_ to look for her."

Needless to say, Yang's tone didn't go over very well with Weiss. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" And without waiting for an answer, Yang went on to explain her previous statement. "You're a Schnee. Blake's a faunus. Everyone knows that-"

"Knows what?!" A harsh snarl cut off Yang's words. And when all eyes turned to Weiss, everyone recoiled in shock. "Go on! Everyone knows what?!" The sheer vitriol in her voice, and the look of absolute rage that appeared on Weiss's face unnerved them all.

Standing just a half-step behind and to the left of Weiss, Ruby was similarly frozen in shock and… fear? Was this what it felt like to be afraid? Ruby couldn't remember feeling this way before. Her legs frozen in place, yet her mind telling her that staying was not in her best interest. "We... Weiss…?" she stammered out, her voice high and squeaky, yet almost breathy. "A-Are you…"

But despite Ruby's close proximity to the older girl, her partner couldn't seem to hear her. All her attention was on the girl's blonde half-sister, whose gaze was just as focused on the heiress. Despite the steadiness of her gaze, it was the partly opened mouth, and slightly raised eyebrows that betrayed her seemingly calm demeanor and revealed her own agitation and shock.

"That… well…" Yang swallowed and tried to speak but she struggled to form the words. The smoldering anger in the heiress's ice-blue eyes seemed to burn its way into Yang's thoughts and incinerated the words before they could form on her lips.

When Yang failed to respond properly, Weiss took a menacing step forward, to which Yang reflexively took a step back to maintain the distance between them.

Seldom were the occasions when Yang backed down during a fight, verbal or otherwise. Rarer still were the times that she back down in the face of a peer. So the gasp that escaped Ruby's lips upon seeing Yang do just that was quite understandable.

Heedless of her partner's reaction, Weiss continued her advance, literally and figuratively. "If you don't know anything then keep your mouth shut," she snarled as she took another step forward, her diminutive stature doing little to dampen the effect of her words. "Don't go around pretending you know everything about the Schnee, about me, just because you've heard of us from some random passerby on the street, or some reporter who, like you, thinks they know everything."

Yang continued to step backwards even as Weiss approached her while speaking. Why was it that she was suddenly acting this way? Before coming to Beacon she never would have backed down from a fight. Whether it was with fists or with words, she always fought back, never once retreating or giving way.

So why now? Was it the heiress's barely restrained fury that made her retreat? Or was it the fact that Weiss had never reacted this way before no matter how much Yang pushed her?

' _You know why,'_ a voice said in her head. A voice that sounded very much like Yukari. _'Don't pretend you don't know.'_

Eventually, Yang's back hit the wall next to the door, and she was unable to retreat at Weiss closed the distance between them. In just two seconds, the heiress stood barely a foot away, glaring up menacingly at the taller blonde. Yang readied herself for a severe verbal lashing, only for Weiss to huff and turn her nose up. Then she stepped around Yang, opened the door, and walked back down into the dorm without another word, leaving a relieved but very confused blonde.

For the next few moments, the only sound on the rooftop was the gentle rustling of clothing and leaves as a light breeze blew across the campus. Then someone sighed heavily. "I know I said it before," Yukari began, cradling her face in one hand and shaking her head, "But you really do know how to make a mess of things, don't you?"

Everyone instantly knew that _that_ was not the best thing to say at the moment. And their thoughts were proven true when Yang rounded on her teammate with an angry look. "And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" she all but roared, mirroring Weiss's reaction to her own words just a few minutes ago. "I'm not the one who started yelling."

"You didn't start it but you practically provoked her into starting," came Yukari's firm rebuttal, her own expression growing angry at her teammate. "She wasn't even saying anything bad in the first place."

"She was practically gloating," Yang shot back. "And don't tell me you've never noticed how she's always around our team whenever she can get away with it. If she wasn't the Schnee heiress you know she'd practically be following Mitsuru around like a lost puppy."

Yukari's eyes widened slightly in disbelief. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked. "What she does in her spare time isn't really any of our business. And it's not like she's bothering us when she does."

"Well why not spend time with her own team? Why does she have to-"

"That's enough." The voice that cut through the argument was firm and calm, and Akihiko's posture was the same as he stepped forward, just a half-step away from coming in between the two arguing girls.

Not appreciating his interruption into something that wasn't his business, Yang immediately turned just a little bit to put Akihiko in the center of her sights, ready to give him a piece of her mind, when she froze, her mouth half-open. Facing Akihiko also had the effect of putting Ruby in Yang's line of sight, and what she saw pierced right through the angry red haze that was clouding her vision.

Ruby, her younger half-sister, was standing there, arms wrapped around herself and shying away from something. But it was Ruby's eyes that got through to Yang. Ruby's silver eyes, inherited from her mother, _their_ mother, were filled with apprehension. And they were looking at Yang.

Looking around, Yang saw that her argument with Yukari, perhaps even with Weiss, had made everyone apprehensive. Some looked at her nervously, or even looked away when she faced them as though afraid of setting her off. A handful were wary, as though afraid that she would next turn her anger on _them_. But none of that mattered to her.

What mattered most was Ruby. Ruby, her beloved sister, who was looking at her like a stranger she should be wary of. With eyes that almost quivered in fear of her very own sister. That, more than anything, told her that she had gone too far.

"… sorry."

She turned around after her muttered apology, not caring either way if they knew who she was speaking to or if they even heard her. She ignored the sounds of confusion and, as much as it pained her, Ruby's call as she left the roof and made her way down to the first floor of the dorm. Since Mitsuru was most likely in the room, she decided to go for a long walk, knowing she was unlikely to remain calm for very long if she returned to the room. Especially since Yukari would eventually return as well.

And after everything that happened, getting into another argument was the last thing she needed. Hopefully, she thought as she exited the dorm, the gym was still open.

Yet, even as she walked away from the source of her anger and frustrations, she couldn't shake the feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.

* * *

Down in the city of Vale, leaning against the wall of a dark, empty room, Blake wasn't doing much better emotionally.

After running away from everyone, she ran in a straight line, hoping to put as much distance between her and them. By the time she came to a stop, she was nearing the northern end of the city, not far from where the borders of the city met with the Forest of Forever Fall.

She broke into a vacant office building in the area, one marked to undergo renovations, on the off chance they managed to track her to that part of the city. It was only about an hour later that she remembered Fuuka's Persona, Juno, and its abilities. She had panicked for a brief moment, wondering if she should escape into the forest where they wouldn't be able to search for her. But after calming down, she realized that they would have found her already if they had relied on Fuuka to search.

She reasoned that it was probably the fact that they were in public. Being seen shooting yourself in the head definitely wouldn't be on the top of their 'to-do list'.

She stared at the Scroll in her hands, which held dozens of messages from her teammates and friends. Though she wondered if she could still call them that after what she just did. Still, one message in particular, one that the timestamp marked as having been received roughly around sundown, lingered at the forefront of her thoughts.

And once again, she found herself opening her Scroll, as well as the message in question – though it was less of a typical message sent through a Scroll and more of a letter in Blake's opinion – her eyes scanning its contents for probably the seventh time since she received it.

 _I can't say I understand why you chose to run, or why you chose to hide your heritage in the first place, but I have my suspicions. I can't, won't, force you, but I would prefer if we could properly talk about all this face-to-face. Take your time to decide and let me know if you still want to talk. If you're uncomfortable with meeting in person, a message or a call is fine as well._

 _If you want to meet, let me know where and when, as well as any preferences with regards to how many and who you would allow to meet you. I'll do what I can to make sure only those people are present, even should you exclude me. And even if you choose to break all ties with us, I would appreciate it if you let us know, even if you choose not to explain why._

 _I've called off the search for today and we're all on an airship headed for Beacon as of this moment, though I suspect some may choose to keep searching later on. I can, at the very least, guarantee that nobody will search for you tonight, but tomorrow may be another matter. Still, I'll do my best to minimize how many go off searching for you. Take this time to consider if you would like to meet with us._

 _For what it's worth, nobody here seems to be averse to the fact that you are a faunus. Though, understandably, everyone is confused to some degree. It may come as a surprise to you, but even Weiss had nothing bad to say. At least, as of this moment. But if you're willing to trust my judgement, I don't believe she is as antagonistic towards faunus as her own heritage may lead you to believe._

 _As I've already said, I guarantee that nobody will travel to Vale to search for you tonight. As such, you do not need to worry. Take care of yourself, Blake. I cannot speak for everyone but, whatever happens, you'll have my support._

And like the light the Scroll provided in the otherwise darkened room she was in, that message from Mitsuru was the sole source of light in the darkness of her thoughts.

She hadn't thought wrong.

Despite having hidden her heritage, even after weeks of researching faunus culture, Mitsuru didn't hold it against her. And after reading through the countless messages asking her to come back, telling her that they don't hate her for being a faunus or for keeping it a secret, she felt just a bit more confident that meeting with them wouldn't be so bad. Running away earlier, however, was something she, mostly, didn't regret.

After the day when circumstance made her unable to confess the truth to Mitsuru, Blake found her courage waning. It seemed that her conversation with Mitsuru that day provided her a brief confidence boost. A boost that faded the next day. And since then, she hadn't been able to find another opportunity to speak with Mitsuru, or rather Team KYBT as a whole. Not when she knew that telling one team would more or less mean having to tell the other three teams as well.

The fact that they all knew now was a mixed blessing. It saved her the trouble of telling everyone, but it also meant that the choice of how, where, and when to tell them had been taken away from her. And now, she would have to explain herself to them, unless she chose to, again, run.

With a sigh, she pocketed her Scroll, one of three things that she had with her asides from the clothes she was wearing. The second of her possessions was the ribbon in her hands. The ribbon she used to tie into a bow to hide her feline ears. Feline ears that twitched as a sound from down the hall reached them.

Footsteps.

Swiftly, but silently, she rose and went to the corner behind the door. With the windows boarded up completely, leaving that way was not an option. To make things worse, the room she was in was at the end of a fairly long corridor. The only way out was the direction where the footsteps were coming from.

Listening closely, she could make out two sets of footsteps, along with voices and the sound of doors being opened and shut. All three sounds were faint, but gradually grew louder as the seconds passed. Eventually, the three people outside were close enough that she could hear their voices.

"…ong with me in here. Doesn't seem like you don't trust me to get the job done right, so what's the deal?" came a man's voice, a soft baritone. "This room's the same."

"What? I can't spend time with my new favorite employee?" came another man's voice, slightly higher in pitch and much more carefree and cheerful in tone. At the silence that came, interrupted only by the opening of another door, Blake could almost image the first man giving the other a flat stare. "Alright, alright, no need for the silent treatment."

"So why _are_ you here?" the first man asked again, followed by another door clicking shut. "Doesn't exactly take two people ta make sure the building's still the same as the building plans we got."

"Well, the boss's call was unexpected and you did volunteer to do the job when I sent out that message earlier asking for one, even though it's this late at night. And the boss asked me to do something after you're done here so I thought, 'Why not just keep the guy company instead of waiting for him to get done?' So here I am."

Blake heard the man huff. "Whassat s'pose ta mean? We doin' somethin' after this?"

"It means you're getting paid double your usual wage," she could practically hear the grin through the man's tone. "Plus she told me to take you out to dinner as thanks for taking on this job at the last minute."

"Thanks, but I don't swing that way." Blake heard the other man laugh in response to the first man's dry humor. "'Sides, the missus wasn't all that happy that I took you up on this job right as she was finishing up dinner. Generous as the boss is, if I took her up on that dinner over my wife's, then my wife would definitely blow her top."

Again, the second man laughed. "In that case, why not pick up something for her instead?" he suggested after sobering up. "I'm sure a nice cake or something wouldn't be unwelcome. I'm sure the boss won't mi-"

"Hold up."

Caught up in the men's conversation, Blake had completely lost track of their position. It was only when the first man's tone grew serious that she realized they were now standing right in front of the door to the room she was hiding in. The door that was barely two feet to her left.

"Something wrong?" Even the second man had picked up on the mood, the cheer disappearing from his voice though his tone was not as grave.

"Someone's in this one. A faunus."

Blake stifled a gasp. _'How does he know? Is he…'_

"Oh? You can tell?"

"It's faint, but there's no mistaking the scent of another faunus. Must have been too distracted to notice the scent leading to the door earlier." Those words alone confirmed that the speaker was another faunus, just as the other man's question most likely marked him as a human. The question now, however, was what he would do. "Come on out," the faunus outside the door said in a louder voice. "And do it slowly. We're not here to fight if you aren't."

"Should I be worried?" Blake heard the other man ask as she went over her options.

"… Just be ready for anything."

Those words immediately killed two of her options, which were to go outside and, if necessary, fight her way past them, or wait until they came in and take them by surprise. Even without Gambol Shroud she still had her Semblance, which she could use to get away. But if they were going to be cautious about it, there was a chance that she would fail. She didn't even know if the two outside were capable of combat and it wasn't something she was going to risk.

That left the third option, possibly the fourth too. Going peacefully and praying to whatever being was out there that things turn out well. And if they turned out to be hostile, _then_ she would wait for an opportunity to escape.

She stepped in front of the door, purposely doing her best to actually make noise. It was surprisingly hard, at least to her, to _not_ be quiet. Especially after years of practicing and improving her stealth. After taking those three steps, she steeled herself to face whoever was behind the door. "I'm coming out," she said out loud, hand on the doorknob.

She twisted the doorknob, the rusted parts making an irritating screech like it did earlier when she came in. Slowly, like the man asked, she pulled the door open towards her. A beam of light came through the opening she made, growing wider with every inch the door moved.

When the door was fully opened, the light shone on her face, courtesy of a flashlight that she could just barely make out. She raised her hand in response to shield her eyes, now extremely sensitive to light due to both her heritage and from being in the dark for so long.

Realizing that the light was inconveniencing her, the man holding the flashlight aimed it lower. "Th-thanks," she said, blinking rapidly and trying to make the spots in her vision disappear. Eventually, her vision cleared up and, despite there being no light aimed at the two in front of her, the ambient light from the flashlight and her own faunus vision was more than enough.

The man to her left was the faunus, as evidenced by the two rounded ears sitting at the top of his head – was he a bear faunus perhaps? – surrounded by short, dark brown hair. He had a large frame and was at least a foot taller than her, with large muscles that stretched the black shirt he wore. His face was set into a wary scowl, and his eyes watched her every move.

When she turned her attention to the man to her right, Blake's eyes widened in terror, her mouth clamping shut to stifle a scream even as she shakily took a step back. _'It can't be. Why is_ he _here?'_

Her panicked thoughts quickly took stock of the situation. The windows were boarded up and the wood was quite solid. The only way she'd be able to break it was if she plowed her way through. But without Gambol Shroud, she'd have no way to stop her fall. And contrary to popular belief, cats did not always land on their feet, never mind a cat faunus falling from the tenth floor of an old office building. Aura or not, the fall _will_ hurt.

Fighting was not an option either. Not only was she unarmed, but her opponent knew what she was capable of. What little she had picked up since their parting would not be enough to catch him off guard. Not to mention, he was faster and stronger than her. And there was his companion to consider.

She took another step back, eyes rapidly looking around the empty room for something. But it was just that, empty. There was absolutely nothing that she could use. Nothing she could have missed that might be helpful. This was it. She was going to-

"Eh? Somethin' wrong?"

Her train of thought suddenly stopped when the voice reached her ears. No, that was an understatement. Her thoughts had been completely derailed, flipping end over end again and again until the entire train fell off a cliff into a deep abyss. Only one thought survived the tragedy. _'That's not_ his _voice.'_

"Yo, kitty cat," came that same voice, accompanied by the sound of snapping. "You alright? You look like you just turned into a ghost."

The faunus to her left sighed. "First of, most faunus would be insulted to hear a nickname like that, especially from a human, even if you don't mean anything by it. Second, don't you mean she 'looks like she saw a ghost', and not turned into one?"

"First, I'm sorry. Giving nicknames is a habit of mine but I'll try to tone it down around faunus." Surprisingly, to Blake's slowly calming mind, the man's offer sounded genuine, even if his apology wasn't very… apologetic in tone. "Second, unless one or both of us died without us knowing, then there aren't any ghosts here."

"That's not really…" The faunus trailed off and just shook his head with an exasperated sigh. "Never mind." He then turned his attention back to Blake, who had, for the most part, calmed down. "Still, he's got a point. We spook you that bad or somethin'?"

"Ye- no," Blake quickly amended. "It's just…" Her eyes turned to the man on the right, the man whose appearance had terrified her. "He just reminded me of someone for a moment. That's all."

It was quite the understatement and she knew it. Now that she wasn't on the verge of a panic attack, she could see that this man's resemblance to _him_ was just that, a resemblance. And a passing one at that.

The man in front of her had spiky red hair, but it was longer than _his_. This man's eyes were brown, not amber. His expression was relaxed and carefree, not stern and guarded or even hidden behind a mask, literally and figuratively. His suit, while black, was of a more common design, unlike _his,_ which was custom-made. This man was, seemingly, unarmed, while _he_ was never without his trusted weapons hanging from his hip.

This man was not _him._

But in the dim lighting, combined with her lack of composure, the resemblance had been close enough.

"I really hope that wasn't a pick-up line," said the red-haired man. "I'd give it a three out of ten, mostly for originality, but unless you're into rape-play or enjoy playing the scared damsel and prince charming routine, most guys wouldn't really get into it. And just so you know I prefer women around my age. No offense kid."

Yes, this man _definitely_ wasn't him.

"Sometimes I really wonder 'bout you," she heard the faunus mutter. And by the grin and unapologetic shrug he gave, the other man heard him as well. "Still, the hell are you doin' in here? How'd you even get in?"

"I… I was ju-" A loud growl interrupted Blake's words, followed by Blake turning away, a dark tint of red on her cheeks while the red-haired man exploded in laughter. "S-Sorry…"

With that, any tension that might have remained faded away, the faunus rubbing the back of his head with a sigh. "Hungry huh? You a runaway or somethin'?"

"Runaway? Really?" The red-haired man gave the faunus next to him a disappointed look. "You sure she didn't just confess her love to someone she really liked and got turned down 'cuz he didn't like her pick-up lines?"

Both Blake and the other faunus just stared at him, then faced each other once more, opting to ignore him.

"…something like that." If he was going to try filling in the blanks himself then he was welcome to. She'd be less likely to reveal something that way.

At her response, the faunus sighed again. "That bad, huh?" She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but he probably took her vague response as a clue regarding the severity of her situation. "Since you're in a dump like this I'm guessin' you ain't got any other place to be."

"You do know you might be working in this 'dump' one day, right?" Again, the red-haired man's words went ignored. Though Blake caught the twitching of the faunus's eyebrow.

"Alright, give me a bit to finish up here then we'll head out."

"Head out?" repeated Blake, giving her fellow faunus a curious look. "What do you mean? Where?"

Just then, her stomach decided to make its complaints known once more. The red-haired man just smiled this time, but she could tell he was laughing himself silly in his head. The faunus just gave her a knowing smile. "Looks like that stomach of yours is smarter than you are."

Blake shrank away when she understood what he was implying. "You… you don't have to. I can-" Her mouth snapped shut at that as she remembered one crucial detail. Her wallet.

It was the last of her three current possessions. Some may call it a good thing. But not her. Not right now.

In hindsight, she really should have opened a bank account as soon as she passed the initiation and got settled into Beacon. Instead, paranoia at being found made her decide that it was best to keep her money with her at all times. As a result, the majority of her money was in Team KYBT's dorm room, stashed away in a hidden section of her luggage, which sat unused under her bed, while a smaller supply of lien was in her rocket locker _and_ in two hidden locations in the city.

Her wallet's current contents didn't amount to much. Two hundred lien or something around there. Enough for the two movies they had planned to watch as well as the obligatory snack or two. A third movie would be stretching it but not impossible. On the off chance that they ended up going out to dinner, she might have just borrowed some money from Yang or Yukari – Mitsuru may be rich but just the thought of approaching her for that purpose seemed… wrong, for some reason – and offered to pay them back when they got back to Beacon.

Given her current situation, however, she couldn't afford to be careless with her money.

A place to spend the night would cost her about fifty lien at a minimum for an overnight stay, about a hundred if she wanted something nicer and cleaner. A meal at a cheap diner or fast food place would run about ten to fifteen lien. With her current funds she literally couldn't afford to think about her future plans for more than two days, three if she got… _creative_.

She _had_ considered going after one of those two locations, but she didn't want to touch that emergency stash unless it became absolutely necessary.

So while she may not like it for a variety of reasons, she would have to take advantage of her fellow faunus's kindness. She just told herself that she'd find some way to pay him back regardless of what happened.

In response to her protest, though she had cut herself off, the faunus sighed once again. "Listen kid, I don't know what you're runnin' from but take it from someone who's been there. Being on the run ain't easy. 'Specially when you've got no plan at all 'sides from 'run away'." He gestured the room and the building around them. "The fact that you broke in here to look for a place for the night tells me enough."

As much as it strung her pride, he had a very good point. Though she had to resist the urge to tell him that she had been on the run before. She just hadn't been as prepared this time, that's all.

"Like I said, give us a moment to finish up then we'll go grab somethin' to eat. Fill up that stomach of yours before it decides to eat you up instead."

The red-haired man, who had been quiet since his last comment, chose that moment to speak up. "So you turn down my offer for dinner but you turn around and take out the first girl you see?" he asked with a wide, teasing grin. "Should I be making a call to your wife? I'm pretty sure you included her number as an emergency contact."

"Piss off. I'm pretty sure nobody actually enjoys your little jokes. Still…" His voice trailed off and he shook his head. "Never mind. Anyway, let's get this over with. Just a couple more rooms to check then we're done."

Blake followed the two men as they went to the next room over, the brown-haired faunus pulling out his Scroll as they entered. After a quick glance inside, he tapped something on his Scroll and moved to the next room. She observed quietly, not wanting to disturb their work, whatever it was. Soon enough, they shut the door to the last room.

"Alright, looks like everything checks out," said the Faunus, pocketing his Scroll but pulling out a small, box-shaped device that was small enough to sit on the palm of his hand. He handed it to the red-haired man. "Guess we didn't even need this after the first few. Rooms were mostly the same, save for two where they broke down the wall to make a bigger room, and practically every floor had the exact same layout."

"Better to have it, just in case," the other man replied as he took the device and pocketed it. "You know how it is."

Blake followed the two men down the building even as they made speculations as to why their boss suddenly needed the building's interior checked. The only clue they had to go on was that their boss, a woman from the sound of it, came up with an idea for the building and wanted to know whether or not they would need to renovate the interior. As such, they were sent to compare the building's current state with the registered building plans so that their own plans could be made.

When they stepped out of the building, the faunus – the better lighting allowing Blake to confirm her assumption that he was a bear faunus – turned to her with a sheepish look while the other man locked the doors. "Forgot to introduce myself. Name's Julian." He cocked his head towards the red-haired man. "That's Thantos. He's something like a supervisor for everything while the boss and her second are off doing other stuff."

"And by 'other stuff'," threw in Thantos, putting on a pair of sunglasses as he approached. "He means things we don't know about."

"Why are you wearing sunglasses at night?" Blake wanted to ask. From what she'd seen and heard of the man, however, she decided that it was better not to. So instead, she asked the other question that popped into her head. "Why don't you know? They don't tell you?"

Thantos hummed in thought for a moment while fishing out something from his pocket. "More like I don't ask," he finally answered as he pulled out a set of car keys from his pocket. "Those two are busy setting up the stuff that they can't leave to others, like purchasing the land and buildings or making connections." The trio walked away from the building, and a dark blue SUV lit up and unlocked just as they neared it. "And anything they can afford pass on to someone else, they leave to me to handle and supervise."

The three got into the vehicle with Blake sitting at the back. "So where exactly are we going?"

Julian decided to answer that question. "Dunno if you heard us earlier but apparently I'm getting a free meal outta this. I _was_ gonna turn it down but since you're here I thought I may as well take you along. That, and I've got an idea I wanna run by ya."

"What id-"

Julian cut her off. "We'll talk later once we've gotten you filled up. Trust me. It'll be better an' easier ta think when you're gut isn't complaining every five minutes." As if on cue, Blake's stomach made itself known once more. "Like that." Without a flashlight being aimed in her direction, she didn't have to try very hard to hide her blush.

The rest of the trip was made in silence, but not an entirely uncomfortable one. Blake wasn't much for conversation in the first place and, as it turned out, neither was Julian. Thantos, as the driver, seemed content humming some randomly picked song. Though given his personality, Blake wouldn't be surprised if he was just humming random notes and was lucky enough to make it sound like an actual melody.

In less than five minutes, Thantos was parking the car once more. When Blake stepped out, she found herself standing in front of a family restaurant. It looked to be on the pricier side of things, but certainly not fancy enough that Blake and Julian's casual wear would get them turned away at the door.

Soon enough, the three of them were seated at a booth by the window, Julian and Thantos on one side and Blake by herself on the other, the waiter walking away with their orders. Another two minutes of silence later, their appetizers were brought out along with their drinks.

It was then that Julian broached the topic of the offer he mentioned earlier. "Alright, first I just wanna clear somethin' up. You've got nowhere in particular you're headed to and you prob'ly don't have much, right?" Blake nodded, grateful for his vague wording of her situation seeing as they were in public. "Here's the deal. A friend of mine's got a nice little restaurant near downtown Vale. They don't have any openings but I know he could use a part-timer or two when things get busy."

Thantos turned to Julian with a curious look on his face. "Would you happen to be talking about Olive Garden? The one where the owner and employees are all faunus?"

The bear faunus actually looked surprised at that. "Yeah, that's the one. You been there before?"

"Just today, actually," the redhead replied with a shrug. "The boss sent me there, and a couple other places, with some papers. Not sure what was on 'em but she told me to tell 'em to take their time with it and that they could turn it down if they wanted." At the inquisitive looks he received from both faunus, he just shrugged, smiled, and went back to his coffee.

The two faunus waited just another second in case he was going to add something, then turned back to one another when he didn't. "Anyways, not sure how much it'll pay. Should be enough to get by for a while. Least 'til you can decide what to do from here. As for a place to stay, there's a fairly cheap hotel not far from there called-"

"Yellow Liberty." Both faunus turned to Thantos, who looked to be holding back a grin, at the unexpected interruption. "About a ten minute walk from Olive Garden, fifteen if you take your time. Faunus-friendly and also employs quite a few faunus as staff. Decent place for its price. And by decent, I mean small with just a few amenities outside the necessities in each room, but clean and no creaks and or squeaks keeping you up at night."

At the unamused stare he was receiving from Julian, the red-haired man just leaned back into the booth seat, shrugged, and smiled once again. "Stayed there a few times," he said, and Blake could just imagine his brown eyes twinkling with amusement behind his sunglasses. "As long as you're just looking for a place to sleep and freshen up then it does the job. Like I said, few amenities. A bed, a small table, a chair, a bathroom with a shower, and the usual complimentary toiletries."

Julian huffed out in amusement. "And here I thought you were gonna say you dropped off more papers for the boss."

Thantos paused, the coffee cup just about to touch his lips. "Oh, that too."

Once, as they say, was chance. Twice was coincidence. Thrice or more was a pattern. So far, Thantos had only mentioned two instances. But Blake was never one to believe in coincidence. There had to be a reason why his employer had asked him to deliver documents – possibly an offer of sorts since he mentioned being able to turn it down – to two places that employed faunus.

The question now was, did she ask? Both Thantos and Julian had been fairly forthcoming so far so it shouldn't be a problem to ask exactly what they did for a living. Right?

Her split-second of hesitation was enough to shut the opportunity away, for the moment at least, as Julian turned back to her. "He pretty much took the words outta my mouth, so no point in repeatin' it. 'Sides from that, I can talk to Beruga 'bout that job, maybe get him to pay you day-to-day rather than weekly. We'll have to explain your situation a bit but that shouldn't be a problem. Few faunus in the city would turn away another."

"Thank you." Blake nodded. "I just…"

"No need to say anything else. You've got your story, I've got mine, they've got theirs. Long as you ain't runnin' from the police for some sort of crime, I don't need to know yours to help you out this much. Even if you were I might still help you out. Depends on what you did, anyway."

The food arrived soon after, and conversation grew more casual and ordinary, though mostly between Thantos and Julian.

"Didn't you say your wife would kill you if you came?" asked Thantos. Strangely enough, rather than remove his gloves to eat, he was eating a sandwich using a knife and a fork. "Think she's plotting a murder right about now?"

"Funny." Julian's tone, however, indicated that he didn't find it the least bit amusing. "I sent her a message. Let her know what was goin' on. Probably catch a bit of hell, but not as bad." He took a bite of his own sandwich after dipping the corner in a small bowl of soup. "Anything goin' on tomorrow?"

"The usual for now." The redhead cut off another piece of his sandwich, holding the cut portion up but delaying the act of placing it in his mouth. "'Til all the red tape, construction, and renovations get taken care of all we'll be doing is recruiting, a bit of training, and some teambuilding. The boss made arrangements with the construction crews so anyone is welcome to help them out with the job."

"Sounds a little too good to be true. What's the catch?" Julian asked after swallowing a mouthful of his sandwich. "Can't imagine those construction guys would be willing to pay several dozen people just to finish the job faster."

"They'll be clocking you in and out like their own people, but the pay will come from us. And by us, I mean the boss," explained Thantos. "They get more manpower for free, we can get the sites ready faster, and you all get a little spending money. Win-win-win all around. That starts sometime this week, though with all the usual delays in paperwork I'm thinking early next week instead. I'll send the details to everyone once we've gotten everything cleared up."

"What 'bout anyone who can't do heavy work? They gonna need to look for temp jobs or somethin'?"

"Maybe," the redhead shrugged. "The boss said we should be ready to go public in about three months, though some departments and operations will be ready by the end of the month. Everyone's getting paid for the training and such but on the off-chance they aren't gonna be working until we go public, yes, they'll probably need to look for something to do until then."

Hearing them discuss their jobs, Blake took the opportunity to ask her own question. "What exactly do you two do?" Both pairs of brown eyes turned to meet amber eyes. "I don't think you've actually mentioned anything about it."

"It's just-"

"That's intentional." Julian's head turned to Thantos so quickly at the interruption that it was like he was never facing her in the first place. "The boss doesn't want any details about what we're doing to get out until we're ready. Wants to make a big impression when everything goes public."

"Are you actually allowed to tell people that?" asked the bear faunus.

"Hey, it's not like I said anything about what we're doing." Blake was quickly coming to realize that Thantos was one to stretch the meaning of any rules he was given. "Just think of it as mystery advertising or something. On that note, if you're ever looking for a job we've still got quite a lot of openings and even if you've got no skills or abilities we're quite willing to train you from the ground up."

"Come on, give it a rest," Julian chided lightly. "Least let the girl settle down a bit 'fore throwin' a job offer her way. 'Specially when she doesn't even know what she'll be getting into if she says yes. Still," he continued, turning his gaze back to Blake. "If you do start looking for something more stable it wouldn't be a bad idea to look this guy up. He ain't kidding when he said there were a bunch of openings left, even if you've got no experience or skills."

"We're not in a hurry to fill up those openings since we already have the bare minimum we need," added Thantos, looking slightly worried, something Blake didn't expect to see on the normally carefree man. "But if things pan out like the boss expects we're gonna need at least two, maybe three times what we've got in each department to keep up with the workload. So any hands we can get on board before then will definitely help. Doesn't have to be you, but if you meet anyone looking for a job we certainly wouldn't complain if you point them our way."

"What'd I just say?" came Julian's exasperated comment, all but throwing his hands up in surrender. "Whatever. Do what ya want."

Grinning in victory, Thantos placed a small stack of business cards on the table and pushed it towards Blake. "Here," he said as she picked them up with a curious expression. "Just pass it on to anyone looking for a job or just give me a call if you wanna take me up on my offer. Pretty much the only requirement is that they can work well with other people, human or faunus."

Blake was a little surprised by that single requirement, but seeing Julian and Thantos's light banter earlier was proof enough that they were serious about it. Curious, she glanced down at the business cards. It was a simple white card with only three things written on it. A name, an address, and a contact number.

Thantos, watching Blake's examination of the card, grinned, knowing what she was thinking. "Short, sweet, gets the job done."

Unable to resist, Julian turned to the man beside him with a poorly hidden grin. "That what you say to your bedmates too?"

"There's a hotel nearby," Thantos shot back with a semi-lewd grin. "Wanna find out?" He burst out laughing when Julian turned away, looking a little green in the face.

Across from them, Blake just sighed and looked away as Thantos continued to proposition Julian, who was now regretting sitting on the inner seat of the booth as he now lacked an escape route. And, honestly, she wasn't even sure if he was just playing around.

But as she went back to her food, she knew one thing for certain. Whatever happens now, her life had just gotten a lot more interesting.

* * *

 **November 9, XX13**

Nights at Beacon were fairly quiet. As a school dedicated to training future Huntsmen, almost no facilities on campus allowed for entertainment that didn't involve studying, training, or exercise. In fact, only the lounge located at the ground floor of each dormitory provided direct entertainment, one that came in the form of a large television and an expensive looking sound system.

Going to Vale on a weekday wasn't unheard of or prohibited but, since the last airship back to Beacon left just before nine in the evening, few went to the nearby city at night due to the time constraints.

As such, many trainees were often found in the dormitory once their classes were over. Other places students could be found after the last core class of the day were the library, the training rooms, the gym, the swimming pool located at the basement level of the gym, and the dining hall. Those who had elective classes at night would be preparing for that class. And a few handful of students could sometimes be found wandering or lazing around campus.

One such person tonight was the blonde brawler of Team KYBT, Yang Xiao Long. She walked aimlessly with a noticeable slouch and an equally prevalent expression of exhaustion. Her day so far had been one of the worst she could remember.

It all began that morning, or rather, the night before. Much like tonight, she had walked around campus aimlessly after leaving behind everyone at the dorm. She didn't know how long she had walked, or even where she had gone. All she knew for certain was that one of the school's security staff had come up to her at some point, asking her why she was out past curfew. It had been a surprise to her that she had been out that long.

Both Mitsuru and Yukari had been asleep when she entered the dorm room, something she was very grateful for given what happened on the rooftop earlier that night. She promptly changed out of her clothes and went to bed. But sleep would elude her for quite a while yet, and what little rest she did get the previous night was filled with worries over her missing partner.

When her alarm rang this morning, it didn't wake her so much as remind her that she didn't have any more time to sleep . She had woken up some indeterminate amount of time before the alarm went off and was unable to go back to sleep. Her movements were sluggish that entire morning, and her eyes told everyone who saw her that she had not had a good night. Thankfully no one, not even Mitsuru or Yukari, pressed the issue.

She managed to make it to breakfast with just a little difficulty, but had promptly fallen asleep in Grimm Studies when Professor Port went on another of his long-winded tales about his younger years fighting the Grimm. Needless to say, she had gotten caught and was promptly scolded for her misconduct.

Lunch came soon after and she took advantage of it by taking a quick nap after a light meal. It was brief, but what little rest she had gotten was enough to make Local Geography with Professor Peach less troublesome. She would, however, have to borrow someone else's notes from that class. While better rested compared to earlier, she was still unable to listen to the lecture while taking notes like she usually did.

Another nap after that made her feel better, but she knew she was far from peak condition. To make things worse, Combat class this week brought with it the beginning of what many had been dreading. Fighting against their own partners. As with every session, every team was called up to fight. And since the class ran for three hours, some teams were allowed to fight a second time if they wanted.

Unfortunately, that brought attention to the fact that Blake was missing. Doubly so since, rather than letting the three members of Team KYBT sit out, Professor Goodwitch had Yang, Mitsuru, and Yukari fight a three-way match instead. Yang emerged the victor but, much to her shame, she was a single percent away from getting knocked out of the fight when the fight ended due to her poor physical, mental, and emotional condition. She couldn't even attribute her loss to being double-teamed since Mitsuru and Yukari fought each other just as fiercely as they did her.

Mealtimes were subdued the entire day, but Yang couldn't help but notice how SEES carried on as normal like nothing was wrong. As though Blake wasn't missing. As though the faunus's absence didn't even affect them. When dinner came along, she had gotten tired of watching them interact in that manner. Having had enough, Yang all but stormed out once she finished her meal.

Her annoyance eventually petered out as she walked around campus for what felt like hours, her mind constantly jumping between annoyance at her friends' callous attitudes, and worry for her partner. She had to stop herself from traveling to Vale whenever her walk brought her close to the airship docks, yet she always seemed to walk past that area subconsciously even knowing it would do no good to search.

As several people had pointed out, it would be almost impossible to search for Blake given the size of the city. Even if everyone who wanted to search were to go to Vale, plus four more if they somehow got Team CFVY to help, they would not be able to scour the entire city even if they had a full day. Fuuka's Persona would have been a boon but, as she stated last night, she agreed with Mitsuru that it was best if they gave Blake some time to herself for the moment.

It was far too passive an approach for Yang to agree with, but even she had to admit defeat. That didn't mean she had completely given up. She made sure to send Blake a message or two in between classes, not that she ever responded. She tried making calls, but the feline faunus never picked up. Even so, Yang fervently hoped that Blake would feel her concern through the constant messages and calls and respond to one of them at some point.

That or she got annoyed and answered one just to tell Yang to stop. Even that would be better than complete silence. The fact that the calls went through, even if unanswered, gave her hope that Blake wasn't completely shutting them out.

' _Not yet at least,'_ a traitorous part of her mind whispered. _'She just might shut off her Scroll if you annoy her enough.'_

It was a valid concern that her constant attempts to make contact would, indeed, be the catalyst that leads Blake to turning down Mitsuru's open invitation to meet again. At least, it was to her. Others felt that she was worrying too much.

"Blake is not the kind of person to base her decisions on something as petty and insignificant as annoyance," Chidori had said to her during lunch, when the redhead overheard Yang asking Ruby if the latter thought that sending so many messages was a good idea. Pyrrha, who was nearby at that time, supported Chidori's opinion, as did Ren and Fuuka.

Still, she couldn't shake the possibility from her mind. Even now she wondered if Blake was even in Vale still or if she had fled the city altogether. The only sign that she hadn't left was the simple fact that Blake's rocket locker, which currently housed Gambol Shroud, was still in the school. If Blake had any intentions of leaving then she definitely would have called the locker to her location or somewhere where she could retrieve her weapon.

Not to mention the fact that each locker contained a small but well-stocked first-aid kit, in addition to whatever else the students put inside it. Yang, herself, put a spare change of clothes. Yukari and Mitsuru did the same but included a small stash of lien, a few bottles of water, a supply of dried foods, and various items for survival like matches and an emergency blanket.

It felt excessive to Yang, since the locker could only travel so far, but in Yukari's words, it was "Just in case disaster strikes." Clearly losing their home had affected them in ways everyone else had yet to realize.

But even knowing her partner was still in the city, she worried that Blake would even consider leaving. With such worries at the forefront of her thoughts, temptation easily struck once again as her eyes caught sight of the blinking lights of an approaching airship in the distance. And the arrival of an airship from Vale meant that another would be leaving in roughly fifteen minutes.

It wouldn't even take her five minutes to get to the landing platforms from her current location, which just so happened to be the general vicinity where the dormitories were.

The mere sight of the airship was just so enticing. Even if nobody else came with her, she could still perform a search. She had been to Vale several times in the past and knew the city well enough. She knew where most of the most affordable hotels were and even knew a few people who'd trade or gather information for lien. If Blake was in the city, it would only be a matter of time before Yang found her.

Such was the magnitude of her worries that she was seriously considering skipping the next few days of class, perhaps even the entire week, if it meant finding Blake.

Yang had actually taken a step towards the airships when she caught something white moving out of the corner of her eye. Turning in that direction, she found a student walking away from the dorms, carrying a duffel bag across her shoulders as well as a long, thin, black object on her back.

She would have just ignored it and gone straight back to her thoughts, possibly even going to the airships like she had considered, but the departing student caught her eye. It wasn't the clothing so much as the hair that caught her attention. When the student passed beneath a light post, Yang recognized that familiar shade of brown as well as the style, particularly the way her hair curled upwards towards the end.

' _Where's Yukari going dressed like that?'_

Yang couldn't ever remember Yukari wearing clothes like that before. Moreover, Yukari was fairly conscious of what she wore. A white shirt with black Japanese characters on the back and a long, pleated, black skirt, while not necessarily unfashionable, didn't seem like a combination that the archer would normally wear. And now that the brawler thought about it, Yukari was walking in the direction of the gym and the training rooms. Her current clothing didn't look anything like what someone would wear to a workout.

Curiosity warred with her desire to search for Blake, as well as her irritation with Yukari's words and actions the previous night. Not to mention the brunette's apparent lack of concern for their fourth teammate despite knowing that Blake's departure was a result of her actions, unintentional though they may have been.

Despite her feelings, however, Yang soon found herself trailing Yukari from a distance, taking care not to be seen. The brunette, much to Yang's relief, never looked back. Soon she arrived at her destination, and Yang was even more puzzled when Yukari entered the training building.

A quick glance at her Scroll confirmed that it was almost half-past seven. It was certainly an odd hour to train. That is, if that was why Yukari was there. The odd hour and the clothing only supported Yang's belief that her teammate wasn't there to train.

Rather than stand there speculating, Yang gave Yukari a minute or so to sign-in and grab a room then entered the building herself. After a quick check to make sure her teammate wasn't there any more, she walked up to the black-haired woman manning the front desk.

"Hi," she called out as she approached, gaining the woman's attention and plastering a bright smile on her face. The woman was a little younger than most of the staff, but still older than the students, wearing a simple white blouse with a black jacket hanging off the back of the chair. "Did my teammate come through here yet? Brown eyes and brown hair coming down around here," she held a hand up to her chin, and made a rising motion up to her cheek. "And curling up to around here."

Recognition lit up in the woman's green eyes at the description. "She just came by actually. Hold up your Scroll please." Yang did, and the scanner on top of the desk confirmed her identity as the receptionist logged her in. "Alright, you can head on in. Your teammate's in room three."

Yang put up a smile and nodded to the woman even as she turned away. "Thanks." She held up her Scroll to the door scanner and a quiet beep came from the machine as the door unlocked to allow her entry.

Yang had always thought it was excessive to have so many scanners on the doors, but she supposed it was a good way to keep track of where the students went. Of course, it didn't really work if someone was part of a group, since a single Scroll was all that was needed to unlock a door until it was shut, but it would, at least, let the staff know who to look for if and when something happened.

The room she was looking for wasn't far and she was soon standing outside the double doors leading into training room number 3. The individual training rooms didn't require a Scroll to enter, as it would only hinder the medical staff down the hall if an accident were to occur.

However, the doors could be locked _if_ the staff were informed beforehand, granting the students permission to do so through the console inside the room. After all, teenagers in a locked room that wasn't normally locked wasn't a thought the staff wanted to entertain. Even so, if the sensors detected someone's Aura hitting zero, or problems with their vital signs, the doors would unlock and could not be locked again until a staff member overrode the console.

Most primary combat schools didn't have, or even need, that level of precaution. It certainly drove home the fact that they were in a Huntsman Academy. That they could very well be severely injured while working towards their individual goals.

Yang pushed away any hesitation that lingered, resolving to go into the room to satisfy her curiosity. And yet, even as her hand gripped the doorknob of one of the doors, she could feel her limb trembling ever so slightly. She didn't know why, nor did she really care to know why, but it bothered her that, for some inexplicable reason, she was so apprehensive about what she was about to do.

She pulled down the doorknob and gently pushed the door open. She was briefly surprised by the dim lighting inside the room as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. There was just enough light to see where she was going. And where Yukari was.

The transparent blue hard-light walls of the training area were activated, the archer kneeling near one corner with her back mostly facing Yang. Her hands, gently curled into fists, were resting on her hips, elbows pointing to the sides. Yang quietly walked closer and saw that Yukari was holding a bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right, which was wearing a thick, brown glove, thicker than the ones she usually used.

Again, something struck Yang as strange. The bow that Yukari was holding wasn't Sharanga, the white and pink mecha-shift bow that she used while fighting. Rather, it was just a plain wooden bow. But what a bow it was. Yang couldn't be certain because of the dim lighting and Yukari's kneeling position, but the bow looked to be longer than the archer was tall.

' _How is she supposed to use that?'_

As though to answer the question, Yukari moved. She rose to her feet, slowly and deliberately, keeping her fists to her hip the entire time. Yukari slid her left foot to the side and angled it outwards. Yang noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes, just a pair of white socks. Her right foot slid in the opposite direction and mirrored the left to widen her stance. She held that position for a second or two then raised her left hand up and slightly forward to chest level along with the bow.

Now that it was upright, Yang could see that, indeed, the bow was longer than Yukari was tall by quite a significant margin. That the lower end of the bow wasn't touching the floor only made the difference more obvious. And even if it were touching the floor, Yang was fairly certain that the bow would tower over Yukari by about two feet. Considering that the brunette was about the same height as Ruby, it meant that the bow was at _least_ seven feet in height.

Possibly the only reason why the bow wasn't touching the floor was because the grip wasn't at the center of the bow. Rather, it was roughly a third of the way up from the bottom. Yet another strange detail she had no viable answer for.

Yukari's right hand rose up as well, bringing with it the arrow. No, that was wrong. Narrowing her eyes, Yang spotted two arrows instead of one.

Moving with that same deliberate slowness, Yukari placed the head of the arrow near the grip of the bow and slowly pushed it from behind until the back end was at the string. She nocked one arrow then placed the second one below it.

For a moment Yang thought that Yukari was going to shoot two arrows simultaneously, then she saw that the second arrow was facing the other way and was extending farther to the right than the other arrow. It almost seemed as though Yukari was measuring something. Or was there some other purpose to that?

Yukari took the second arrow in her right and brought her hand back to her hip. Then, for some strange reason, she slowly spun the arrow in one hand so that it settled loosely between the last two fingers, roughly a hand's width from the arrowhead.

She turned her head to the left, away from Yang's general direction and towards the opposite corner of the training area. There, Yang could make out the holographic target used for ranged practice. Yet again, she noticed something odd. The target was smaller than it normally was. Perhaps about the size of someone's head, smaller even. Again, she couldn't be too certain but she felt that it was a fair estimate.

After a few seconds, Yukari's right hand went to the bow and took hold of the arrow, the second arrow noticeably still hanging from her fingers. Her arms slowly rose in an outward arc until her hands were just above her head and slightly forward of her body. She held that pose for a few seconds before moving again.

Yukari brought her left arm towards the target, pulling the bow closer to her body bit by bit. Then she steadily lowered her arms, left hand moving down and towards the target, and right hand gently pulling back until it came to a rest behind her ear. Just like before, she held that pose for a few seconds. Then sharp sound cut through the air, and the hand that had been pulling the arrow moved back and away from the target, the second arrow still hanging from between the last two fingers.

Lilac eyes sought out the holographic target. It came as no surprise to her to find a single red dot close to the center, marking where the arrow had passed through the target. Yukari had proven to have little difficulty landing a shot against a moving target, both during Combat class and their training sessions. So against a stationary target, regardless of the reduced size, like this one? Yang would sooner bet on winning a two-on-one match against Pyrrha and Aigis than Yukari missing such an easy shot when there were absolutely no distractions.

Seeing movement, her attention returned to Yukari, who brought her feet together, placed her hands on her hips once again, and faced forward with her head slightly bowed. Then, slowly, she knelt back down on the floor, maintaining the position of her hands. Just as Yang was about to approach, the archer rose to her feet and repeated her previous motions, starting with widening her stance.

Just like before, Yukari's movements were slow and deliberate. At first, Yang thought that she was trying to control her movements, perhaps trying to practice each part of the process. Watching it all a second time threw that theory off the top of Beacon Tower.

Years ago, when Yang still trained with her father, he had forced her to practice several moves slower than normal so that he could point out where she was going wrong. When she did, she felt the urge to speed up, to perform the moves the way she was used to. In fact, she had sped up slowly without realizing it. At least, not until Taiyang had stopped her and told her to do it all over again while being more conscious of the movements.

When she _did_ slow down, he then kept telling her to relax, that she was too tense. As her father had explained it, when someone was consciously controlling their movements to be much slower than they were used to, there was often a level of tension present as they stopped themselves from moving faster. In some ways, doing things slower than normal could be just as hard as doing things faster than normal.

That tension, which she had learned to recognize by training in front of a mirror, was missing from Yukari's body.

Whatever her reason for practicing her archery this way, it was something she had done countless times before. It was the only way she could move so slowly yet smoothly. It was calm and serene, almost graceful like a very slow dance rather than a form of training.

Even the strength Yukari used to draw the bow seemed to be carefully measured and applied. There was no visible strain on her body as she slowly moved her arms into position, the arrow and the bowstring gradually being pulled back even as the bow's arc became more pronounced. Holding her pose once the bow was fully drawn did not seem to cause any strain either.

The sharp sound of the bowstring flying back into place cut through her thoughts and observations, a second red dot joining the first on the practice target. And like before, Yukari held her pose for a short moment, her eyes never leaving the target despite no doubt having already seen the result of her shot.

Her hands then returned to her hips, her feet were slowly pulled together, and her head turned to face forward and down. With no arrows left in hand, Yukari gently bent at the knees, reversing the earlier process of standing until she was, once again, kneeling on the floor with one end of the bow hovering just over the ground.

Yang waited for just a while longer, not knowing whether Yukari was already done with what she was doing. There was just something about the archer's actions and movements that made her hesitate to interrupt.

Rather than training or practice, her actions seemed almost ceremonial in nature. Like a solemn, sacred ritual performed before a greater ceremony.

Every act was carefully practiced for hours on end until they were second nature. Those countless hours were reflected in the practitioner's serene yet confident demeanor. And both that serenity and confidence were manifested in the manner of her movements. They were slow but not hesitant. Deliberate but not uncertain. Soft and gentle but neither weak nor yielding.

Even before Yukari shot that first arrow, perhaps even as far back as before Yukari rose from the ground, Yang had already felt the stirrings of discomfort within her. It felt as though her very presence there was in violation of some sacred doctrine. The silence in which Yukari performed her acts only added to the solemnity of it all, the only sound being the firing of the bow, and the quiet clatter when the arrow flew through target to strike the glowing hard-light walls and fall to the ground.

When her eyes registered movement once more, she found Yukari rising to her feet once more, several arrows in her right hand. But instead of readying her bow, the archer turned to her, not looking the least bit surprised to find someone else inside the training room.

"Mind cancelling the training session for me?" asked Yukari. She even spoke as though Yang had actually come in with her instead of, secretly, following her in. "Thanks."

After their heated debate the night before, Yang had expected Yukari to ignore her or be hostile in some manner. Instead, here she was acting as though it never happened. She didn't know whether to be grateful, or to be outright pissed that the archer was treating it like nothing more than a minor incident not even worth remembering.

"What happened? Lock yourself in or something?" she instead asked with a small grin, walking over to the console to comply with Yukari's request.

"Hah… hah… very funny," came the slow, sarcastic quip. The tone, however, was not harsh or angry. Just plain sarcasm.

Yang cancelled the training program that Yukari had set-up, noticing that it had been set to terminate after thirty minutes or when the target had been hit ten times. She watched as Yukari picked up the first two arrows she had fired then returned to the side of the room where her duffel bag lay on a bench.

Now that Yukari's back wasn't to her, Yang could see that she was wearing something like a black breastplate on the front of what was actually a robe-like top, not a t-shirt like she first thought. Given the way Yukari's chest looked flatter – something she wouldn't say out loud at the moment – it wasn't hard to deduce that it wasn't just ornamental and was probably meant to protect her chest.

Yukari set the bow down on the bench along with the arrows in her hand, then walked to the bench next to it, sat down with a weary sigh, and leaned the back of her head against the wall with her eyes shut. Not knowing what else to do, Yang took a seat on the same bench, putting a little space between them. And just like that, the two of them sat in silence.

Before long, that silence was broken. "Thanks."

"Huh?" Yang looked over to her brown-haired teammate but found her still leaning on the wall with closed eyes. "For what?"

"For not saying anything when you came in." Yukari must have expected the confusion that Yang felt as she explained why immediately after. "It wouldn't really have distracted me but since I wasn't going to answer if you did, you might have just gotten mad or something."

The accusation stung. Did Yukari really think her temper and patience was that bad? But the worst part, Yang decided, was that Yukari's prediction was completely accurate in light of recent events. She definitely would have gone off if the brunette ignored multiple attempts at getting her attention, even if she wasn't necessarily ignoring her out of spite.

"And… I'm sorry," Yukari continued before Yang could say anything. "For last night, I mean."

Yang's head spun in Yukari's direction, eyes slightly wide at what she just heard. Did Yukari just…

"I shouldn't have said anything after Weiss left. I don't think what I said was wrong but…" It was only because of that last word that Yang didn't give in to the urge to yell. Not yet at least. "But I shouldn't have said it there. And I could have said it differently too instead of making it sound like I was blaming you. I wasn't, really." She sighed. "Guess I really shouldn't be getting on your case when I ended up doing the same thing twice yesterday."

A dozen different things ran though Yang's mind at that moment. Most of them ran along the lines of continuing the previous night's argument, some calmly and others not so. A smaller part of her wanted to use Yukari's words against her, to blame her for the events of last night as it was her carelessly spoken revelation that, ultimately, started the entire event by causing Blake to run away.

As cathartic it would have been to release her pent-up frustrations now, however, something inside her held her back from lashing out. And she knew, even without thinking about it, that it was the same force that stopped her from doing the same to Weiss just last night. The same thing that made her retreat in the face of the furious heiress.

So rather than that, Yang chose to ask the most prominent question on her mind. "What were you doing anyway? That… well… that didn't really look like training."

"It was, in a way." Yukari reached over to her duffle bag and pulled out two bottles of water. She offered one to Yang who, after a moment of consideration, accepted it with a grateful nod. After taking a quick swig from her bottle, Yukari leaned forward, arms resting on her thighs and hands clasped together with the bottle in between. "I don't know if I ever told you this but, back then, I only joined the Archery Club at Gekkoukan because we were required to join a club."

"So you didn't actually like archery?" That was surprising to hear. Seeing Yukari now, using a bow so proficiently, she never would have imagined that sort of situation.

Yukari shook her head. "More like it was the club I didn't like the least. I wouldn't really call myself a loner, but some stuff happened when I was a kid so my mom and I would move around a lot. Made it hard to make friends, even if you didn't count how quiet I became because my dad died."

Again, Yang had trouble imagining the outgoing, even if sometimes snarky, Yukari as the quiet type. She was pretty popular among their year, cheerfully greeting most of their classmates even when they were simply passing each other in the hallway. Her cheer was often infectious, and they would return her greeting with a smile.

"So I joined the Archery Club. Asides from when the more experienced students taught me what to do, we're mostly left to practice on our own. The coach or the other students would only really talk to me to correct me if I did something wrong. Other than that, I didn't really need to interact with the others that much. Didn't hurt that when we're practicing like you saw me doing, any talking would have to be done where nobody could hear."

Yukari paused just long enough to take another sip of water. "I got a letter from my dad not long after I first joined. It… put some perspective on some things and helped me move on from others. Even gave me a goal to aim for." Yang briefly wondered why she only received the letter then, given that she knew that Yukari's father had died over ten years ago. "I started taking the club a bit more seriously after that. That's about the time I learned what archery, Japanese archery anyway, was all about."

"Whaddya mean? Isn't it just about hitting the target?"

"At first, maybe, but Kyūdō is about more than just that."

Yukari leaned back against the wall again, raising her gaze but shutting her eyes in thought. Was there really more to it that hitting the target with the arrow?

"'Way of the Bow'," Yukari finally said, breaking the silence as she opened her eyes, though her gaze remained raised towards the ceiling. "That's what Kyūdō basically translates to. Learning enough to hit the target is easy. Most of us managed to hit the target at least once in our first week. But mastering Kyūdō literally takes decades. Even after that long, only a few people could be called true masters. One of the first things they taught me in the club was that Kyūdō isn't about hitting the target but _how_ you hit the target."

"I think I'm missing something here," admitted Yang. "Don't you just put the arrow on the bow, pull it back, aim, and let go?"

"You'd be surprised at how hard even that much can be at first," quipped the archer. A slim hand rose up and rubbed her right cheek as the corner of her lip quirked upwards, her eyes glazing over as though remembering something. Then it was gone. "Anyway, the goal of Kyūdō, supposedly, is to reach the state of _shin-zen-bi._ Before you ask," she cut in quickly as Yang opened her mouth to do just that, "Those three words mean truth, goodness, and beauty."

Yang gave the other girl a skeptical look. "Sooo… people practice archery to become a good, truthful, and beautiful person?"

Yukari was unable to restrain the snort of amusement that escaped, nor the bout of soft giggling that followed, though she did keep from laughing out loud. Yang, however, had no such problems and laughed openly but less boisterously than she normally would. "If it was that easy then everyone in Japan would be archers," Yukari managed to squeak out.

"I'd probably jump in there too if it was," added Yang.

Eventually, both of them got their amusement under control. "But just so we're clear, that's not what it means." Yang just gave an innocent smile in response. "If you shoot an arrow with the proper form, with good intentions, then your form naturally becomes beautiful."

"Huh?" Yang was certain she looked as lost as she felt.

In response, Yukari sighed with an indulgent look on her face, much like a parent being patient with a child too young to understand something. "Again, it's not literally like that." Yukari leaned forward, looking forward in the direction of the training area.

Or at least, it seemed that way. The way her eyes stared straight ahead, unfocused like someone about to fall asleep, gave Yang the impression that she wasn't really looking at anything in particular.

"If you are truthful in words and deed," Yukari began, sounding like she was reciting something she once read. "And act with a pure and virtuous heart, then your beauty will become apparent."

"Huh?" If it was possible, Yang looked even more confused than the last time. "Are we still talking about archery here?"

She received no response as Yukari continued to look straight ahead at something that wasn't there. "Our coach had a friend who was practicing Kyūdō for over twenty years and invited him one day. My classmate asked him what he thought about Kyūdō's goal and that was what he said. Those words stuck with me since that day. And when he showed us how he shot, I couldn't take my eyes of him."

"From the position of his feet to his entire posture, from the way he raised the bow to the moment he drew back the arrow, and the moment he released the arrow and moved to the final pose, everything about it was exactly how we were taught." Her eyelids slid shut, hiding away her bright brown eyes. "But even our coach's movements didn't look half as beautiful, never mind ours. It's like…"

She thought back to that day and trying to remember what she thought, what she felt, when she watched the man they knew as Makishima-san, a 4th Dan _kyūdōka_ , as he demonstrated firing an arrow for the club. But no words came to mind, much less her lips. She knew what she wanted to say, but had no words to describe it to her friend and teammate.

"Like a ceremony?" Yang suddenly offered, much to Yukari's surprise. When the brunette turned to the blonde, Yang went on to describe her own thoughts. "That's what it looked like when I was watching you earlier. Like you were doing some sort of sacred ritual or ceremony."

Yang reached back and rubbed the back of her head, a sheepish and slightly embarrassed look on her face. "It's actually why I didn't say anything. It just felt… wrong, for some reason. Just being there felt like I was trespassing or something. Just the thought of talking made me feel like I was about to commit a crime. Or something like that. Can't quite remember the word."

It may not have been the best way to describe it, but it got her point across. Surprisingly, Yukari frowned sadly and looked down towards the floor. "Did I say something wrong?" Yang dearly hoped not.

"Not really. Just…" The brunette sighed. "Well, that's probably one way to explain what I meant earlier." At another sound of confusion, Yukari turned to meet Yang's lilac eyes. "It probably felt that way to you because, in a way, that's what I was trying to do."

At yet another 'huh?' from Yang, Yukari realized she would need to explain even more. "The way someone shoots an arrow can usually tell you something about that person. That probably had something to do with what you felt just now. I came here to be alone, and something about how I made my shot, or even my posture or something, probably told you that. I was also thinking back to when I was still in the club, just shooting again and again, remembering those days when everything seemed so much simpler. Maybe that's why it felt more like a ritual because, in a way, attending the archery club _was_ a ritual since we met three times a week on the same days."

Understandably, Yang looked more than a little skeptical of the seemingly convenient explanation. "You're saying I picked up on your thoughts and feelings through the way you shot an arrow?"

"To some people, Kyūdō, the way of the bow, is a way of life. If you think about it the other way, someone's way of life could be reflected in _their_ 'way of the bow'." She frowned a bit and shook her head. "I know I'm probably not making much sense but I really have no idea how to explain this. I guess it's just something you have to experience for yourself to..."

When Yukari's eyes lit up as her voice trailed off, Yang slowly edged away on the bench, a brief shiver going down the length of her spine. "Uh… Yukari?"

"Maybe if…" The brunette trailed off again, her brown eyes now looking at Yang with a thoughtful and analytical gaze. Then she nodded firmly to herself, reaching out and taking Yang's wrist in her hand before the blonde could react. "Let's go."

Without giving Yang a chance to respond, Yukari rose from the bench, taking her teammate with her, and walking over to the next bench, where her archery equipment lay. It didn't take Yang long to piece together Yukari's words and actions. "No," she stated firmly but made no attempt to pull her wrist out of the archer's grasp. "No way."

"Come on," insisted Yukari, releasing her hold on Yang's wrist to pick up the bow as well as a handful of arrows. She held the bow out, clearly expecting Yang to take it. "It's not like I'm asking you to take it up as a hobby like I did. Just shoot a few arrows."

"Yukari, I don't even _know_ how to use this thing." It was a weak excuse and she knew it. Yukari obviously knew it too with how quickly she shot it down.

"I'll teach you. I'm not a coach or a teacher but I _did_ help teach some of the first-years last year."

"I'm probably gonna suck at this."

"It's not like I was any better when I was starting out."

"… You aren't gonna give this up, are you?"

"No," came the shameless, almost smug, admission. "Besides, what've you got to lose?"

Yang had no comeback for that. The only thing she would lose was the time she'd spend learning and trying it out. She took a deep breath and let out a resigned sigh, one hand reaching out to take the proffered bow from Yukari's hands. _'I'm gonna regret this. I just know it.'_

* * *

 **November 11, XX13**

"Take this out to table four. Fill up their glasses while you're there."

"Got it."

Blake placed the pitcher of water on the tray next to three small plates, each one holding a different slice of cake. With just a hint of difficulty, she picked up the tray and held it aloft at shoulder level with one hand, fingers spread out to keep it balanced.

After a quick trip out to the table in question to deliver their order, she returned to find her employer nodding in approval, his bespectacled green eyes giving her a thoughtful glance. "Better, though you still need to work on your smile."

Lucas Beruga was a tall, lanky man with graying brown hair and, more often than not, a gentle expression on his face. Blake wasn't sure was sort of faunus he was, due to the lack of any visible defining features, but the scent and feel he gave of, noticeable by any faunus, marked him as one.

The black-haired girl nodded but, inwardly, she knew she wasn't likely to be smiling any time soon. She was grateful for the help given to her by both Julian and Lucas, both for her temporary employment as well as helping her find an affordable place to stay, but it wasn't going to last.

She needed to make a decision soon.

"Better start getting ready Blake." Turning to her right, she found Rowena, one of her co-workers, walking past her, tying her black hair into a loose ponytail, reptilian scales covering a fair portion of the right side of her face and neck. "The dinner rush usually starts in a while. You've seen the lunch rush first-hand so you should know what to expect by now. In some ways it's easier, though, since people aren't in as much of a hurry to come in, eat, and get back to work."

Blake nodded and went back to work, bussing out dirty and empty plates while taking orders from any new guests. But even with the work occupying her, her thoughts sometimes strayed back to her situation.

The need to make a decision wasn't even about her limited funds anymore. With one of his employees having taken maternity leave recently, Lucas was willing to employ her full-time rather than part-time if she wanted, and her co-workers were willing to help her find a more permanent residence such as an apartment. They had even gone as far as offering to help her pay for the first month's rent since, obviously, she wouldn't be able to.

She was ashamed to admit it, but their offer surprised her. They may have been fellow faunus, but she hadn't expected that level of generosity. Not for a complete stranger who wouldn't even tell them who or what she had run away from. She hadn't even told them her last name for a variety of reasons.

However, their offer, for both the job and the residence, wasn't what tempted her to accept their generosity. Being here, being amongst faunus, was an experience she had forgotten over the past few months. Her fingers reached up to brush against the black-furred feline ears that sat atop her head.

Since that night in that old office building when she had taken it off, Blake hadn't even thought about putting on the bow that once hid her heritage. At first it had been the lack of necessity. She was in hiding. No one was there to see. When Julian and Thantos had treated her to dinner, it had slipped her mind completely to put it back on.

The next day, when Julian came to the hotel to accompany her to Olive Garden to speak with his friend about a part-time job, she felt overly conscious about hiding her ears, not wanting to offend her fellow faunus by hiding her heritage when they openly displayed theirs.

It felt strange, at first, having her ears displayed openly in public when she had been hiding it for months. But here and now, amongst fellow faunus, it was the thought of putting on the bow that felt alien. She had forgotten just how close-knit faunus community was.

But regardless of her decision, it wouldn't be right to keep Mitsuru waiting for an answer. Not when she had been considerate enough to send her that message in the first place.

Not to mention Yang, her very persistent partner who sent her at least a dozen messages every day since Monday. A brief, quiet buzz from her pocket let her know that the tenth message for the day arrived and judging by the time, the first years were just getting out of Combat class. Yang must be really worried now that she'd been gone for almost three days.

In one of her messages, the blonde brawler she called a partner had mentioned that Mitsuru took care of any questions from both the students and teachers. She didn't mention precisely what excuse Mitsuru used, just that Blake was ill. Such an excuse wouldn't last long, however. The three days she was gone was probably pushing it already unless Mitsuru's excuse was just that good. More reason not to delay any longer.

Even after three days, however, she was still having trouble mustering up the courage to finish and send the message she had already prepared on her Scroll. It was a request to meet with some of them – all would have been too much – plus a location, though even that might have to change since her current choice was a little too public. All she needed to do was add a date and time, and send it.

"Blake." Her attention was jarred out of her thoughts when Lucas called out to her. Judging by the tone, she hadn't messed up again like the first few times her attention wandered while on the job. The look on his face, however, showed that he was concerned about something. "I don't know your situation so I have to ask, are you going to be alright serving humans?"

' _So that's the problem.'_

While they were rare, the restaurant did have its fair share of human guests. The others often tried to lead any human guests to tables that Blake wasn't assigned to but she knew it wouldn't last. Still, she nodded her head in response without any hesitation. She was only avoiding people who might recognize her and not humans in general, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Lucas looked so relieved that Blake thought that he might have come to an exaggerated conclusion regarding her problem. "Good, good," he sighed out in relief. "Two humans just came in and are seated in your section. They don't look the sort to cause trouble with faunus but I just wanted to know if you'd be alright."

"I'll be fine." Then, knowing such words were rarely enough to put worries to rest, she added, "I'm only really avoiding specific people. And with how busy they usually are they probably won't have time to try and look for me until this weekend. Friday at the soonest."

The older faunus nodded and smiled in understanding. Unlike most, he probably did understand. "Alright. I've never seen these two in here but Rowena mentioned seeing one of them before and said that she was pretty friendly. Didn't stare or do anything that was even slightly rude so I'm guessing she knows some faunus or is even in a relationship with one. Just let us know if there's any trouble or if there's something you can't handle, alright?"

"I will. Thanks."

Blake finished unloading her tray and, after giving it a quick wipe with the towel on the countertop, placed it on the stack of trays to the side. After quick glance at the mirror to make sure she was presentable, she grabbed two menus, walked out to the serving area, turned around, and walked back in, eyes wide and face frozen in shock.

Iris, a tall woman in her twenties with pale green hair and a long black feline tail, came out of the kitchen just then and caught sight of the frozen feline faunus. "Blake? What's wrong?" Her question caught the attention of Lucas, who had just stepped into his office, and he immediately turned to see what was happening. "Did something happen?"

"…"

Iris and Lucas turned to one another then shrugged and shook their heads. Apparently, it wasn't that they couldn't hear her. Though Blake's lips had moved, she hadn't actually said anything. "Sorry, could you speak up?"

"…re …ere."

Iris took another step closer and gently placed a hand on the younger faunus's shoulder. "Blake, sweetie, you're going to have to speak just a bit louder."

"They're here."

Those two words, combined with Blake's reaction and general situation, was enough to put frowns on Lucas and Iris's faces. "'They'? They who?" asked Lucas, his normally gentle voice gaining a hard edge. "Is it the two humans who came in? Are they the ones you're running from?"

Blake just barely managed a shaky nod, too busy trying to sort out her thoughts and wondering why they were there. Had they found her somehow? Mitsuru did say that she would only be able to keep the others from searching for that one night.

Did someone perhaps see her one day? It definitely couldn't have been Yang. She would have come running the moment she saw her. That left some of the more rational people, but it wasn't like there were only a few of them. In fact, they easily outnumbered the more impulsive members of their little clique.

"…et rid of them." Her attention was pulled back when those words reached her ears. "I'll make up some excuse to-"

"No!" Not only Iris and Lucas, but even Blake had been surprised by the strength of her voice, by her sudden, apparent, change of heart. "No…" she repeated, calmer this time. "They're… they're not bad people. They just… I'll… I'll handle this. I just… just give me a minute."

The two older faunus exchanged concerned looks before Iris stepped closer to Blake. "Dear, you don't have to force yourself to do this. Even if they aren't bad people like you say, you're clearly distressed and you look like you're about to pass out. Look, why not let us handle this?" At the wide-eyed look that Blake gave her, she hastily added, "We won't force them out or anything. Go take a quick break and we'll let you know when they leave. You don't have to confront them here and now."

"No." Her disagreement was swift and her tone left little room for further disagreement. "I… I have to do this. I've been meaning to talk to them for a while now. I just… wasn't sure how to do it, I guess."

"What exactly happened?" Lucas shot Iris a warning look but the woman just glared back. "I'm not about to let her go out there without knowing at least a little about what happened between them."

It didn't take long for the restaurant owner to give in to Iris, knowing that she had a point. "Fine," he grumbled, taking the two menus from Blake. "I'll take care of their order for now. If you still want to talk with them you can be the one to take their food out. But if you wanna talk longer you'll have to wait 'til the dinner rush dies down."

Lucas left the two female faunus alone, and Iris was quick to pull her younger co-worker into the staff room for a little privacy. She sat Blake down on one of the chairs and took the one right across and looked at the black-haired girl expectantly. In response, Blake sighed, knowing she would not be leaving the room without at least a basic explanation.

* * *

"Sorry for the wait."

"It's no trouble," replied the young woman, looking up from her dinner companion. "We were just- Blake?!" In response to her exclamation, the head of the young man seated across from her shot up in surprise, eyes just as wide.

Keeping the tray balanced on her hand and shoulder, Blake carefully fidgeted in place, though her nervousness was lessened by the amusement she felt at seeing both Akihiko _and_ Mitsuru with such shocked expressions on their faces.

Neither were completely unflappable, but this was the first time she had seen both of them looking so shocked that not only were they speechless, but their mouths were parted slightly and their eyes seemed to be as wide open as possible. It was clear they hadn't expected to run into her.

That, or they were shocked by her ears. The way their eyes sometimes darted upwards seems to support it.

Probably both.

"H-hi…" If she weren't holding up the tray, she probably would have kicked herself for that lame response.

For a while, neither side said anything. Mitsuru and Akihiko were too busy trying to comprehend the fact that they had, against all odds, stumbled upon Blake despite not actively searching for her. Blake was at a loss for words, not really having considered what she would say once she was in front of them. And watching discreetly from behind the door leading to the back, Lucas and Iris were ready to act should Blake need any help.

Thankfully, the nearby tables had gone back to their food when they seemed to realize that the disturbance, though caused by humans, was not a result of ill intentions.

Eventually, Akihiko broke the stalemate, clearing his throat and giving a nervous smile. "We could take that to go if you want us to," he said, glancing at the food that was on the tray.

Was it a testament to how nervous she was that she considered the offer? Even if it was just a brief moment, a part of her considered accepting it and apologizing for inconveniencing them. It was only because of her superior hearing that she could tell they were being serious and not just asking out of consideration.

If she asked them to, they really would leave without any complaints or any attempts to get her to change her mind. If she asked them to stay, they wouldn't start cheering or celebrating. It was, as she was coming to realize, just how they were.

"N-no, it's fine. You can stay." For a moment, it looked like they were going to ask again, probably because of how nervous she sounded. "Here." She lowered the tray and placed their orders on the table to hide how nervous she was. Once she was done, she took a quick step back. "I'll… I'll be back when you're done. To talk, I mean. I just… I just have to wait until there's less people."

"Th-that's fine." Not just the first time seeing Mitsuru shocked speechless, but also the first time she heard the normally composed and teen stammer. "We'll wait. At least, for as long as we can."

Blake nodded in understanding. "That's fine." Whatever their reason for being out in Vale on a weekday, they would still have to return to Beacon at some point. "You might be waiting a while since the rush started just a while ago but we should have enough time to talk. At least for a little while."

"We'll leave you to it then." And the graceful and ever-calm Mitsuru was back. Blake was, honestly, a little disappointed that she couldn't enjoy seeing that rarely seen side of Mitsuru for just a while longer. "And Blake," she called out just as the black-haired faunus began to leave. "I'm glad you're doing well."

The skin around Blake's eyes crinkled slightly as she gave a small smile. "Thanks," she replied before hurrying to the back. She had a job to do.

* * *

Blake practically collapsed onto the chair next to Akihiko once the dinner rush was mostly over. The restaurant was still quite full but, now that there weren't orders that needed to be taken left, right, and center, Lucas allowed Blake to join Mitsuru and Akihiko at their table once she took off her apron. She would still need to help clean up afterwards, but for now she was free to join them for the much awaited talk.

"Having fun?" Akihiko smiled shamelessly despite the tired, half-lidded stare Blake shot him in response to his question.

Mitsuru laughed softly, drawing attention. "I know I said it earlier, but it's good to see you're doing well Blake. We were all more than a little worried these past few days, mostly thinking about whether you were eating well or if you found a place to stay that wasn't outdoors or rundown."

"Nora sometimes has these ridiculous ideas," Akihiko added with weary amusement, raising his coffee cup up to his face to blow on it a bit. "Like how you might have been chased down by a pack of Beowolves, or even went to join that faunus group, the White Fang I think." Thankfully, neither Akihiko nor Mitsuru seemed to notice Blake briefly tensing at those words. "Of course, the worst part was when Yang was there to hear and she'd get more worked up too."

"I got lucky, to be honest," admitted Blake, trying not to let the words, spoken in jest, bother her. "I ran into another faunus that night who helped me find a place to stay. He was also the one who spoke with Lucas, the owner of this place, about giving me a part-time job so I could pay for the hotel I'm staying in as well as my meals."

"Sometimes a little luck is enough to get through the worst of things," commented the boxer as he finished off his coffee even though Blake could still see a bit of steam rising off the top of the cup. "Just like how a little bad luck is enough to ruin the best."

"Like Yukari figuring out my secret?" She hadn't meant to sound accusing, but the way Mitsuru and Akihiko winced, and not from the bitterness of the coffee, she knew she hadn't succeeded. "Sorry," she said while bowing her head. "I know she didn't mean to let everyone hear her say it. It's just…"

"Don't worry about it too much." She turned just as Akihiko rose to his feet, pulling his jacket off the backrest of the chair. "I'm pretty sure Yukari's been beating herself up over it since that day even if she doesn't say or show it. Be glad we're the ones who stumbled into you here," he added with a knowing grin. "Yukari's grown a lot since we first met but, like you've seen, sometimes she can still be that same girl who acts without really thinking things through. She probably would have started apologizing again and again in a loud voice the moment she saw you here." He turned to Mitsuru as he put on his jacket. "I'll go finish up so we can head straight to Beacon afterwards."

The redhead nodded with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

After he left, Blake shuffled nervously in her seat. There was really only one topic left to discuss but sitting there alone with Mitsuru made her more nervous than before. Akihiko's icebreaker had done its job earlier, but her own careless words brought back the tension.

It didn't help that Mitsuru sat there, calmly sipping her coffee as though the tension didn't even exist. Was this a result of her upbringing and experiences? Or was it because it was now up to Blake to start things off?

Realizing she wouldn't get anywhere speculating, Blake swallowed down her nerves. "I…" Though she barely said anything, Mitsuru gave Blake her full attention the moment she spoke. Unfortunately, this just made the faunus even more nervous. _'This is almost worse that talking with Professor Goodwitch on a bad day.'_

No longer able to form the words she wanted to say, Blake shakily reached into her pocket and pulled out her Scroll. Nervous fingers fumbled around to open it, nearly dropping it in the process. She blushed in embarrassment at the thought that Mitsuru was there to see her clumsy actions. Eventually, she managed to slide open her Scroll and open the message she had been intending to send.

She set the Scroll down on the center of the table and slid it slightly in Mitsuru's direction to indicate her intentions. Unbothered by the indirect manner of communication, Mitsuru just smiled gently and picked up the Scroll.

After reading the message she set the Scroll down on the table and looked up. "Of course. Just let me know the time and place and we'll meet you. Although…" She paused, her expression giving way to some concern. "Are you sure about this? I know what I said, but I'm not completely certain. There's always room for error, especially when it comes to people."

"I-I'm sure. I… This is something I need to do." Blake's voice was as resolute as she could make it, though it was clear that she still had her own reservations about her decision.

"I see." What it was that she 'saw' went unsaid, but Blake knew that Mitsuru wouldn't judge her. She never has before and, probably, never will. "In that case, just leave it to me. I'll handle everything on our end once you decide where and when to meet."

With the most important issue out of the way, Blake and Mitsuru spent the next half-hour catching up on other things.

Mitsuru explained that she had personally spoken to Professor Goodwitch to explain Blake's absence. Not the fact that she had run away, but that she had fallen ill while they were in Vale that day and that they visited a nearby clinic rather than wait until they returned to Beacon.

The choice of 'illness', however, left Blake both grateful and blushing bright red. Mitsuru apologized for using that, looking just as embarrassed as Blake – yet another side of the former heiress that Blake was privileged to see – but she was right in that it was the best choice to ensure that Goodwitch did not force the missing Blake to visit Beacon's infirmary. Of course, that left Blake completely uncertain if she could ever look Professor Goodwitch in the eye without blushing madly.

Mitsuru also let her know that she had been taking time to make copies of her notes in all their core classes while, at the same time, recruiting Ren for the Stealth and Recon class, and Chidori and Aigis for the Field Medicine class. Blake would have to do a lot of reading to catch up with the latter but, knowing Chidori and Aigis, the latter especially, the notes would be incredibly helpful.

Blake was thankful that Mitsuru had managed to reign them in when they wanted to continue the search, but she did express concern that Mitsuru's choice of action would not be looked upon very well. Especially by Yang.

However, Mitsuru's response was as calm as ever. "I'm well aware that my actions that night could very well cause a breach to form in my relationship with Yang. But as a leader, I had to consider what is best for the team as a whole." Blake felt disheartened by those words, though she couldn't explain why. The feeling, however, was almost completely wiped away by Mitsuru's next statement.

"As a friend, I had to consider what was best for the people involved. And as an individual, I had to consider what I felt was the right course of action. Perhaps others would see my choice as wrong but, as a leader, a friend, and an individual, I felt, and still feel, that my choice was the correct one."

Soon, far too soon for Blake's liking, it was time for Mitsuru to leave if she wanted to catch one of the last two airships to Beacon. But before the redhead could leave, Blake stopped her at the door. "Thank you, Mitsuru."

Mitsuru gave her a closed-eyed smile. "You're very welcome." The redhead pushed the door opened and was halfway out when she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Let us know when you want to meet and I'll take care of everything. Have a good night, Blake." And with those parting words, Mitsuru left, the door to the restaurant shutting behind her.

Later that night, Blake would go to bed in her hotel room, sleeping peacefully for the first time since the night of her departure.

* * *

 **November 13, XX13**

Blonde hair fluttered in the morning breeze as an arm waved at the approaching group of three as its owner stood on the boarding ramp of the airship that would soon depart for Vale.

"Come on! Hurry up!"

Yang could barely contain her excitement. After almost five full days since Blake's sudden departure, they were finally going to meet her partner again. And if what Mitsuru said was true, Blake was most likely going to return to Beacon with them by the end of the day.

"Would you calm down? The airship isn't scheduled to leave for another ten minutes. Stop acting like a child. Why are you even excited about this?"

The only problem that Yang could see was the fourth person in their group who was making her way up the ramp.

Why did Blake invite _her?_

Yang could understand restricting the first meeting to their team. Even if everyone knew her secret, it would be less stressful to first talk to those she knew best. And once that was done, explaining everything to everyone else would be easier with her team by her side.

If, for some reason, Blake chose to invite someone from the other teams, such as Aigis, Chidori and Ren, Yang would have found it equally understandable. Blake had gotten fairly close with Aigis and Chidori through their shared Field Medicine class, while Ren was her classmate in Stealth and Recon. That also would have the added advantage of having someone supportive on each of the other three teams.

So why? Why _her?_ Why Weiss Schnee? Why invite the one person in their group who had the most reason to look down on the faunus?

At that thought, Yang's traitorous mind brought forth the memory of that past Sunday night, when Weiss berated her for making assumptions about the heiress. It stung to know that Weiss had a very good point, but the blonde had no intention of taking back her words until she was proven wrong. She just didn't think now was the best time for it.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything. It had been Blake who requested that Weiss be present alongside the other members of Team KYBT. No matter what Yang or anyone else said, only two people would change that. Blake, and Weiss herself.

Since it had only been a request, Weiss wasn't required to join them. In fact, she didn't even want to go at first. But Mitsuru had spoken to Weiss in private and said something to make the heiress change her mind. Weiss didn't even look like she was being forced to go. In fact, Weiss almost – _almost –_ looked like she was looking forward to it.

"Why wouldn't I be excited?" Yang shot back at the heiress as the quartet entered the airship's passenger area. "It's not like my partner's been missing for nearly a week, leaving all of us worried about whether she's safe or even still in the city. Oh wait," she paused, placing a finger on her chin in thought, then rounding on Weiss with a firm glare. "She was!"

Weiss opened her mouth to retort but someone physically stepped in between her and the blonde, short brown hair identifying the interloper as Yukari. "Will you two just give it a rest?" she alternated between the two of them with a stern yet tired expression. "Can't you two even _be_ in the same room without getting into a fight? I swear, if this wasn't for Blake I'd be throwing you both out of the airship. _While_ we're in the air."

"She started it!" Both girls shouted, causing Yukari to cover her ears as they were assaulted from both sides.

"And I'm ending it!" It was practically the most clichéd response to their words, but it was the definitely the most fitting. Clichés were clichés for a reason after all. "Look, just don't talk to each other, don't say anything to whatever the other says, and unless you have to don't even look at each other. I don't care that you're both stronger than me but if you don't stop fighting then one way or another I'll make you."

Not the most threatening choice of words, especially since she admitted to being weaker, but it seemed to get the job done as both Yang and Weiss huffed and walked off in different directions. Yukari followed them with her eyes, just to make sure neither one started anything. They seemed to take her advice to heart and sat as far away as possible from the other. With the size of the room, they would have to shout at the top of their lungs just to be heard, never mind being understood.

Yukari let out a weary sigh just as Mitsuru came up to her side. "Don't worry," said the red-haired teen, giving the brunette a supportive smile. "I'll accompany Weiss until we get to the meeting place. That way, we can split up and avoid any more problems along the way."

"I hope so." Despite her words, Yukari sounded anything but hopeful. "It's another thing when we get there though."

"For now, just see if you can get Yang to focus on Blake and leave Weiss to me. Then I'll take care of keeping the peace once we're there. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so," repeated Yukari, eyes looking in the direction of her blonde teammate even as Mitsuru made her way to the heiress. "I really, _really,_ hope so."

* * *

"Everything will be fine."

"I hope so."

"Considering what you've told me of your friends, I know it will be. So maybe you could stop pacing around and try to relax. I'd threaten to dock your pay if you wear out the floor but something tells me you won't be working here for much longer anyway."

Blake stopped her nervous pacing just long enough send a strained smile in Lucas's direction. Then the rhythmic sound of her footsteps echoed throughout the empty restaurant once more. Lucas just sighed in response, running his hand through graying brown hair as he shook his head in amusement.

Few people came to Olive Garden during the mid to late morning period during the weekdays. During those hours, most people were already at work, leaving the restaurant mostly empty. A few people came by, but at most only one or two tables were occupied out of over two dozen at any given time.

That was why he offered the use of the restaurant, specifically the staff room, as a meeting place for Blake and her friends rather than have her meet them at the nearby park like she originally planned on doing. Not only was it familiar territory for Blake, somewhat at least, but he and Iris, who had volunteered to take the breakfast kitchen shift today, would be nearby should she need anything.

He wasn't really expecting any problems. Not after hearing the full story alongside Iris, who heard a highly compressed version the other night.

Blake's partner – and that was quite a shock for him and Iris when their 'runaway' had explained that she was actually a Huntress-in-training up at Beacon – found out her secret by accident but had no ill feelings towards faunus. Her team leader had actually taken interest in faunus culture and spent several weeks researching and studying the subject with Blake, a rarity among humans. And her final teammate had somehow worked out that Blake was a faunus.

Though it had been that teammate who revealed the secret to everyone in their group, Blake had explained that it didn't sound like she had done it out of spite. Rather, she had just shared her discovery, not realizing that everyone else had arrived just in time to hear it.

The only reason Blake even ran away in the first place was because she had panicked at having her secret revealed outside her control. By the time she regained her wits, it was a little too late. And even if she wanted to, she lacked the courage to go back and explain herself to her friends.

The way Lucas saw it, all of it was just one big unfortunate event. She had already come to trust her team but was just having trouble confessing the truth. In that light, being discovered the other night was a blessing in disguise as it gave Blake the chance to settle things sooner rather than later.

And that time was now, if the two girls he saw through the restaurant's windows were Blake's teammates. A fairly tall girl with long, blonde hair and a shorter girl with chin-length brown hair.

He held back a grin when Blake jumped upon hearing the door open. As advantageous as it could be at times, a faunus's superior hearing could be a bit of a burden when one was that high-strung.

"Blake!" The poor girl hadn't even had time to completely turn to the door when she was tackle-hugged by the blonde, the brunette standing by the door shaking her head in exasperation. "You're alright!"

"Yang…"

Yang continued without giving Blake a chance to speak. "Why'd you even have to run away? Didn't I promise you I'd help when you were ready to tell everyone your secret?"

"Yang… I…"

Yet again, Yang didn't give her partner a chance to speak. She had been holding it in for five days. She wasn't going to let Blake off without first letting out all her pent-up emotions. "We were so worried about you. I know you can take care of yourself but you never replied to our messages so I just kept getting worried and worried."

"Yang…"

"And you never called down your locker from Beacon. I kept telling myself you wouldn't go out of the city without your weapons but I couldn't help thinking that maybe you left without thinking and got into a fight with the Grimm or something and gotten hurt. Or maybe even worse and-"

"And if you don't let go," cut in Yukari's snarky, but decidedly amused, tone of voice, "We'll probably need to give her CPR or something."

"Huh?" Yang looked over her shoulder at Yukari. "CPR? What are you-"

"Yang… can't… breathe…"

With her partner finally able to speak without being interrupted, Yang looked into her partner's face and found her face frozen in agony. Lowering her gaze, she found the source of said agony to be the arms she had tightly wrapped around Blake's torso, trapping her arms at her sides as well. "Oh… whoops."

"Don't just go 'whoops'! Let go of her already!"

Blake had never been more grateful for the ability to breathe than the moment Yang let go of her, taking large breaths of air as though they would be her last. "Come on, no need to be so dramatic about it. It wasn't that bad, was it?" Of course, Yang just had to try to break the ice. 'Try' being the operative word.

"I'm… I'm fine," Blake said after a moment. "Just… no more death-hugs."

"Heh, no promises."

It almost felt like it was weeks or even months since she had last seen Yang and Yukari instead of five days. Neither girl had changed but there was something different about them. Or was it Blake whose perceptions have changed over the past five days?

"Sometimes I wonder if your Semblance isn't actually Breaking or something like it."

"One time, Yukari! It was one time! And I didn't even break it!"

"You almost did! If I hadn't stopped you, you would have snapped my bow in half!"

"You told me to draw it back all the way!"

"You didn't see _me_ drawing the arrow _that_ fast, did you?!"

Lucas looked bewildered by the argument that had sprung up before him, and Blake was no less bemused. But it was then that she realized just what had changed in her absence.

The way Yukari and Yang were arguing wasn't like how the latter argued with Weiss. It was more akin to Yukari and Junpei's near-daily banter. Something had happened while she was gone. And it had resulted in a closer bond being formed between Yukari and Yang.

They had teased and bantered back and forth in the past but, unlike Yukari and Junpei, there had always been some invisible line that the two never crossed. Like they were holding back certain words or thoughts for fear of unintentionally offending the other. Whatever happened between them had blurred that line, perhaps even broken it in some places. It was like-

"Yo, Blake, you alright?" The black-haired faunus blinked as Yang came into focus, snapping her fingers in front of Blake. "You've been staring at us like we were strangers or something."

"Oh… I… I just…"

"What's wrong?" Yang grinned and Blake felt a familiar feeling of dread welling up inside her. "Cat got your tongue?" The pun was followed by two groans and Yukari's hand slapping against her upper face. "What?" Yang asked innocently as though unaware of her fault. "Too soon?"

"That, and it wasn't funny," Yukari bluntly responded. "You're lucky senpai isn't here yet."

"Oh come on," complained the blonde, whirling around to point at the archer. "That was hilarious and you know it!"

"Hilariously stupid if you ask me."

Blake immediately tuned them out, but wondered if this was going to be the new dynamic between the two from this point on.

"Are they always like this?" Lucas asked, leaning closer to Blake but watching the bantering pair with both confusion and amusement.

"They're…" Blake paused for just a brief moment to consider what she was going to say. "…getting better."

It wasn't exactly a lie. It just depended on what someone considered 'better'.

Before the argument could die down, or escalate – Blake couldn't really discount the possibility – someone else walked in through the front doors. "And here I thought that separating Yang and Weiss would solve the issue." There was no admonishment in Mitsuru's tone despite her words, only amusement at the scene before her. It only reinforced the idea in Blake's head that seeing her two other teammates arguing would soon be the norm.

"Mitsuru," Blake said in greeting, nodding towards the former heiress. Then her gaze landed on the white-haired figure beside her and gave another nod. "Weiss."

While Weiss huffed and looked away with her arms crossed, not even deigning to respond verbally, Mitsuru smiled warmly. "It's good to see you again Blake. I'm glad to see you're doing well."

It didn't escape Blake's notice that the redhead didn't mention their accidental meeting the other night. Probably for the best, she decided. While it had been unintentional, it would seem hypocritical of Mitsuru to discourage everyone from searching only to meet with Blake behind their backs and talk about the issue at hand.

"Thanks. Anyway, we have a room in the back where we can talk." When Blake turned to lead the way, her eyes caught sight of Lucas, who was staring intently at something. Following his gaze, she found them locked onto Weiss, who was looking around the restaurant with disinterest. She cursed in her head for forgetting to mention that one detail to him. "Don't worry," she said in a low voice. Low enough for the others not to hear. "She hasn't said or done anything to me or any of the faunus up at Beacon."

It was true too. While she hadn't especially gone out of her way to monitor the heiress, Blake hadn't seen or heard of any incidents involving the Schnee heiress and the faunus. At least, not at school.

Her words seemed to satisfy Lucas, who nodded warily, though she could tell that he wouldn't be able to completely relax while the heiress of the SDC, quite possibly the biggest discriminators of faunus, was in the same building as he was.

"I'll go prepare something to drink," he said while giving them all a pleasant smile, though a tinge of nervousness appeared when his eyes fell on Weiss once more. "Go on ahead and use the staff room. Or you can stay out here if you want. It doesn't look like we'll be getting anyone until we get close to lunch. I think I can afford to close up shop until then to give you all some privacy out here."

Blake tried to turn down what she felt was an overly generous offer but was cut off by her partner. "Oh hey, mind if I order something?" All eyes turned to Yang at her unexpected request. In turn, she glanced at them all. "What? We came straight here after my first class. I didn't exactly have time to eat before the airship left." A loud rumbling came from her stomach, as though to prove her point.

Lucas let out a pleasant laugh, the levity of the situation doing much to ease what anxiety he felt at having the Schnee heiress under his establishment's roof. "I don't mind. I'm sure Iris would appreciate having something to do other than wait around for the lunch rush. Why don't you all pick out something and I'll take your orders when I get back. And don't worry, it's on the house."

Before anyone could argue or turn down his generous offer, in addition to his offer to close the restaurant while they have their talk, Lucas left and went into the back.

"Sorry about that." Blake's apology caught them off-guard. At least, until they saw that she was facing Weiss. "I didn't exactly let him know you were coming since I wasn't really sure if you'd come."

Weiss huffed and turned her head away from Blake. "Whatever." Both Yang and Yukari looked like they wanted to say something, but an outstretched arm, courtesy of Mitsuru, stopped them, though she didn't look like she approved either. "Let's just get this over with."

After a brief discussion, the five students decided to stay out in front rather than in the windowless staff room in the back. They sat at a round table for six in the corner to minimize the chance of any patrons coming in and sitting at a table near them. It wasn't the most private setting, but most of them agreed that they weren't exactly discussing military secrets and the like.

Blake took the seat closest to the corner of the room, Yang sitting to her right followed by Yukari. Mitsuru took the other seat next to Blake, leaving Weiss to choose between the two remaining seats. One placed her directly in front of Blake, which caused a brief look of distaste to appear on the heiress's face before she took the other seat next to Mitsuru.

The first few minutes was filled with Yukari and Yang questioning Blake on the past five days, starting with how she came to know Lucas. That led to some jokes on Blake's expense once the blonde brawler learned of her part-time employment at the restaurant.

When Lucas returned with several glasses along with a pitcher of water, he also took Yang's breakfast order. After a little more prodding, everyone else, including Weiss, placed an order of their own for something light, though Mitsuru opted for a single cup of coffee. After taking their order, the restaurant owner went to the front door and flipped the sign to 'CLOSED' to give them the privacy from other guests he had offered. After thanking him for his generosity, the trio of girls continued to catch-up with one another afterwards.

While this was going on, Mitsuru observed the way Weiss was clearly holding herself back from speaking. It was not out of shyness, but rather it was an effort not to be rude. It was clear she wanted nothing more than to get things over with and return to Beacon.

Thankfully, the opportunity to bring up the main topic of the day came up soon.

"Still, I gotta say that you look a lot better without your bow," said Yukari.

It took all of Blake's willpower to keep her hands on the table and not reach up to cover her ears. In all honesty, she had forgotten that her ears were no longer hidden beneath her bow. She had just gotten used to _not_ hiding them over the week that she hadn't even considered wearing her bow to this meeting.

"Almost feels like I'm really meeting you for the first time." Those words struck deep into Blake, and she bowed her head with a frown. "Did… Did I say something wrong?"

Blake shook her head, not wanting Yukari to feel bad for what she said. "No. It's just… Did any of you come up with any ideas as to why I hid my ears?" Blake watched Yang and Yukari exchange glances while both Mitsuru and Weiss turned their attention to Blake.

The first to respond was Yang. "Honestly, I just thought you didn't wanna deal with people like Cardin. Now I'm getting the feeling that wasn't it."

"Not dealing with people like him was just a bonus," admitted Blake. "The real reason I wear my bow is because I don't want people judging me just because I'm a faunus."

"So you wanted people to see you for who you are rather than what you are, is that right?" The words themselves seemed to be understanding, but the tone was almost harsh in delivery. But coming from the Schnee heiress, Blake could almost say that it was expected. She just hadn't expected Weiss to be the one to say those words. "You do realize how contradictory your words are, right?"

"W-Weiss!" cried both Yukari and Yang.

But even more surprising was Blake's response. "I know," she said, looking down at the table despondently. "At least, I realized it just a few days ago."

"Blake…"

"I thought that by hiding my ears, people wouldn't judge me before they even knew me. I thought if I could prove that faunus and humans aren't very different once you take away the physical differences that they'd start to realize that there was no need to treat one another as if we were completely different."

"But then…" Blake paused and took a deep breath. "Then I started working here and I remembered what it felt like to be among people who honestly accepted me for who I was without me having to hide anything."

"Blake, we-"

But Blake didn't let Yang say anything, cutting her off gently with her next statement. "Here, they didn't care who or what I was running from. They didn't even care that I was running. All they saw was a fellow faunus in need and they did what they could to help. Instead of just a part-time job, Lucas offered to hire me full-time. The others who work here offered to help me look for an apartment nearby and even offered to pay the first month's rent to help me get started. You have no idea how tempting it all was."

"I'm not taking them up on it though," she added quickly, seeing the look of panic on Yang's face. Mitsuru and Weiss remaining calm was expected, but Blake was a little surprised that Yukari was taking the news calmly, though she looked surprised. "I still want to be a Huntress." She turned to face Yang. "And I know that you don't think differently of me for being a faunus. But others might not think that way."

"I went to Beacon because I wanted to show people that humans and faunus aren't different. But I went about it the wrong way. By hiding my heritage and revealing it only when it becomes convenient for me, people are going to wonder what else I'm hiding. And the fact that I'm a faunus may make them doubt other faunus too. At worst, they'll start suspecting that humans around them might actually be faunus in disguise. If I want to show that the faunus can be trusted, I can't do it by lying first then telling the truth only when it suits me."

"And so I…" Blake turned away, leading them to wonder what she was about to say next. "I'm considering not wearing my bow when I go back to Beacon. Or at least, not wearing it all the time."

"Wait, what?" Yang leaned forward in her seat, hands planted on the table and already half-standing. "But that… I don't… don't you think that you're going too fast? Right?" But looking around the table, the blonde found that her opinion was the minority. "You… you guys don't think so?"

"We can't exactly stop her if it's what she wants," said Yukari, though her face held a small frown. "But Yang does have a point. It's one thing to say you're gonna do it but... are you actually ready?"

"Honestly?" Yukari and Yang nodded. "I'm terrified." Before the two could say anything else, Blake shook her head. "I'm terrified, but I have to do this." Her hands, resting on top of the table, slowly tightened into fists. "I want... I _have_ to show that the faunus aren't just animals and beasts like some people think. That just because we want equality doesn't mean that we're all going to start acting like the White Fang."

"The White Fang?" asked Yang. "They're that terrorist group, right?"

"They're NOT terrorists!" The shout was accented by two fists slamming down on the table, causing the napkin holder and the condiment shakers to jump. Much like the latter, the other four seated around the table jumped at Blake's unexpected outburst and it was a surprise that neither Lucas nor Iris came running at the commotion. When Blake realized what she had just done, she pressed her lips shut and looked away.

"Blake?" prodded Mitsuru, pre-empting Yang's own attempts to reach out to her partner. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. I just…" Blake took a deep, calming breath before turning back to face them all, nearly turning away again at the suspicious look in Weiss's blue eyes. "The White Fang wasn't always the way they are now. I still remember the time when they were a peaceful group, holding protests and rallies to try and denounce racism and discrimination and not... not hurting people."

The scoff that came from Weiss was almost expected, given the topic in question. But that didn't stop Blake from wincing at the sound, and the coming words. "Well clearly that isn't the case now. Or are you trying to tell me that the White Fang currently at war with my family and my family's company, the same White Fang responsible for the disappearances and deaths of family friends and SDC board members and employees, are a completely different group with the exact same name that have nothing to do with the White Fang you know?"

"That's not-"

"You know," interrupted Yang, turning to the heiress with an expression that told of how fragile her hold on her temper was. "If you aren't going to say anything useful then maybe you can just keep quiet. Actually," she turned her attention to her partner. "Why'd you even invite her? You had to know she was just gonna make a mess of things, right?"

Rather than addressing Yang, Blake turned to Weiss, who seemed to steel herself, readying herself for a confrontation of sorts. But then, as she seemed to be doing a lot lately, Blake surprised them all by bowing her head. "I'm sorry."

The other four showed varying levels of surprise, and even Mitsuru had to shrug when Yang and Yukari turned to her for an answer. It would seem that not even she had anticipated Blake's apology.

"You're sorry?" Equally surprising was the lack of derision in Weiss's response. If anything, she seemed just as curious as the rest of them. "For what, exactly?"

"That day we first met, back before the orientation," answered Blake. Yang continued to look confused, having been absent for that particular event, but both Mitsuru and Yukari look on with understanding while Weiss gestured for Blake to continue. "I'm not apologizing for what I said." That, however, earned a frown from the heiress. "I _know_ for a fact that the faunus laborers working for the SDC are mistreated and are poorly compensated for the work they do. But…"

"But I was wrong to treat you the way I did." Blake shut her eyes and took another steadying breath, though her hands shook lightly, belying her calm expression. "I treated you like you were directly responsible for the suffering of the faunus under the SDC, all because you were the heiress. What I did was no better than when humans treat every faunus as though they were members of the White Fang."

The heiress huffed in response, raising her head to give the impression of looking down on Blake. "And you think an apology is enough to make up for that?"

"Weiss!"

"No."

"Blake?!"

The way Yang was looking back and for between her partner and the heiress showed just how confused she was over the rapidly changing situation. By the look of things, she was the only one who didn't have the slightest clue about what was going on.

"An apology is just the start," continued Blake, all but ignoring her partner and her silent pleas for an explanation. "And that's why I wanted you here. I wanted to ask you something important."

Weiss stared at Blake for a good long while, trying to determine whether it was worth hearing her out. Yang seemed ready to say something but a hand on her forearm, courtesy of Yukari, held her back, but only just. Yukari was under no illusion that Yang wouldn't react poorly if Weiss didn't give the matter proper respect. And, like always, Mitsuru was the only one who seemed completely unperturbed by the situation.

Eventually, Weiss nodded, much to Blake's visible relief, and leaned back in her seat with her arms crossed. "Go on."

Blake took a moment to collect herself, gathering the courage she needed for her current task. "How do you feel about the faunus?" Before Weiss could even open her mouth to speak, Blake slipped in some more details. "I'm not asking about how you feel about me, or the White Fang, or the faunus up at Beacon or here in Vale. I want to know what you think and how you feel about faunus-kind as a whole."

"I understood the question the first time," Weiss half-snapped in response. "Don't treat me like I'm your partner or that dolt Ruby." Yang growled at the insult aimed at her sister but Yukari tightened her grip on the blonde's forearm and managed to reign her in, though she did send Weiss a warning glance to let her know that she was treading on thin ice as it was. "As to your question, I think that-"

The door to the back area suddenly burst open, slamming into the wall next to it with an ear-piercing bang and causing everyone to turn in its direction. Belatedly, they heard the sound of something rolling along the floor. When they turned to the source, five pairs of eyes widened at the pair of canisters that came to a stop on the floor next to their table just as it began spewing out smoke.

"What the-"

Eyes were clenched shut, arms and hands were raised to cover their noses and mouths, but it was too late. It wasn't harsh enough to call it tear gas, but it was more than just plain smoke, enough to irritate their eyes and throats and cause them all to cough violently in a pointless effort to clear their airways of the irritant.

The clomping of heavy footwear entered the room and Blake could hear them moving in their direction. "Hurry!" came a muffled voice, though Blake's heightened sense of hearing noticed the distinctly male tone. "Grab the Schnee."

' _Weiss!'_

She opened her mouth to warn the heiress – Blake wasn't sure if everyone heard the voice, or if she only heard it because of her own heightened hearing – but the smoke kept irritating her throat with every breath, making every word come out as a harsh wheezing sound accompanied by equally harsh coughs. Nothing that came out even remotely sounded like a word. She could only guess that the others were in similar condition.

So instead, she rose to her feet to try and stop the kidnapping attempt. Unfortunately, with the smoke irritating her eyes whenever she opened them even a crack, she could barely see anything in front of her and what little she could see was blurred.

She tried to use her hands to guide her around the table, but the sound of chairs falling to the floor reached her ears, followed by a brief scream from in front of her – Weiss was sitting practically across from her! – and the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

There was a brief moment that was filled only by the sound of coughing before she heard another voice, slightly muffled like the first one but slightly different in tone. "Let's go!"

The heavy footsteps fled. Then came the sound of another door slamming open along with the sharp, ear piercing crash of breaking glass. The screeching of tires and the roar of an engine came soon after and faded just as quickly, leaving only the sound of coughing and pitiful attempts at speaking.

It took a long time – or did it just feel that way – before the smoke cleared enough that she could take shallow breaths without coughing her lungs out. She slowly opened her eyes, heartened by the lessened sting of the thinning smoke even though her vision was still incredibly blurry.

"Is… Is everyone alright?" someone asked from her right.

"Yeah," called back Blake, though she was unable to say anything else as her throat grew irritated once more by the lingering smoke.

"I'm fine," came another voice from the same direction, followed by several coughs.

"When-" a harsh cough interrupted the voice from her left. "When I find whoever… whoever did this... I'm going to…" Whatever threat was about to be spoken was interrupted by a bout of coughing.

It took just a moment longer – too long in her opinion – before the smoke finally cleared enough for them to open their eyes and blink away the blurriness. Once they did, however, a single pair of amber eyes frantically searched the premises only for its owner to calm down once they landed on a head of white hair.

But before she could relax completely, Blake suddenly noticed that, despite Weiss's presence, something was still very wrong with the picture before her. And it was only when Yukari's words, calm and oblivious to the problem, reached her that she realized what it was.

"Where's senpai?"

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUN…**

 **And here we have a surprise twist to the Blake-is-a-faunus Arc. You didn't think things were going to be that easy, did you? XD**

 **I realize that some things may feel rushed and, honestly, I may go back to make minor corrections, especially to that final scene. Maybe it's because I'm excited to get to the first major arc of the story (yes, the arcs so far have been fairly minor compared to what's coming) but I feel like I've rushed through most of this chapter's scenes as well as some from the other recent chapters.**

 **Hopefully it hasn't affected the quality of the chapters too much. As I've said, though, I'll probably go through the chapters to fix them up a bit. I won't be making major scene changes, but maybe add just a few more lines here and there to smooth things over.**

 **With the end of Volume 4, we've seen quite a few revelations but, honestly, I'm a bit disappointed at how little there were. While the story may have moved forward somewhat, most of the volume gave me a 'fillerish' sort of vibe. More of a re-introduction of the characters rather than a direct continuation. I get why it was needed, especially given the fairly long wait between the end of Volume 3 and the release of Volume 4, but I really was hoping for more info.**

 **Anyway, Blake's Arc should conclude by the next chapter, hopefully, then we'll have two or three more chapters before we hit the first major arc. And just so we have a comparison, the arcs we've had so far have had 3 or 4 chapters dedicated to each one and those are just fairly minor character arcs. Major arcs will take at least twice as many chapters AT A MINIMUM. Yeah, when I say major, I mean MAJOR.**

 **The next chapter shouldn't take as long since most of it has already been drafted down while I was writing this chapter.**

 **As always, please let me know what you think of the story and/or my writing so far. I really do appreciate your opinions and I have a lot of fun discussing things with the story's readers. If you wanna get in on a group discussion, I've got a forum up for that (as mentioned last chapter). Not a lot of people there but, hopefully, we'll get a couple more to make things lively.**

 **After reviewing, don't forget to check out the poll on my profile if you haven't yet.**

 **And to all Code Geass fans out there, the teaser for my newest story is still up and the first real chapter might be coming out soon. Check it out and tell me what you think. If you love how I've worked with Messiah's Legacy I can almost guarantee you'll love my Code Geass story. What I can guarantee with absolute certainty is that nobody has ever written Code Geass a story under that premise before.**

 **Thanks for reading everyone! I'll see you all next chapter!**

 **Don't forget to review please! XD XD XD**

 **Thank you!**


	18. Ch 16 - Trust and Betrayal

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

 **Warning 2 :** **With the ongoing status of RWBY, it's to be expected that many of my ideas will, at some point, go against what is canon, such as when more of each character's respective pasts are revealed. I will do my best to incorporate what I can, but expect that many will be blended with my own ideas or perhaps even ignored completely if incorporating it will be detrimental to my existing story plans.**

* * *

 **And here we have the resolution of Blake's faunus reveal. Please don't expect anything too elaborate or exciting with the rescue. The reason why will be explained in the story itself as well as the Author Note at the bottom.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16 – Trust and Betrayal**

 **November 13, XX13**

Two faunus wearing ceramic white masks that covered the upper halves of their faces stormed into an old, rundown apartment, glancing around and searching for any signs of people. The sounds of other doors being forced open could be heard coming from the hallway. This process was repeated with every apartment and every room in the building, leaving nothing to chance.

Satisfied that there was nobody inside the abandoned apartment complex, one of the six faunus searching the building pulled out his Scroll and sent the message that he had prepared earlier. In no time at all, the rest of their compatriots entered the room, all wearing the same kind of mask, until there were a dozen of them.

Each of them had an additional animal trait granted by their faunus heritage, whether it was an additional pair of ears, a tail, or even a part of their body covered in fur or scales. One of them was carrying a large sack over his shoulder that had a pair of legs, clad in white pants tucked into knee-high boots, coming out of the opening.

They moved to a fairly empty room that had a few abandoned piece of furniture, most of them speaking in excited but hushed voices. One of them grabbed an old, wooden chair and set it down near the middle of the room while another brought several lengths of rope.

The one carrying the sack set down his burden on the wooden seat, placing his hands where the shoulders were to keep the person seated. It didn't seem necessary since they weren't struggling at all, but he knew better than to take chances. The other man began tying their prisoner's legs against the legs of the chair. Once the legs were secure, the man stepped back.

The one holding the prisoner down was about to pull off the sack when one of them, presumably the one in charge, motioned for him to wait. "Don't pull it off just yet," he ordered, his voice low and scratchy. "Just step back fer now." Though the order confused him, he obeyed.

The background conversations stopped even as their leader slowly paced around their prisoner, his heavy boots making a loud sound whenever it came down on the old, almost creaky, wooden floorboards. Yet no matter where he moved, the young woman they had captured did not so much as turn in the direction of the sounds. If not for the fact that she was sitting upright without any help they might have thought she had fallen unconscious at some point.

After circling her twice, the man chuckled. "Well, that's a Schnee for ya I guess. Always gotta be in control and all that. How's it feel knowing you've got no control over what's gonna happen now?" He waited a moment, then frowned at the lack of response. "What? Can't talk? I know ya ain't afraid or anythin' like that. These ears of mine ain't just fer show." He reached up to tap the dark orange fox ears sitting at the top of his head, even though he knew that she wouldn't see him doing so. "I can hear yer heartbeat and I gotta say, I'm a little impressed you've kept yer cool so long."

Still, she remained silent. Those in the room who were less patient growled in annoyance. One of them took a step forward but was stopped by their leader's outstretched arm. He gave those in the room a mild warning look before turning to the captured heiress once more. "Ya know, fer an heiress yer being pretty rude. Didn't that old man of yers teach ya any manners and shit?" Yet again, no response came and even his patience could only run so long. "Well ain't you just a little brat. Think yer too good to talk to the likes of us?"

He took two large steps, closing the distance between them in a second, and reached up to the sack. Just as he grabbed a handful of it, their prisoner spoke. "If it's all the same with you," came a cool, cultured voice, calm despite her situation. In fact, many of the faunus in the room would agree that she sounded quite confident. "I'd rather you not take this off."

"Found yer tongue have ya?" exclaimed the faunus, taking his hand off the sack. "Still, you telling me you'd rather be in there? What? You think yer better than us? Can't even be bothered to look at a 'lowly animal'?" He growled out the last two words, leaning in close until his masked face was barely an inch from hers.

"Believe what you will," was the girl's response, completely unperturbed by his closeness and tone. "However, if you were willing to believe me, then all I can say that it would be out of consideration for you."

"Consideration? From a Schnee?" barked out the man, leaning back and letting out a full-bellied laugh, one that the other faunus copied at hearing her words. It was not completely out of amusement, however, as there was a heavy undertone of bitterness in their laughter. "Cute," the ringleader spat out. "Ya think we need that from the likes of you?"

"As I said, believe what you will." They could vaguely see the motion of a nod through the sack covering her. "If you want me to be more specific, then it would be because you would be disappointed if you were to see my face. I'm merely sparing you the disappointment."

"See yer…" Again, the entire room of faunus burst out laughing, this time with pure amusement. "I'd sooner fuck an old lady than touch a Schnee like that," he yelled out amidst all the laughter. "'Sides, who ya tryin' ta kid?" he asked as he got his laughter under control. "We've got profiles of all the Schnee bastards and bitches, not that there's a whole lot of 'em. Unless we missed one, there's only a single female Schnee at the right age to be up at Beacon. And if you weren't a Schnee I'd say yer just pretty enough fer a free ticket ta paradise." Everyone burst out laughing once more. Everyone, save for him.

Instead, he leaned closer once again, chuckling darkly as he did. "Weiss Schnee, the SDC's precious heiress. Gotta say, I didn't expect ta pick up a prize like you. Wonder what that old man o' yers'll give us ta get you back?" He chuckled again as another thought came to mind. "Maybe we'll just keep you with us and milk 'im dry. Take every last lien all you stuck-up bluebloods up in Atlas made off of the thousands of faunus you've killed in those damn mines."

"Why not give 'em a taste of their own medicine?" one of the faunus near the back, a black-haired woman, called out. "See how they like working twenty-four-seven in a fuckin' Dust mine!"

"Tch, those bastards've been livin' the good life way too long!" Shouted another one. "I say just kill 'em all and get it over with! We can take whatever the fuck we want when they're dead!"

One after another, the dozen faunus in the room began to shout out one demand after another, many of them laughing in amusement as they imagined how it would happen. Just as their ringleader was about to quiet them all down, he felt his Scroll buzzing against his thigh. "Alright, alright, pipe down! I'm gonna take this outside. See if any of ya can get in touch with the others, let 'em know who we've got. This little princess is gonna bring the Fang one hell of a payday!"

Though their voices quieted down, that didn't stop them from throwing out one intention after another with regards to their prisoner. Many of them even addressed her directly, not that she responded anymore.

Then, all of a sudden, a loud shout came from outside. "WHAT?!" The door was slammed open, all eleven faunus in the apartment reaching for their weapons, only to find the group's leader stomping his way to them, orange fox ears twitching in agitation, teeth clenched tight in anger, and tan face turning red.

He marched straight up to the captive heiress and, without warning grabbed the sack and yanked it away. When his eyes landed on the girl, he threw the sack down onto the ground. "FUCK!" He glanced around the room and immediately locked on to one faunus in particular, who slowly began to back away as he realized the group leader's intentions. "YOU IDIOT!" He shouted, walking up to the slightly shorter faunus with a wolf's tail poking out of his pants. A hand wrapped around the wolf faunus's shirt, yanked him off the floor, and slammed his back against the nearby wall. "YOU HAD ONE JOB. ONE FUCKING JOB AND YOU FUCKING SCREWED UP!"

"I-I-I didn't! I-I s-swear!" The brown-haired faunus shouted back desperately, trying to pry his shirt out of the fox faunus's grip. "She… she was right there! White hair and all! I know I got her!"

With an angry roar, he stepped aside, still keeping his compatriot pinned against the wall, and pointed at the captive sitting in the middle of the room with his other hand. "DOES THAT HAIR LOOK FUCKING WHITE TO YOU?!"

Everyone in the room could only stare at their captive. There was no mistaking it. The girl before them most definitely did _not_ have white hair. And she most definitely was _not_ Weiss Schnee.

Sitting on the chair before them, arms crossed and posture relaxed, was a young woman with long, wine red hair that flowed down in waves past her shoulders, partially covering her left eye. Her eyes were a similar shade as her hair and were gazing up at them all calmly as though she hadn't just been kidnapped. But what caught their attention the most was one particular article of clothing on her person.

The girl herself was wearing a black, double-breasted coat. But on top of that, carelessly draped over her shoulders, was a pale blue bolero. Pale enough in color that it could easily be mistaken for white inside a smokescreen. Enough to be mistaken as white hair if she simply used it to cover her own crimson tresses.

As realization dawned on their faces, the red-haired girl just gave them an unconcerned shrug. "I did say you'd be disappointed if you saw my face."

* * *

"You know, I never really noticed how tiny you are without your jacket."

"Excuse me?!"

Yukari raised her hands up in a placating gesture. "Calm down. I just meant that you look a lot slimmer without it. Especially around your shoulders."

Weiss huffed, crossed her arms, and turned her head away. "You could have said _that_ the first time." Her hands then moved to rub her upper arms as a cool breeze blew in through the broken display window of the restaurant, as well as the broken glass of the doors.

Weiss may be used to the colder climate of Atlas but she was also used to having at least one layer of clothing. Without her jacket, her shoulders, arms, and upper back were now bare and vulnerable to the cold. And although Aura was able to stave off the more extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, it didn't prevent her from feeling it up to a certain point.

Just as she was considering going out to look for a nearby clothing store to buy a jacket – or anything that would at least cover her up – a mug of steaming-hot coffee was placed in front of her. A second one followed, Lucas placing it down on the table in front of Yukari. Then two more followed, presumably for Blake and Yang. The former had gone to the back to look after Iris and Lucas, who they found knocked out and tied up in the kitchen earlier. The latter stood outside the restaurant.

"Thanks, but are you sure you should be moving around?" asked Yukari, glancing up at the faunus with concern.

"I'm fine," Lucas replied with a nod. "I was a little dizzy earlier from whatever they used to knock me out but I'm feeling better now. And I'd rather be moving around anyway. I'd just get restless sitting and doing nothing. "

"By the way." Both Yukari and Lucas turned to Weiss, the latter of the two surprised that the Schnee heiress was actually talking to him. Then again, the suspicious gleam in her eyes did not make that a pleasant surprise. "Blake mentioned something interesting earlier." Her blue eyes narrowed, the suspicion within them growing. "I don't suppose you could tell us how those criminals got in considering that the backdoor could only be opened from inside or with an authorized Scroll?"

"Weiss! Don't be-"

"It's fine," Lucas cut in, giving Yukari an understanding look. "I don't like being accused like this, but I understand where she's coming from. As for your suspicions," he said while turning his attention back to Weiss, whose gaze didn't let up one bit. "I have my own. It's true that the door can't be opened from outside without an authorized Scroll but, asides from myself, there's one other person whose Scroll can access the backdoor. I've tried getting in contact with her but she hasn't replied to my messages or called me back."

"I could give you a dozen good reasons why she might not be answering. Not being able to communicate with her doesn't necessarily mean she's a part of this," argued Weiss. "One of you could have opened the door for them and just let yourselves be knocked out to lessen suspicion."

"Why do you have to be so suspicious, Weiss?" Yukari argued back before Lucas could say anything. "Blake said it herself earlier. She didn't tell anyone you'd be here since she didn't even know if you were gonna come along with us. We were barely here half an hour too. They wouldn't have had time to plan something like that."

"Precisely my point! They didn't have time to plan all this and yet they did!" Weiss was quick to point out the flaw in Yukari's logic, compounding her argument with a glare that all but invited Yukari to prove her wrong. "Not only did they know where to strike, but they were able to enter without the use of force, without alerting any of us. Not to mention that the entire kidnapping attempt barely took a minute."

"Even if one of them saw me on the way here, they couldn't have known where we were going. And even if all those who took part were within a five-minute walk from here, do you honestly think they could have planned, prepared, and gotten into position in that half-hour we were in here before they struck? They _had_ to have gotten help from someone who already knew the situation and could plan out everything while they were getting ready and into position."

"In addition, how would they have even known that the backdoor needed a Scroll to be opened from the outside? That sort of security isn't exactly cheap. For all they knew it was just a lock they could pick apart. They wouldn't have had time to hack the security."

"So maybe they had an expert hacker or something."

In response, Weiss just slapped a hand to her face and shook her head. "I keep forgetting you're not used to dealing with this level of technology." With just those words, Yukari knew her argument was dead even before she said it. The heiress sighed in frustration before returning her gaze to the archer. "Simply put, even the cheapest Scroll-locks have advanced countermeasures against hacking. It's why they're so expensive. It's not impossible, but it would have taken a good portion of that half-hour just to unlock a single door. If they did, then that means they would have had that much less time for everything else."

"In short, they couldn't have done this without help. Help from someone who knew the location and a way in. All that was left was to plan the actual operation and that could have been done by the same person who was already here while the others got into position," Weiss insisted, turning narrowed blue eyes to the faunus who was looking more nervous now. "And provided there wasn't anyone in here we weren't aware of, there were only seven of us inside the restaurant who could have opened the backdoor for them. And five of us were here out front with each other the whole time."

Yukari had to at least appreciate the fact that Weiss was being patient enough to explain without shouting or being openly insulting, despite the frustration the heiress must be feeling. Even so, that did little to numb the sting of defeat. Everything Weiss said was completely logical and within the realm of possibility.

What was surprising was how quickly she had put it all together like that. Yukari had realized early on that Weiss was one of the smartest in their group, possibly on par with Mitsuru, but seeing it put into practice on something other than homework and written tests just made it all the more real.

The brunette might have considered things like the time it might take to actually plan and prepare the kidnapping attempt in relation to the time the kidnappers _did_ have to do said acts, but she hadn't considered that those limiting factors would actually be evidence of the culprit's possible identity. She was definitely finding herself leaning towards believing that Weiss was correct in her deductions.

But whether it was out of desire to not doubt the goodwill of the people that Blake had come to trust, or because she didn't want to admit defeat just yet, Yukari couldn't completely believe that the heiress was correct. Besides which…

"… you do know it's pretty hard to take you seriously when you're shivering like that, right?"

Weiss just directed a half-lidded glare at Yukari, her hands furiously rubbing up and down her bare arms as the wind blowing into the restaurant seemed to pick up. "… shut up…"

"Hey guys, they're here! I see them coming!"

Three pairs of eyes turned to the front where Yang was just turning away from them, waving her hands in the air to catch someone's attention.

Lucas sighed out loud, but Yukari wasn't certain whether it was because the new arrivals put an end to the impromptu interrogation, or just out of relief in general. "Well," he began, "You kids should be able to relax a bit now. Just let the police handle things from here. I'm sure they'll get your friend back."

Both Yukari and Weiss shared confused looks at his words, and Lucas couldn't help but give them the same in turn. "The police?" Yukari asked, looking up at the brown-haired restaurant owner. "What are you-"

"Hey! You guys alright?"

At the voice, all three turned back to the entrance, Lucas's eyes widening at the sight. Entering the restaurant was a large group of teenagers, about a dozen at first glance. Most of them looked concerned as they examined the broken glass, probably at the abduction of who he assumed was their friend, though a select few looked quite calm overall. The one who had spoken was the silver-haired teen at the forefront of the group.

"We're fine, senpai," Yukari replied as she rose from her seat. "Let me get Blake then we can head out and-"

"No need." Cut in the voice of the aforementioned faunus, her tone hurried and her face flustered. "We've got a problem. Iris is gone."

Weiss was the first to react. "What? How?"

"Hey Ren, can I-"

"Later."

"She asked for a glass of water so I went into the kitchen to get one. When I came back, she was gone," Blake explained in a hurry, the brief conversation between Ren and Nora going mostly ignored by everyone else. Then she turned to Lucas apologetically. "Sorry but… I think she may have been the one to tip them off."

"And the one to let them in," Lucas finished with a sigh, his expression growing despondent and resigned at the revelation. "She must have contacted them earlier when I came back out to take your order. I didn't pay it much attention, but I thought it was strange that she was on her Scroll even while we were preparing the orders. She's usually strict about that sort of thing while working in the kitchen." He sighed again. "I knew she had some bad experiences with humans but I don't ever remember her saying that the Schnee were involved. And I definitely didn't think that she knew people who'd help her with something like this."

"Any idea where she might be?" asked Akihiko. "Or which of her friends would her help with something like this?"

Lucas didn't answer. Instead, he looked at the assembled group and narrowed his eyes when he saw their weapons. Then he turned to Yukari. "You didn't call the police earlier. You called your friend." It wasn't a question but a statement of the fact, almost an accusation in fact. "Why? Don't tell me you're actually going to try to save your friend by yourselves."

Yukari gave the faunus a firm nod. "That's exactly what we're going to do." She turned back to the rest of her friends. "You guys get our stuff?"

"We did." Aigis stepped around from behind the group, allowing Yukari to see that she had been the one to carry their weapons down from Beacon. That wasn't the only thing that caught the archer's eyes, however. Rather than Beacon or Gekkoukan's school uniform, Aigis was wearing, for the first time, the clothes that Yukari had gotten her a few weeks back.

It was a heavy-looking, two-piece long-sleeved coat reminiscent of a military uniform, reaching down to Aigis's knees. It was mostly black, with red and gold accents and trim. It had wide-mouthed sleeves, wide enough to contain Aigis's drum magazines should she use it, with a V-shaped part cut out along the inside of the arm to allow her to reload without having to roll up the sleeve. It narrowed towards the elbow, then connected to puffed-up yet angular shoulders.

The sleeves connected to a short, military-style jacket that only covered the upper half of her torso, held shut by a single gold button. Underneath that was a longer, double-breasted, sleeveless coat with a turtle-neck collar. The bottom half of the coat flowed down until her knees, the sides of the coat having a long slit that reached her hips and a third slit at the back that was half the length of the other two.

Her pants were much simpler, being simple black cargo pants with multiple pockets along the pant leg, tucked into black combat boots with metal plates all over for added 'protection'.

All in all, Aigis looked very different from how she normally did. All she needed were some medals, pins, and such and Yukari was sure she'd pass as a military officer of sorts with her current clothing. The serious expression on the blonde android's face did little to stifle that idea.

On Aigis's back, held in place by a black strap that went across the front of her chest, was Gambol Shroud. Yukari briefly wondered why she needed the strap but then remembered that Blake usually wore something like a magnetic plate to hold the weapon. Obviously Aigis couldn't use it. Strapped to her right thigh was the pink and white travel form of Sharanga. Hanging from her left hip was Myrtenaster, while at her right hip was Mitsuru's rapier.

One by one, with the exception of Mitsuru's rapier, she handed the weapons to their respective owners, Fuuka handing Blake a small bag which held the magnetic plate for her weapon. Afterwards, Aigis reached into the bag hanging from her shoulder, pulled out something, and handed it to Weiss. "I also brought this," she said, as Weiss took the proffered object and began to unfold it. "Yukari-san mentioned that Mitsuru-san took your jacket so I brought you another one just in case."

"You… really like that style, huh?" Yukari couldn't help but ask, even as Yang snickered. The jacket that Aigis brought from Beacon was exactly the same as the one that Mitsuru had taken. At the glare she received that was just daring her to comment further, Yukari once again held up her hands in a placating manner. "Hey, I'm just saying. No need to get mad."

Weiss huffed as she put on her bolero, barely managing to hide the relief and satisfaction she felt as the cold air stopped blowing against her bare skin. Then she turned to her blonde team leader. "Thank you, Aigis." She at least managed to convey her gratitude without letting any negative feelings leak into her tone. Whatever she may feel for the android, she wasn't going to let it get in the way of her manners.

"Alright, let's go," announced Akihiko. "The sooner we start searching, the sooner we can-"

"Wait!"

Everyone had already turned to the door when the interruption came so only half-turned back to the restaurant owner. "Lucas, I'm sorry," Blake began, her tone apologetic as she understood why he was trying to stop them. "But they were originally after Weiss. I doubt they'll let Mitsuru go just because they got the wrong girl. They may even try using her as a bargaining chip in an exchange."

"You don't know that," Lucas argued, albeit a little weakly. "Besides, you're just children. Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training but still children. How will you even find them? Vale is a huge city. Even with so many of you, I doubt you'll be able search even a quarter of the city by the end of the day. And it's not like you can just enter whatever place you want to search."

"Please, just call the police and let them handle this," he pleaded. "They're trained to handle this sort of thing. We know that Iris was part of this now. If the police have her description and everything then they can start investigating soon. They might even find the group of kidnappers before the end of the day."

"By then it might be too late," Blake argued back firmly. "I know how the police work. Just because we tell them our suspicions and everything doesn't mean they'll start searching immediately. By the time they do, Iris'll probably be with whoever took Mitsuru. As long as nobody sees her they won't have a way to follow her to Mitsuru. So no, we can't leave this to the police. Besides, we're better equipped for this."

Lucas didn't know what to make of Blake's last statement, it could mean anything especially when one considered that Semblances can be incredibly varied. But more than that, her tone told him that she wasn't going to change her mind. Not unless he could provide a much faster method of getting her friend back.

In the end, he sighed and gave in. "Alright. But at least let me know if you find them. I'll call the police and let them know there was a kidnapping. Don't worry," he cut in before anyone could protest. "I'll just pretend that the one who was kidnapped was the only person here for a late breakfast. Then, when you let me know where they are, I'll… well… I'll let the police know somehow. Maybe an anonymous tip or something. Better than letting you go in by yourselves."

Blake looked like she wanted to decline the offer but a hand on her shoulder made her turn to her partner, who gave her a slight shrug along with a faint smile. The feline faunus sighed in response before turning back to Lucas, who looked quite hopeful. "I suppose it couldn't hurt," she said, relaying the sentiment behind Yang's actions. Inwardly, however, she was hoping they wouldn't need the police.

"Thank you. That's a load off my mind at least," Lucas replied with a sigh. "I'll look up Iris's address and forward you the details. You might find something there. Maybe even Iris herself, if she decided to go back for something before meeting up the others."

Blake nodded one final time even as the others began to make their exit, sensing that the conversation was at an end. She followed them out and down the sidewalk, spotting a familiar-looking van. She followed everyone in without a word. Though she did hesitate a bit when she saw Koromaru sitting in the very back row.

With Mitsuru's absence, It was only slightly less cramped than the time they rode in it to go to the funeral home. To help, Nora, once again, just sat on Ren's lap without a word of complaint from the black-haired boy. Soon, Akihiko started up the van and drove off.

Yang wasted no time in starting up the conversation. "So what's the plan?"

"For one thing, we aren't gonna bother with that Iris woman," Akihiko replied. "First, we need to head someplace where Fuuka can summon Juno. There's an entire block just about where the residential, commercial, and industrial districts meet that have a bunch of abandoned buildings."

"I know that place," said Yang. "There was some kind of plan to tear them all down to make some new shopping center or something like that. It never pulled through since the guy who bought out the entire block lost a lot of money just when they started demolishing some of the buildings. Last I heard he's still planning on building it once he's got enough cash again though the whole block's been pretty much abandoned for a few years now."

"Let's hope that's still the case."

* * *

About ten minutes later, the group of fifteen entered what seemed to be an old theater used for stage plays. Despite its years of disuse, the building was in fairly good condition. The biggest damage that could be seen was the large chunk missing from the upper part of the building. The damage had probably come from when the shop next to it was being demolished.

The air inside was stale and musty, and the thick layer of dust covering every surface forced them to cover their mouths and noses as their movements kicked up some of it. The inside was, as expected, rundown and vandalized in many ways such as spray-painted surfaces and broken furniture. Further in, past a second set of doors, they found the stage itself, the once scarlet curtains now threadbare and moth-eaten, ready to fall apart at the slightest touch.

Due to the lack of power being supplied to the building, the group decided to stay close to the door leading to the lobby. Enough light streamed in through the mostly glass front doors and they stood just out of the line of sight of those same doors. Even if passersby looked through the doors, they wouldn't see the group.

"So what's the plan?" Yang asked a second time, Fuuka already standing within Juno and performing a search for the missing leader of SEES and Team KYBT. "Not sure how many of 'em there were but it had to be at least four or five with all the noise they made."

"Hey Ren, now can I-"

"Later."

"Assuming they didn't discover their mistake too soon, they would have taken Mitsuru someplace where they could have kept a prisoner," deduced Akihiko, leaning against the remains of the door. "They're most likely gonna be holed up in some building. Either one that they own, or abandoned, like this one."

"They won't want to risk a prisoner being heard screaming for help so it should be fairly isolated," added Weiss. "But if they have a soundproofed room or a basement then they may be able to risk going somewhere more populated."

"If that is the case, that would mean any combat will most likely take place indoors," finished Aigis.

The Aura-users suddenly found themselves surrounded by six upset Persona-users. "Huh? What's wrong?" asked Nora, surprised by their sudden drop in mood when they'd all been ready to go earlier.

It was Ren who first realized the issue. "We'll be fighting indoors," he said, repeating the conclusion that Aigis had come to. "Unless we get lucky enough that they're hiding out in a warehouse, their Personas will be more of a hindrance by fighting in such an enclosed space." One by one, the eyes of the Aura-users lit up with realization and dimmed as they further realized that it was not just the Persona problem that made them upset. "You might not be able to take part in rescuing Mitsuru."

Though the words of his teammate stung, Akihiko nodded, lips pressed tightly shut as though he were afraid of lashing out verbally otherwise.

"Huh? I don't get it." Everyone turned to Ruby at her words, and she eeped at the sudden attention she was receiving. It only lasted a second before she recovered. "I mean, you can still fight without your Personas, right?"

"It's not that easy, dolt." Despite her words, there was no real heat in Weiss's tone. "They can fight in Combat class because our classmates have been ordered to hold back. And in our training matches, we never fought too hard against them until they started using their Personas. I doubt these kidnappers will willingly hold back just because we tell them that their opponents don't have Aura. Especially not if the kidnappers are who I think they are."

"You know who they might be?" asked Yukari.

"The fau-" Weiss's mouth shut with a slightly audible click, her eyes darting over to Blake for just a split-second. "Many faunus despise my family but only one group has ever been bold enough to actually act against us."

"The White Fang." All eyes then turned to Blake, her amber eyes seemingly glowing in the darkness where she stood. "Honestly, I was thinking the same thing. This isn't something that just anyone could have done."

Yang nodded in agreement. "Yeah, those smoke grenades aren't the kind they sell to civilians. I don't think that just anyone could get their hands on that kind of gear that quickly plus masks for themselves. They probably had them stashed away somewhere."

But Blake shook her head in disagreement, the movement barely visible due to her black hair and the limited lighting. "It's not just that. They were organized, much more than just a civilian group. It took less than a minute from the moment they threw the smoke grenades to the moment they left. Less than half a minute actually. It's possible that they're a group of Huntsmen or former Huntsmen with a grudge against the Schnee family, but it's more likely that they're from the White Fang."

"Unfortunately, that's not much better since most, if not all, their members will have their Auras unlocked. And since they wear masks to hide their faces, they might still have a Huntsman in the group. Maybe more than just one. With how organized they were whoever was leading them has done things like this before. No matter how I look at it, this won't be easy unless we stack the deck to our advantage."

Akihiko clicked his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck, with a resigned sigh. "So we're looking at an indoor fight with an armed group that'll have Aura. Possibly with at least one Huntsman, or at least a trained fighter, in the group." The mood sunk even lower as everyone realized that SEES would just be a liability if they were to fight.

The only exception was Aigis, but Akihiko was hesitant to risk any possible damage to her until they had a sure-fire way of fixing her if it came to pass. Combat class and training was one thing, but fighting while under such a massive disadvantage against an unknown enemy? Aigis was good, but battle was an unpredictable affair. All it would take was a single strike or bullet in the wrong spot and Aigis could very well be damaged beyond their already limited capability to repair her.

Moreover, they still didn't know what sort of environment they would be fighting in. A theater like the one they were in now was one thing since they would have sufficient cover and more than enough room for their Personas. But if the kidnappers had taken Mitsuru to someplace more cramped, like an office building, they wouldn't be able to summon their Personas without causing a lot of collateral damage. At worst, they may even bring the entire building down on themselves.

"Well, we can worry about that later, right?" Ruby asked, trying to be optimistic about things. "We don't even know where they are. They could be in a big warehouse with lots of room."

" **Or an apartment building."** The words caused Ruby to slump down in defeat. Not just because of the words themselves, but because it was Fuuka who had spoken, her teammate's voice penetrating directly into her mind. **"Mitsuru-senpai is safe and they don't seem to have hurt her, but there are twelve faunus in the room with her, all of them with Aura. It wasn't much, but she says she was able to buy us a few minutes before they discovered that she wasn't Weiss."**

Curses were heard from the group, with the exception of Weiss. "You can speak with her?" Fuuka nodded, but looked quite distracted. Still, twelve opponents was more than they had expected and both their Aura and location worked against the members of SEES.

" **There's more."** The voices quieted down, not that it was really needed since Fuuka was speaking telepathically through Juno. **"Mitsuru-senpai confirmed that the group is, at the very least, connected to the White Fang. Despite their masks, which could just be copies, none of them have said anything yet about being part of the group itself. To make things worse-"**

"There's more?!"

" **-Their leader said something about calling 'others'. Senpai isn't sure whether that meant they would all be gathering at the apartment, or if they were just informing them of the situation."**

If the group hadn't been despondent earlier, they certainly were now. Twelve possible White Fang members against fifteen students. All twelve faunus had Aura while only eight among the latter group had it. The remaining seven couldn't fight in a building as cramped as an apartment building, nor could they fight in the open. At least, not unless they were willing to expose the existence of their Personas.

If it was for the sake of their friend, they would gladly do so in a heartbeat. The question was, was that what Mitsuru would want?

It didn't take the seven members of SEES very long to come to an answer. No, she wouldn't want that. Nor would any of them, if they were in Mitsuru's position. Not without a good reason at least. And if anyone were ever to ask, then they would give them a very good reason as to why they are hesitant to expose their abilities so soon.

So no, using their Personas even from outside the building was out of the question. At most, they could have one Persona out. Provided they didn't have to explain the summoning process, a single Persona could be explained away as a summoning Semblance of sorts.

"By the way Fuuka," chimed in Weiss, causing everyone to turn to her. "Where _is_ the apartment? It might help to know the surrounding area as well if we're going to plan a proper rescue."

" **Oh, that's easy."** The positive tone in Fuuka's voice did wonders for their depleting morale. Any sort of good news was welcome considering all the bad. **"It's one of the apartment buildings on the other side of this block."**

"… WHAT?!" came the collective cry of fourteen voices.

* * *

"Alright, I'll let him know." There was a soft click as the Scroll was clicked shut. "Boss, looks like we might be getting trouble sooner than we thought."

Galus, the fox faunus pacing around the room in thought, paused and turned to the black-haired woman, green eyes just barely visible through the slits in the mask, who addressed him. "What happened? No way the cops could pick up our trail that easily."

"Not the police. A bunch of kids went by the restaurant in a van and picked up the Schnee and her friends. All of 'em were armed and the kids from the restaurant went out with weapons of their own. Our guy's still in place, but he says the cops haven't showed up yet."

"How many?"

"About a dozen came out of the van. With the ones in the restaurant and the girl we have, I'd say we have four teams of four all-in-all."

The faunus clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What a fuckin' day this turned out ta be," he growled out. "Go let everyone know. Get some guys on the roof ta keep watch. We know what the van looks like?"

The black-haired woman nodded. "Color and model. Not the plate, unfortunately."

"Good. Tell 'em to let us know if they see it or even a single kid with a weapon. Don't start shootin' or anythin' but just keep an eye on 'em. And make sure ta tell the guys who're comin' in case they seem 'em on the way here. If we're lucky we can get the Schnee in an exchange or somethin'."

The woman, his second-in-command, nodded and left to relay his orders, leaving him alone with their prisoner. Now that the sack had been removed, the redhead's upper body had been tied to the chair as well, ensuring that she would have no way of standing, much less leaving.

She had chosen to remain silent after her final quip earlier, neither complaining nor commenting on anything that went on around her. There was a strange air about her even as she just sat there calmly. Her eyes were shut, though she was still awake. Her breathing was steady, though the steady pace sounded neither natural nor forced to his ears. Rather… both? Like she had controlled her breathing to conform to that pace so many times that she could do it without as much effort.

"So tell me," he began, hoping he could get some information they could use. He didn't think he'd get much out of her, she might just ignore him completely, but it was still worth a try. "What're the chances yer friend'll give up the Schnee for ya?"

Surprisingly, she answered. "You should already know the answer to that."

He sighed, irritated. Not at her, but that she was right. The moment Amiela told him that the other kids were armed, he knew that they would fight. Some of the others might not have problems with it, but he would rather not have to beat up a children, even those who were Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training, just to get one of them.

"Any chance you can talk 'em out of it?" he asked. "All I want is the Schnee girl. We get her, you and the rest can go. No catch."

"Again, you should already know the answer to that." This time, after she spoke, she opened her eyes, crimson irises locking onto his green ones through the mask. "Even if you had succeeded in taking Weiss, this would have been the same outcome. This is simply the natural result of your actions."

"What actions?" he huffed. "Tryin' ta pay back the company that killed thousands of us? The same one killing hundreds in their damn mines right now?"

"Kidnapping a friend," she replied calmly, saying no more than what was necessary.

"Ya sound pretty damn sure they're gonna rescue ya. What? You kids the top students up at Beacon on somethin'?" When she didn't respond, Galus clicked his tongue, realizing that it was futile to fish for information. Had she been more temperamental then he could have used that to his advantage to goad her into telling him more about her friends, whether she realized it or not.

He was about to turn away when something on the nearby table caught his attention. He walked over to it, picked up the object, and went back to stand in front of the girl. "Mind tellin' me what the hell's up with this gun?" he asked, holding the object in front of her. "Far as I can tell, there's no way to put in a bullet. Even pulling the trigger just makes the sound of a gunshot but nothin' else. The hell's the point of a gun that can't shoot anything?"

"Call it a good luck charm," the girl replied, giving him a slight grin. "Not everything that looks like a weapon is meant to be used as one."

He knew she wouldn't say anything else. Her words had been chosen specifically to answer his question and close the conversation all in one go. He doubted she'd answer any more questions about the strange gun. Whoever she was, she knew how to use words as a weapon and tool to suit her needs. Someone like him had little chance from the start. He bit back a sigh as he set the not-gun down on the table. _'Can this day get any worse?'_

The door suddenly clicked open, followed by quick footsteps. "Bad news."

' _And it just did,'_ he thought, cursing himself for tempting fate. "What is it?"

"The van was spotted nearby." The way the redhead didn't react, as well as the way her breathing _didn't_ change even the slightest, caught Galus's attention, but he kept his eyes on Amiela. "The color and model's a match. Too much of a coincidence for it to be a different one. It's parked about two blocks over. No sign of the kids."

Galus shut his eyes, thinking of how to approach the situation. Should they go out to search? It would be easy enough. They didn't know what the kids looked like but they knew what that they were looking for Beacon students who were armed. The inverse wasn't true. They just had to take off their masks and no one would be the wiser. Or would it be better to stay in place, concentrate on defense in case their hideout was found? The rest of their group should be along in less than half an hour, bringing along some weapons and supplies.

Since their original plan had been to keep the Schnee heiress hidden, they had planned on using the abandoned city block as a temporary hideaway while they waited for orders from the higher-ups. Thus, they needed the weapons and supplies, plus the extra manpower, in case they were found before they could bring their captive out of the city to somewhere more secure.

Now, however, their plan had gone down the drain and out into the sea with everything else that's gone wrong. And now he had to decide whether to take the fight to the Huntsmen-in-training or stay hidden and hope the kids didn't find them. Unfortunately, the moment the door slammed open was the moment he knew that the choice was about to be taken out of his hands.

"Boss, some of those kids are down in the lobby saying they're here for their friend. Including the Schnee."

He bit back yet another sigh that almost slipped past his lips. _'I hate it when I'm right.'_

* * *

The four girls stood in front of an equal number of white-masked faunus wearing civilian clothing. Despite being on the wrong end of just as many assault rifles, none of them showed even a hint of being worried.

Ice blue eyes narrowed as she took in their appearance. The mask was usually one way of identifying members of the White Fang but, given their plain clothing, it was hard to tell if this was just a wanna-be White Fang group, or if they had some other reason for being in plain clothing.

"Well, well, didn't think you'd actually be here." Weiss eyes traveled behind the group of faunus where she spotted a slightly taller faunus with orange fox ears. "Hard to believe a Schnee'd give herself up fer someone else." Then his green eyes narrowed, and Weiss saw them drift to her side where Myrtenaster was. "Or are ya actually thinkin' of fighting?"

"I'd rather not fight at all if possible," Weiss responded with an upturned nose, earning a few growls from the faunus. "So I'll say this once. Give us back Mitsuru and we'll pretend this never happened."

The unamused glare and sneer she received was more than enough to let her know what they thought of her generous offer. "A Schnee through and through. Just 'nother self-righteous bitch who thinks she can get whatever the hell she wants." It was hard to say if his words were directed at her or to no one in particular. "Well too bad. I ain't got a problem letting little miss red up there go but you ain't leavin' 'less you're with us. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Man, that's practically the most clichéd line there is," commented Yang, the fox faunus's stern gaze turning to her. "You wanna know what's even more clichéd than that?"

"I can guess," he replied, drawing the pistol at his side. Then, without any hesitation, he gave the order. "Let 'em have it!"

Yang's shout of "You were supposed to say 'the hard way it is'," was drowned out by the sudden storm of gunfire as the five faunus started shooting at the four girls. Weiss had already been in motion before the fox faunus even gave the order, creating a large and thick wall of ice that ran from one wall to the next just as the bullets flew out of the barrels. While this wouldn't allow them to fight back until the wall was removed, it did give them a chance to enact the next part of their plan.

" **Fuuka."** Communicating through her thoughts was a strange experience, but Weiss could definitely appreciate how easier it made things. What's more, they wouldn't be overheard nor would the communication be intercepted unlike with verbal or radio communication. **"How's this?"**

" **That should be fine for now,"** came the response from the girl who was acting as their communications hub. **"Three more are making their way down but the two in the room with senpai aren't moving. Other than them, that just leaves the two on the roof."**

"Are you three ready?" she verbally asked the others with her.

"Just let me know when, ice queen."

"I'm ready to break some legs! And arms!"

"I'm ready."

Weiss withheld a sigh. Only the fact that Pyrrha was part of their group helped her maintain what sanity she had left for having to team up with Yang and Nora. This certainly wasn't anywhere near her dream team, but it was hard to argue with the reasoning that Aigis and Ahikiko had used earlier.

They hadn't expected that the kidnappers would leave someone behind to keep an eye on things. It was only because Mitsuru was able to communicate with them through Fuuka that they even had that much warning. As it was, their plan to catch the kidnappers off guard with their numbers was scrapped before it could be put into action, and the knowledge that more were on their way meant they had to strike quickly. Hopefully the last minute changes to the plan would work as well as hoped.

At the very least, their first gamble had paid off. None of the faunus that confronted them seemed to realize that the group they were facing weren't exactly the same as the ones that had been in the restaurant during the kidnapping.

" **Now!"**

Hearing the signal, Weiss and Pyrrha backed away from the wall even as Yang and Nora wound back their arms, weapons at the ready. With a loud roar, the wall of ice was smashed open by a hammer and a gauntlet-encased fist, sending chunks and shards of ice flying at their faunus opponents. Weiss and Pyrrha surged through the opening, taking advantage of their opponents' reflexive act of shielding their faces.

The faunus recovered from the ice barrage faster than expected, but a few shots from Yang and Nora scattered them before they could even aim at the approaching pair. And when Weiss and Pyrrha _did_ reach the group, the fight that ensued was as one-sided as it could possibly get. Despite having Aura, the masked faunus weren't very well-trained.

It was only when a pair of combat knives held in a reverse grip blocked Myrtenaster and Miló that the fighting came to a sudden stop. The fox faunus pushed both weapons away even as he began barking out orders. "Pull back and set up a defensive line like we talked about earlier. We'll hold 'em off here."

The majority of the faunus didn't even turn back as they left, picking up weapons and fallen comrades as the dashed up the stairs. In just a handful of seconds, only the fox faunus and a black-haired woman remained, the latter tossing aside her rifle and drawing a pair of steel-plated wooden tonfa from her back.

"Last chance, Schnee," he offered, facing off against the four trainee Huntresses. "You for the girl upstairs and your friends. You ain't gettin' a better deal."

Weiss scoffed and readied herself, her current team doing the same. Inwardly, however, she frowned at the failure of the first objective, that of taking out as many of the eight faunus as possible. It was such an utter failure that they hadn't been able to take out a single one. At the very least, their Aura would be drained, making them softer targets even if by just a little bit.

The only reason it wasn't the worst case scenario was because only eight had fled to the upper floors while two remained with them. Either way, they had taken such a possibility into consideration. Or rather, Aigis and Akihiko had. Their experience when it came to combat shone through during their brief strategy session earlier.

Not to say that nobody else had anything to offer to the plan, but the two of them had contributed the most to the discussion. Although two things stood out to her. One was that a major aspect of their revised plan came from the most unexpected pair. The other was the surprising amount of information that came from a certain someone. And that someone _wasn't_ Fuuka.

Weiss could only hope for the success of the other groups as the two faunus charged forward to engage the four teenagers in the apartment's lobby.

* * *

" **Six of the eight are making their way up. Two remained behind to hold off Group A."**

" **Got it,"** Blake replied in her head after a slight pause, still trying to get used to telepathic communication since her thoughts didn't automatically transmit through the connection. Still, the instruction to 'direct' her thoughts to Fuuka was simple enough to follow. That, and the fact that she didn't need to 'speak' to multiple people at once. Not yet at least. According to Akihiko, they could work on communicating with several people at a later time. The feline faunus turned to the other people in the stairwell with her. "Get ready."

The other two nodded their heads, weapons in hand as they prepared for their part of the plan. The planning session may have been cut short due to the approaching reinforcements for the opposition, but the roles of each group were simple enough to understand and remember. The most difficult part was the timing of it all but with their scout and communication center being one and the same, they simply needed to wait and listen for Fuuka's cues or, should it call for it, warnings.

" **Three on the third floor guarding the stairs. Three on the fifth doing the same. The two in the room with senpai haven't changed positions. They're behind cover watching over the door. Whenever you're ready Blake."**

"Group B, go!"

The two faunus keeping watch from the roof, listening to the sounds of battle coming from far below them, spun at the unexpected sound of a door slamming open. And then promptly froze in surprise when they saw three teenagers charging out of the stairwell of the next building over. Their surprise only lasted a second before one of them raised their rifle, the other going for the radio on his belt.

The sharp bang of a gun being fired rang across the neighborhood. The faunus didn't even get to touch the radio before the bullet pierced through it, destroying it in an instant. The other faunus managed to fire a quick burst before his weapon suffered the same fate as the radio, but the bullets were stopped by a white heater shield held by a blonde boy who was running in front of the other two. And while it slowed him down, the same couldn't be said of his two companions.

With one final burst of speed, a boy and a girl, both with black hair and the former with a magenta-colored streak of hair on the left side, ran out from behind the blonde and leapt across the gap between the two buildings, firing their weapons on the two faunus and battering their Aura with a steady stream of bullets. Not to mention the sniper who was still firing at them from an undetermined location. As a result, the faunus who retained his rifle couldn't even raise it to fire back.

Blake and Ren lost no time engaging the two faunus upon landing on the adjacent roof with a roll, the former's weapon shifting to its katana form. Off guard and given no chance to draw a weapon, the two faunus were quickly drained of Aura and knocked unconscious. As two bodies slumped to the ground, Jaune came flying in. Literally.

With help from Ruby and her Semblance, Jaune managed to make the jump but his landing was less than stellar as he hit the ground with an ungraceful roll, stopping just before he slammed into the door leading into the building. The sniper-scythe-wielding girl briefly skid to a stop next to Blake, rose petals trailing in her wake. "Sorry Jaune," was all she could say, looking quite sheepish.

Ruby hadn't been certain that Jaune would make the jump, knowing that the blonde was still playing catch-up in terms of physical ability. Among other things. So she decided to assist him by giving him a push from behind while in mid-air. She just hadn't expected to send him flying that hard.

"I'm okay," Jaune replied with a small groan. "Just… a little warning next time please."

" **Group C is in position,"** came Fuuka's voice, causing all four of them to jump slightly in surprise. SEES might have been used to it, but suddenly hearing a voice in their head that wasn't their own was something they had yet to get used to. Especially when tensions were running high due to having just been in a fight, brief as it was. **"Proceed when ready."**

* * *

Galus's knives clashed with the two blades that came at him from the left and right. With a roar, he pushed both blades away and spun in between the two, his knives just barely missing their targets as both the Schnee heiress and her red-haired partner leapt back. He remained in place, knowing his current position was the most advantageous for him

The short hallway leading to the stairwell was narrow, just enough for two people to comfortably walk side-by-side. As such, it was the perfect place for him to fight. With their longer weapons, never mind the redhead's shield, the two girls were hindered by their environment while fighting him two-on-one. Even if they fought him one-on-one instead, he could already tell that he was more skilled and would be able to fight off whoever engaged him.

On the other hand, their teamwork, while far from perfect, was just enough that he couldn't properly take advantage of any openings. Just like now, his attacks always missed by a tiny margin. If not for the fact that a drawn out battle worked to his advantage he would have been incredibly frustrated by now at his inability to land a single hit.

Then again, the fact that a pair of seventeen-year-old children were holding out against him, one of them being a Schnee at that, was enough to frustrate him to some extent.

Over by the entrance, he could see that Amiela was also locked in a stalemate with her opponents. The blonde with the gauntlets and the redhead with the hammer were fairly skilled as well from what he could see. Much like his own opponents, their teamwork clearly needed work but it was still enough for the moment. The blonde engaged Amiela up close to give her partner, who lacked the agility to keep up with Amiela in direct combat, an opening.

Still, Amiela was always a step ahead and never gave either girl, both of whom seemed stronger than the average trainee, the opportunity to land a single blow. She had even managed to land several blows on the blonde. Obviously not enough to knock her out of the fight, but enough to show that she was the superior fighter.

A quick glance at his watch showed that he still had about fifteen minutes before the rest of the group was scheduled to arrive. With luck they would arrive earlier. But with the day he's been having, Galus knew better than to count on his luck.

He tightened his grip on his knives when he saw the Schnee and her partner slide their leading foot forward, ready to try taking him out once more, only to suddenly freeze. The sudden hesitation passed so quickly that Galus had to wonder if he had seen it at all. Then, the two glanced at one another out of the corner of their eyes and nodded slightly.

Before Galus could consider what their actions meant, his ears caught the sound of an explosion coming from the upper floors. Remembering too late that there was supposed to be more than just the four kids who were in the lobby, his eyes shot open in shock and turned to the stairs, his mind considering running up to confront whoever had managed to slip into the building.

Then he mentally cursed himself at his mistake, quickly turning his attention back to the two opponents who were actually in front of him. It was too late, however, as he found himself face-to-face with the redhead's shield as she rammed into him, pushing him back and slamming him against the wall. Then she jumped away just as the Schnee heiress came in with a thrust of her rapier.

He hopped to the side, avoiding the stab and preparing to counterattack only to suddenly find his entire body encased in ice all the way up to his neck. He glanced down with a growl, meeting the heiress's smug grin as he began to struggle, trying to break free of the ice.

"INCOMING!"

He looked up at the shout, barely noticing the heiress leaping to the side. A body flew at him, crashing back-first into the ice encasing him. More ice appeared, most likely courtesy of the Schnee heiress again, and encased Amiela's body just like it did his. Both of them struggled, trying to break free, but the ice was far too thick for them to break from within.

"Alright!" he heard the blonde cheer, running up to them with the orange-haired girl. "Way to go ice queen!"

"How many times do I have to say it before you stop calling me that?" complained the heiress, her good mood disappearing in an instant, replaced by a look of intense annoyance. "Or are you deaf as well as stupid?"

Yet the blonde just grinned unrepentantly. "Lighten up ice queen. Besides, don't we have an 'empress' to rescue?"

The Schnee heiress growled but said nothing more on the subject. "Don't think this is over, you brute."

The orange-haired girl quickly ran up the stairs with a loud cheer just as his ears picked up another explosion, dashing ahead of her teammates even as the redhead called for her to wait for them. The blonde followed suit soon after.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop them, Galus took a deep breath to try warn and call out a warning to the others only for the heiress to stab her rapier down on the staircase, a wall of ice rising up between him and her and blocking the staircase. Rather than yell, he let out a resigned sigh. The Schnee girl had clearly thought this through.

Even if he and Amiela could escape the ice encasing them, the wall of ice blocking their path was clearly thicker than the one imprisoning them. By the time they broke through it would be too late to help whoever was up there. Even so, he struggled despite knowing the chances of escaping in time to help were slim to none. He could only hope that the others could hold the line long enough for their reinforcements to arrive.

But as with earlier, he knew better than to rely on luck. Not unless he was relying on bad luck.

As things stood, they most likely had next to no chance of success. Hopefully the captain wouldn't fault him too badly for their failure.

* * *

The group of Weiss, Pyrrha, Yang, and Nora ran up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. Yet despite knowing there were a handful more of enemies between them and their goal, they showed no concern at all. Not even for the possibility of an ambush.

It was not confidence in their abilities that removed their worries. Rather, it was confidence in their friends and teammates. That, and the voices in their heads that gave constant updates on the situation.

" **Third floor's all yours,"** came the voice of Junpei just as the sound of gunshots reached the ears of Group A.

" **Same for the fifth,"** added Yukari soon after. Much like with group A, group B also heard the sound of gunshots as they descended from the roof to their destination.

The quartet reached the third floor just a few seconds later. And just as they had expected, the three faunus guarding the stairwell were no longer watching the stairs. Instead, they were facing the hallway, firing their guns at someone the quartet couldn't see but knew was there.

The sound of their guns drowned out all others, enough that none of the faunus realized that someone was coming up the stairs. Even those that possessed a heightened sense of hearing would be deafened by the gunshots. In fact, it probably made it worse for them. By the time they realized it, they were already under attack and were soon knocked unconscious by the quartet of girls. Yang glanced down the hallway, and out the window at the end, sending a thumbs-up when Junpei and Chidori came into view, standing in the building across from theirs.

" **Third and fifth floors cleared,"** announced Fuuka when nobody made the report. It was understandable since the members of groups A and B were not used to speaking telepathically while fighting. Or at all.

After sending a quick thumbs-up back, Junpei dashed away with Chidori in tow, his voice echoing in their heads even as the quartet ran up the stairs, barely acknowledging the fire and scorch marks on the walls, floor, and ceiling as a result of Junpei and Chidori's sneak attack. **"Alright, heading to the meeting point now."** Yukari's and Ken's voices came after, Junpei reporting the same for himself and Chidori.

Weiss's group reached the fourth floor in short order, the same floor where Mitsuru was being held. Just then, they all heard a gasp. It hadn't been any of them. Rather, it came from inside their heads. **"The two faunus in the room are using senpai as a hostage!"**

The group of four immediately shot down the hallway, eyes zeroed in on one door in particular. Nora charged ahead of the group, weapon in hand. Solidly planting her foot on the floor, she spun around and slammed Magnhild's head into the door, blasting it off the hinges. The rest of the group charged through the door just as a voice reached them.

"Don't move or the girl dies!"

The threat was enough to freeze them in place, hearts hammering in their chests, more so when they saw the two remaining faunus pointing their rifle at Mitsuru's head. Did they find out that she didn't have Aura?

Then their aim shifted and the pair opened fire on the group. The four teenagers scattered, two leaping through the door leading to what was once a bedroom while the other two retreated back into the hallway.

Their surprise cost them some of their Aura, but not enough to make that much of a difference. But it did serve to point out their mistake. With their Aura, and Pyrrha possessing a physical shield on top of it, they should have just rushed their enemies.

Moreover, the faunus hadn't discovered the lack of Aura. They simply used their worry for their friend against them. The threat of Mitsuru's death made them freeze and panic, compounded by her lack of Aura. And the pair of faunus used that panic to their advantage. And in their panic, their bodies had simply reacted on instinct, choosing to avoid the danger rather than fight.

Weiss had to admit that their little ploy worked. Using their concern for Mitsuru's safety against them the same way the White Fang used associates of her family and company against the Schnee, not that the latter worked very well. Psychological combat at its finest.

Still, this was a slightly better scenario than earlier. Had the faunus kept their weapons trained on Mitsuru then the four girls would have been in a much more difficult situation.

"I don't know how the hell you kids got through the others so quickly, but this is as far as you get!" yelled one of the faunus as they heard both guns being reloaded. "I'll give you one last chance. The Schnee comes with us, or you _all_ die. Starting with your friend here."

"Do you really think we've come this far just to surrender to scum like you? Besides, what do you think two of you can do against four of us?" she called back from her hiding place just past the door to the bedroom. It shouldn't be long before their trump card was ready to go into play. "And if you kill Mitsuru, we have no reason to hold back. You should be the ones surrendering."

One of the faunus laughed, derisive and amused in equal measure. "You think you've won? We've got a couple dozen more on their way and we've already let 'em know that you're here. Unlike us, they aren't gonna give you a chance to give up and leave."

"And there's a reason why we're the ones guarding your friend here," added the other. "We ain't Huntsmen but my brother and I could take on at least ten of you kids and still win. So come on. I dare ya t-."

The sound of shattering glass cut off the faunus, followed by the sound of something landing on the floor behind them. Pyrrha jumped into the room from the hallway the moment she heard the glass break, eyes locked onto their rifles before the two faunus could even turn around. A quick application of her Semblance sent the weapons flying from their hands with no difficulty at all.

Unarmed and thoroughly confused by the sudden turn of events, the blonde-haired mechanical maiden that leapt in through the window had little difficulty knocking the two faunus away from Mitsuru and to the middle of the room. At that moment, Weiss dashed out into the open and stabbed Myrtenaster into the floor where a single, white glyph spun into existence.

Just like with the two faunus in the lobby, ice quickly encased the two faunus in front of her, crawling up their legs, their torsos and arms, all in just a second until only their heads were left untouched. Though with how badly they were cursing, Weiss was tempted to freeze them up to their mouths as well.

"Thank you, Aigis."

The four Aura-users gathered in the space between the imprisoned faunus and their recently released friend as said friend rose from the creaky wooden seat she had been forced to sit in since her arrival roughly two hours ago.

Two hours. One hundred and twenty minutes.

Weiss found it a little hard to believe that it had only been about that long since Mitsuru was kidnapped. It wasn't the most accurate measure of time but considering it wasn't even noon yet then it was safe to say that, at most, it had been two hours since the kidnapping. And looking back, the efficiency with which SEES worked was… astounding. Almost unbelievable.

At the time that Yukari called Akihiko, the group at Beacon would have had less than twenty minutes before the next airship was scheduled to leave for Vale, then it would take teams ANKR, ASYR, and JACN ten minutes before they landed in the city. From memory, Weiss recalled that it took about ten minutes by bus to SEES's home so they could pick up the van. Then an estimated fifteen minutes of driving to get to the restaurant.

Once they had regrouped, it took less than ten minutes to travel to the abandoned theater where Fuuka could summon Juno without being seen. Their conversation had been brief, five minutes at most, before Fuuka informed them of Mitsuru's location as well as an unknown time limit associated with the arrival of reinforcements for the enemy. From there, it had taken less than half an hour for Fuuka to obtain a map of the city block in question and for Aigis and Akihiko to come up with a basic plan, with a handful of inputs from everyone else.

They were moving into position when Mitsuru, through Fuuka, let them know that the kidnappers knew how many of them there were as well as the fact that they were using a gray van for transportation. With the loss of the element of surprise some parts of their plan had to be changed. Even as they continued to move into position, Akihiko and Aigis quickly made some revisions. It took less than five minutes to revise their plans as well as come up with a handful of contingencies in case something else went wrong or something unexpected came up.

Akihiko asked for a few minutes to get the final part of their revised plan ready before they began the actual rescue. After he gave them confirmation, they began phase one of their plans, namely group A walking in through the front doors. From there, it took less than ten minutes to get to where they were now. All that was left was to escape and that wouldn't take more than a minute or two.

Weiss had no words for how quickly they had managed to work. Was it experience, she wondered, that allowed them to do so? She recalled hearing Fuuka explain to Ruby that, asides from defending their city of jurisdiction from the Grimm, SEES was only ever deployed for major Grimm extermination missions when the Japanese Huntsmen – Weiss really needed to remember to ask what the Japanese called their Huntsmen – were unable to for whatever reason. If so, then it stood to reason that they would be used to coming up with plans in a short span of time.

The Schnee heiress shook her thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. They managed to reach Mitsuru. Now they had to get away before the enemy's reinforcements arrived.

Clearly the aforementioned girl was of the same mind. "I'm fine, everyone," said Mitsuru, waving away everyone's concerns and picking up her Evoker from the nearby table, which she had managed to convince the vulpine faunus earlier to leave behind. It hadn't been that hard since the 'gun' wasn't real. "For now, let's focus on our escape."

And just like that, the seriousness of the situation returned. Relieved and celebratory smiles faded into grim expressions as they marched out the door, ignoring the two faunus who cursed at their backs. The group of six hurried up to the roof, marching past the unconscious trio that group B had taken care of, with help from Yukari and Ken, before returning to the roof to keep watch on their surroundings.

Just as they reached the roof, spotting Blake, Ruby, Ren, Jaune, and two tied-up and unconscious masked faunus, Akihiko's voice entered their minds once more. **"I just picked up Fuuka and group C. Get to the second meeting point now. We don't know how far out their reinforcements are."**

Everyone nodded and responded verbally, even though they knew Akihiko wouldn't see or hear their responses. The only ones who remained silent were Aigis and Mitsuru, whose voices echoed in their heads.

Following the plan, group B led the way, leaping across the rooftops to their destination. Jaune, of course, was assisted by Pyrrha, who helped the blonde clear the gaps via her Semblance. The blonde swallowed his protests, knowing that it was safer and less time consuming this way. Though it didn't help that a few people were openly snickering in his direction.

Group A followed after with Mitsuru. The redhead had an arm around Yang's shoulders while one of Yang's arms went around Mitsuru's waist – "Carry me and I'll make you regret it." – to support her as they leapt across the rooftops. Last to follow was Aigis, who was constantly scouting their surroundings now that Fuuka no longer had Juno summoned.

After crossing a few rooftops, they leapt down to the top of a smaller building, only about three stories high, just as a van casually came to a stop in front of it, the door to the back being opened from inside. Despite Yang taking most of their combined weight, Mitsuru still grunted at the landing as some pain lanced up her legs. She wasn't injured, but her legs would be aching for quite a while. Thankfully they had reached their destination.

Another jump brought them to ground level. Wasting no time, the group piled into the waiting van, squeezing in wherever they could fit. There would be time to get comfortable after they got to safety. The van departed, moving at a casual pace to avoid attention, before the door was even shut.

"Renny, now can I-"

"Later."

* * *

"What the hell happened?!"

"What the fuck d'ya think happened?!" Galus shouted back even as two other faunus broke apart the ice imprisoning him and Amiela. "Somehow those kids found us and got their friend back. If I heard right they prob'ly came in through the roof too. Don't know how the hell they took out the guys up there so easily. All I heard from down here was a bunch o' explosions."

The woman before him growled as she raised the radio next to her face, the full-faced mask she was wearing that marked her as a higher-ranked member of the White Fang distorting her voice slightly as she spoke into the radio. "The kids are gone. Spread out and search for a gray van. They couldn't have gotten far."

Various responses of affirmation came back through the radio followed by the sound of several vehicles moving away. The woman then turned to the six faunus she brought with her. "Don't bother with the ice here. Go in through the windows or the fire exit or whatever. Grab everyone else and let's get going. Pretty sure someone's called the cops by now." Once they were gone, the woman ripped the mask off her face, pulling off the hood of her White Fang uniform and freeing her pale green hair. "Damn it all! This was our big chance! We had her right there! How the hell did you screw up the kidnapping in the first place?!"

Ignoring the fact that the woman was practically spitting on his face with every word, Galus calmly replied to the woman who was ranked higher than he was despite being a bit younger. "That redhead pulled the Schnee's jacket off of her and used it ta cover up her hair. Even with the gas masks we had trouble seeing 'cuz of all the smoke."

"Idiots," growled out the woman, but said nothing else. For a while, the only sound that could be heard in the lobby was the clomping and tromping footsteps coming from above as the rest of Galus's group was recovered. Then the woman turned to the vulpine faunus once more. "What do you think? If we do manage to grab the Schnee next time we get the chance, do you think they'll come after her again?"

Galus huffed. "Four teams, Iris. Four teams came ta save one of their own. We grabbed the girl before ten and they got 'er back 'fore noon. We had you on the inside ta come up with a plan while the rest of us just got together after you called. Those kids had 'bout two hours ta find us, get together a plan, and actually use that plan. Not ta mention most of 'em probably had ta come down from Beacon since it ain't exactly a weekend and they weren't there earlier. Whoever the hell came up with their rescue plan must be one hell of a genius. 'Specially since we didn't see any of 'em scoutin' out this place."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question."

"You really gotta ask, LT?" He sighed at the unamused expression on the lieutenant's face. "If they don't come chasin' after 'er I'll shoot myself in the nuts. Still, they're just kids. The only thing they've goin' for 'em is that they're smart and they caught us with our pants down this time. They came in with a plan we didn't expect and they stuck to it. That, and more than half the guys with me are pretty damn useless without a gun. And you know fuckin' well guns don't cut it when they can get up close so damn easily with Aura an' all, not unless there's three or four of us shootin' at one of 'em."

"We'll start training them harder then," Iris scoffed. "Don't know what the plan for Vale is but all the Dust we've been taking means it's pretty damn big." Just then, her radio came to life. She raised it up and half-shouted into it. "What?"

" _We've got eight guys loaded up, all knocked out. The last two are frozen but we'll have 'em out in a minute."_

"Hurry it up. I want us out of here before those cops get anywhere near this place." Another affirmation later, Iris let out a harsh sigh and clipped the radio back to her belt. "When we get back to the safe house, go over what happened with your guys then let me know. If those kids are gonna be around the Schnee then the captain'll wanna know what they can do in case we make another play for her."

"Got it."

Iris pulled up her hood once more, tucking in every last strand of her pale green hair, before replacing the mask over her face. "Let's go," she ordered, voice slightly distorted by the mask, as she marched out of the building, Galus and Amiela, who remained silent the entire time, following suit. "Something tells me we aren't gonna be finding those kids today."

* * *

Akihiko drove around the city's commercial area for at least fifteen minutes, Fuuka's limited abilities helping them keep track of any possible tails. When they were certain that nobody was following them, they made their way to Vale's residential district.

The ride back to SEES's house was made in silence, everyone still on high alert in case they were somehow discovered. They were already within the residential area of Vale but Akihiko reminded them, when several of them began to cheer for their victory, not to relax just yet. "It's times like these, when you feel like letting your guard down after a mission, that you shouldn't. Not until you're somewhere absolutely safe."

But soon enough, the van was parked in a familiar driveway, sixteen people and a dog exiting the vehicle. But before they entered the house, everyone turned to look at the van.

"Y'know something?" began Junpei, his face practically split in half by his grin. "I think it looks better this way."

Those words completely snapped the tension everyone was feeling as snickers, chuckles, giggles and outright laughter broke out past everyone's lips, with the sole exception of one person who just groaned. Mitsuru was covering her mouth with a fist but was clearly shaking in amusement. Even Weiss, despite restraining herself from showing it openly, had to admit that it was an amusing sight. Or in the case of some, downright hilarious.

What once was a drab, gray van would no longer look out of place at a carnival or a museum for… less traditional works of art. Someone might have said that it looked like an artist took several cans of paint and emptied the contents on the van at random.

The truth, however, was much more unbelievable.

"I'm surprised you actually went through with it, Akihiko," said Mitsuru, chuckling at the abashed yet equally amused boxer. When Fuuka had relayed the plan to her through Juno, she hadn't thought that the normally straight-laced Akihiko would intentionally do something even that was even remotely… impulsive in nature. Even if it was premeditated.

"Yeah, well, it's this or risk getting caught," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck with a light blush on his face. "A car chase might look fun when you're watching but I'm nowhere that good of a driver. Still, this is gonna cost us to clean up. Might as well give it a nice design or something while we're at it."

"See? Told ya it was a good idea," Junpei said, elbowing Jaune lightly. "I mean, any of those cars we passed could've belonged to the kidnappers or their friends."

Jaune, seeing so many eyes turn in his direction with approval, blushed and shuffled nervously, trying to avoid their gazes. "I… well… I mean, I just, y'know, said the first thing that came into my head. Didn't think you guys would take me seriously."

Junpei barked out laughing, slapping Jaune in the back. "Woah!" Unfortunately, the blonde was too busy trying to force down his embarrassment that the playful slap actually threw him off-balance. His arms spun wildly as he tried to regain his balance.

"Jaune!"

Pyrrha saw what happened and quickly stepped forward to get in front of Jaune. But when the wild flailing of his arms struck the side of her face, she stumbled right into him and the two fell to the ground in a clumsy heap. Knowing that a little fall like that wouldn't really hurt either of them only made some of them laugh harder, their attention drifting from the multi-colored van to the two trainees on the ground.

Jaune groaned as he pushed himself off the ground, which was surprisingly softer than expected, shaking his head slightly with his eyes still shut. He wasn't sure if he was hearing things right, but some of the laughter was cut off by the sound of choking. "Um… Jaune?" he heard someone ask. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring straight into a familiar pair of emerald green eyes.

It didn't take him long to realize that he was lying on top of Pyrrha, who was alternating between looking at him, and looking away with a slight blush on her face. "S-Sorry!" he stammered out, pushing down with his hands as he made to rise. At the same time, Pyrrha let out an uncharacteristic whimper. "Let me just-" He paused abruptly as a thought occurred to him.

He pushed against the ground again. And again, Pyrrha whimpered. At the same time, Junpei, Yang, and Nora, undoubtedly the most boisterous of their group, laughed even louder. The choking noises he heard earlier continued along with some nonsensical spluttering from a few others. But as Jaune looked down, only one thought went through his head. _'That's why the ground feels so soft.'_

* * *

Once everyone settled back down, though Jaune and Pyrrha were notably avoiding each other's gaze with reddened cheeks, the group of sixteen - seventeen with Koromaru in the count - moved to the living room. Akihiko called for take-out seeing as it was noon and they had nothing but a few snacks in the house for when he sometimes came to assemble one of the many exercise machines he had purchased, sometimes with Team ANKR in tow.

Now that they were more or less safe, everyone began celebrating their successful rescue of Mitsuru in their own way.

The most notable were Yang and Nora who were on their feet, gesturing excitedly and wildly as they regaled the others with an exaggerated re-telling of their fight with the tonfa-wielding woman in the lobby. And when she heard about Ruby's successful sniping of the radio and weapons of the rooftop guards, Yang proceeded to shower the young girl with compliments and praise mixed in with sisterly teasing, much to the sniper's embarrassment.

The others were more subdued but were no less glad for their collective success. Junpei, for one, was still laughing at the shock that he supposedly saw on the faces of their opponents when he and Chidori blasted them from the neighboring building. They had only managed to get off one Agidyne each, not wanting to damage the building too much, before the weapons were turned in their direction and they had to hide away. Still, the threat of an attack from an unexpected direction was enough for group A to take them out without any difficulties.

Yukari and Ken didn't bother with a re-telling of their own surprise attack, but the smiles on their faces belied their calm emotions. Everyone else just listened calmly but with smiles of their own, laughing at appropriate moments.

"Oh man, that was great," crowed Yang, collapsing down on a sofa. "Dunno if they really were White Fang or not, but those guys were no match for us. Are we the best first year teams or what? Bet even the older teams couldn't pull of a rescue that smoothly."

Mitsuru chuckled at her teammate's exuberance. "While there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your achievements, try to remember that we had an overwhelming advantage working for us." The redhead was quick to become the center of attention, receiving many curious looks at her words. "Fuuka's ability to gather information allowed us all to know their numbers, their positions, and the building's structure. Not to mention she was the one responsible for locating me, keeping track of their movements in real time, and allowing us to communicate without delays."

"Without her help, it would have taken longer to find their hideout, not to mention the lack of information would have made it much more difficult to come up with a viable plan. And if you had taken too long there would have been much more of them to contend with." Looking around, she saw that the earlier cheer had died down as a result of her words. "I don't mean to downplay everyone's achievements. Just keep in mind that things could have turned out much worse. With that said…" Mitsuru then turned her gaze to Fuuka. "… how was it?"

While there was some confusion from the group as a whole, it would seem that Fuuka knew just what the redhead was asking about. "It was… different. Back in Iwatodai, I only had to keep track of a handful of Grimm, or a few bigger ones. Even when there were more, they always just came right at us. But with people… it's…" Her voice drifted off, unable to find an appropriate word.

"It's much more overwhelming, isn't it?" offered Mitsuru with a knowing smile. "Fighting other people, especially beyond simple combat, requires you to keep track of everyone's movements. To make things worse, every change in the enemy's position could mean any number of things. And as the one monitoring the situation, we'll be relying on you to coordinate our movements even as you remain constantly on alert and report any change on the battlefield as soon as it happens. "

"Information is power." All eyes then turned to Weiss when she spoke, her own eyes directed at Fuuka. "To be honest, I was thinking about it this entire time. The success of the rescue relied completely on Fuuka's abilities, didn't it?"

"M-me?" Fuuka stammered out with wide eyes, genuinely surprised at the indirect compliment she received. From Weiss, of all people. And it wasn't just a simple one. The heiress was more or less attributing the success of the entire operation to her.

"Who else?" Weiss asked as though it should have been obvious from the start.

"But…" By the way she was squirming in her seat, it was obvious that Fuuka was more than just a little uncomfortable with all the attention even as positive as it was. "Akihiko-senpai and Aigis-chan were the ones who came up with the plan. And Jaune and Junpei-kun were the ones who came up with a way to avoid being found out during our escape."

"But without you finding out how many we were facing and that they had Aura, they wouldn't have been able to come up with those plans. And without you, Mitsuru would not have been able to let us know that they knew how many of us there were, what vehicle we were using, and that we were searching for them and not the police."

"But everyone else did all the work," protested the teal-haired girl. "Everyone else was out there fighting while I stayed safe in the theater until the end."

" _You_ were the one coordinating our movements and monitoring our enemy's movements, letting us know the best time to proceed with the next phase of the plan. Without you, we wouldn't have known if they were circling around to attack us from behind, or if their reinforcements arrived sooner than expected."

"But I-"

"Come on, Fuuka," interjected Yukari. "Everyone knows what you did."

"Yeah, and this ain't exactly the first time you saved our butts," added Junpei. "Like when we were looking for the Shadow in the mall. Or the second one over at Shirakawa."

Yukari's mood soured somewhat as she groaned and palmed her face. "Did you _really_ have to bring that up?" she muttered under her breath, ignoring the curious looks she received from those not in the know.

"Can't forget the first time you actually summoned your Persona," Akihiko added with a nostalgia-filled grin. "If you weren't there that night all of us would be dead, including your friend, Moriyama."

"Oh wow! Really?" Ruby zipped up to Fuuka's side gazing at the shorter but older girl with what seemed to be admiration. "You really saved them all?"

"I don't think anyone told me that story," said Ken, turning to Akihiko. "What happened? Was the Shadow that strong?"

What began as a brief lecture from Mitsuru to not grow overconfident now turned into a storytelling session. Akihiko, with some very heavy modifications to the story, as well as permission from Fuuka, began to tell the story of how Fuuka came to join SEES.

Yukari jumped in early on to make sure that the story she told Goodwitch all those weeks ago matched what they told everyone else. The knowledge that Fuuka was once bullied, and that she could have died because of it, earned the diminutive girl some sympathy, but she settled it by letting them all know that one of her bullies eventually became one of her best friends outside of SEES.

Of course, Junpei found Akihiko and Yukari's storytelling to be too bland and occasionally took over. That, of course, led to Yukari interrupting whenever Junpei went overboard with his embellishments. And, of course, that led to yet another round of bantering between the two that everyone just watched in amusement.

Somewhere in the middle of the storytelling, well before the pair started to argue, Fuuka managed to slip away into the kitchen to get a drink of water. That, and to fade away from everyone's attention. It was one thing to be complimented or thanked, but being praised so highly always made her so uncomfortable.

She took a sip of water as she turned back to the living room only to cough and choke on the water at the sudden appearance of her white-haired teammate. Weiss, herself, was caught off-guard and stopped to stare as Fuuka coughed repeatedly to clear her airway.

"A-are you alright?" she asked, leaning forward and hesitantly placing a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.

"I'm-" a brief bout of coughing interrupted her. "I'm fine. I just…" Fuuka took a few quick breaths to steady herself, thankful that she hadn't dropped the glass. "You surprised me."

"What?" Weiss blinked, wondering if she heard her right. "But didn't you say that you still have limited use of Juno's abilities even without summoning it?"

"That doesn't-" Fuuka coughed twice more to clear the water still in her airway. "That doesn't mean I use it all the time," she defended gently. "If it was the Grimm, then I'd be able to sense their location even without trying. But when it comes to other people I need to focus at least a little bit."

"I see. In that case, I apologize for startling you."

"It's fine. No harm done." She brought her glass to the sink and went about washing it, making sure to wipe down the sink with a spare cloth once she was done. "By the way, did you need something?"

Weiss hummed in query, as though wondering what Fuuka was talking about, then remembered her reason for following the Japanese girl into the kitchen. "I was just curious about something. It didn't look like you were very comfortable being complimented earlier." Whatever she was expecting, she certainly didn't expect Fuuka to suddenly giggle. "Did… I say something funny?" she asked, running her words through her head to see if she could find the joke.

But Fuuka was quick to reassure the heiress. "Oh no. It's because I was thinking about the same thing just now." She paused for a moment to compose herself before addressing Weiss's curiosity. "I don't think I've told you or Ruby about my family, have I?"

Weiss's side-tail shook with the movement of her head. "All things considered, I don't think Ruby and I, or anyone in our group, feel comfortable enough to casually ask about your families. Though I have to admit I find myself curious now and then."

"That's understandable, though I don't really think any of us would have trouble talking about our families. Not that much at least," responded Fuuka. "Most members of my family, from both sides, were doctors. Both my parents were among the very few exceptions. Because of that, both of them had an inferiority complex and always pushed me to study hard to get good grades in school."

"Not to sound rude, but what does that have to do with being uncomfortable when you receive a compliment?"

Fuuka gave a weak smile as she answered. "Living at home was… difficult because of that. If my grades drop, I'm scolded. If I achieve high marks, I'm expected to maintain them. I got so used to it that I became the kind of person who always tried to meet other people's expectations of me. And for a long time, I didn't even stop to think about what I wanted anymore." Fuuka spoke with her gaze lowered, thus she missed the look of sympathy that was on Weiss's face. "It's part of why I joined SEES when they gave me the chance after I awakened my Persona. At least at first."

"At first?" Weiss repeated in question form, receiving a small nod in return. "What changed?"

Fuuka raised her head and turned her gaze to the right. Following her line of sight, Weiss found Fuuka looking in the direction of their friends. In the direction of SEES. "Everything," she replied as though it were enough of an explanation. Thankfully, she chose to clarify her words. "At first, I joined because it would mean living in the dorms rather than at home when my parents only ever pressured me. And also because I could be useful to SEES."

"But…" Weiss hesitated, which was uncharacteristic enough of her that Fuuka turned her gaze back to the heiress. "But isn't that just the same as before? The part about meeting people's expectations I mean. Are you sure you didn't just join because you might have felt that they expected you to?"

And yet again, Fuuka reacted with amusement. And when she saw the almost petulant expression on her teammate's face, her giggling almost turned into outright laughter. "I'm… I'm sorry…" Once again, Fuuka took a moment to get her amusement under control. "I'm sorry Weiss," she repeated, "What you said reminded me of Yukari-chan and Mitsuru-senpai. Both of them were worried that I was pressured into joining SEES. Maybe that's how it seemed at that time, but I really did make the decision because it's what I wanted to do. Even if it was only much later that I found my own reason to fight beyond just wanting to help."

Weiss was about to respond when the sharp but gentle chime of the doorbell rang, followed by an excited shout from the living room. "Alright! Food's here!" Fuuka stifled a laugh at Junpei's words, especially when Yukari yelled after him for one reason or another.

Of course, that was the spark that lit the fire. Loud proclamations of hunger came from Yang and Nora, Koromaru joining in with a bark. And like clockwork, that bark elicited a yelp from Blake that was heard even from the kitchen. About the only unexpected thing that happened was the amusement Fuuka felt at that last scene. _'Does that make me a bad person for finding it funny as long as she doesn't panic again?'_

She could hear Junpei speaking with whoever delivered the food but not what was said. Instead of trying, she turned back to Weiss. "Were you going to say something?"

The heiress just shook her head. "It wasn't that important. We can continue another time." But even as Fuuka accepted her words with a nod and turned to the living room, Weiss cursed the interruption inside her head.

Even so, she was grateful, happy even, that she and Fuuka had that talk. And as she and Fuuka went to reconvene with everyone around the dining table, Weiss promised herself that, the next time the opportunity came up, she would not hesitate.

* * *

Lunch, like every mealtime with the group, was a fairly noisy affair. Just because they weren't at Beacon's dining hall didn't mean they were any quieter. In fact, they might have even been just a bit rowdier because they were in the privacy of SEES's home. Though Mitsuru did remind them not to be _too_ rowdy as they still had the neighbors to consider.

But soon enough, they had collected all the food containers and other disposables, collected them in a large trash bag and brought it out to the trash bin just outside the gates.

She knew they would have to return to Beacon soon. They still had to attend Combat class with Professor Goodwitch in less than two hours if they didn't want any uncomfortable questions being asked. With that in mind, she turned her attention of Blake and called her attention.

Hearing the feline faunus's name coming from her mouth pulled everyone's attention as well and she could see Blake's partner tensing and frowning. The latter detail didn't matter to her. What mattered was finishing the conversation that had been interrupted. "You asked me earlier what I thought about the faunus, correct?" Weiss didn't need to ask. She knew what Blake had asked her. But she felt the need to make everyone aware of what was going on.

The curious look on Blake's face was replaced by a serious expression, reflecting the tone of the conversation to come. "I did."

Weiss steadied herself with a few deep, calming breaths, shutting her eyes and doing her best to block out the steely glare she could feel coming from Yang's direction. "I don't particularly trust the faunus," she finally announced, as she opened her eyes, taking in the subtle tightening of Blake's jaw and the twitch of her feline pair of ears.

And it wasn't just Blake who reacted. Even without looking at any of them, Weiss could practically feel the shock and the frowns, the hostility in their eyes, at what was essentially a denouncement of a member of their group, a friend. Still, she spared everyone a quick glance, cataloguing who felt what with regards to her words.

The majority, as she had already expected, were either frowning at her or were shocked by her words, Yang being the most hostile with her gritted teeth and clenched fists. Mitsuru's calm, neutral expression was just as expected. As was Akihiko's discerning gaze, as though he knew there was more to her words than the obvious.

Surprisingly, there were four other people who didn't look ready to assault her, verbally or otherwise. Yukari's gaze had a hint of disapproval, but it was also laced with curiosity. If not for prior experience, Weiss would have fully expected Yukari to be on the same boat as Yang. But as several occasions have shown, the archer was about as vocal about her opinions as the brawler but was also much more open-minded.

Ruby looked worried, which confused Weiss just a tad. Why was her partner worried? Was she worried that her words would cause a rift to form in the group? Was she worried that Weiss would despise Blake for being a faunus? A fight between her and Yang perhaps?

There were so many possibilities yet it was hard to determine which one was the most likely. Was Ruby on Weiss's side due to being her partner? Or would she side with Yang, her sister, because she was Blake's partner? It was only now that she was beginning to regret now getting to know her partner a little bit better. If she had, then perhaps she could have better predicted the scythe-wielder's opinion.

With Fuuka, Weiss wondered if the diminutive girl's passive expression was because they were teammates as she was willing to give Weiss a chance to explain herself, or if it was simply her nature to be so… Weiss couldn't even find a proper word for it. What did you call someone who not only befriended their former bully, someone who nearly caused their death, but also became their best friend? Accepting? Forgiving? Tolerant? In Weiss's eyes, such a thing went beyond mere kindness.

But then, what did that make Weiss to be the recipient? Did Fuuka see her in the same light that she saw the girl who once bullied her? Did that mean she would still extend a hand of friendship? Or would she begin to shun Weiss because, unlike Fuuka's friend who regretted her actions, the heiress did not feel the least bit remorseful with regards to her opinion and treatment of the faunus?

The last, and the most confusing one, was Aigis. Much like Ruby, her mechanical teammate looked concerned for some reason. Only this time, Weiss had absolutely no idea why she could be worried. With Ruby, Weiss at least had a rudimentary understanding of her partner. But Aigis? She was just an android. What reason did she have to worry?

The only conclusion she could reach was that Aigis was concerned for the team from a leader's standpoint. But that made no sense. It wasn't as though Weiss and Blake's differences would affect the team or even just Weiss's performance. As the Schnee heiress, she was far too professional to let her personal feelings bleed into unrelated affairs such as schoolwork and teamwork. Whatever came of this conversation would not affect her performance at all, never mind the team's. Not unless _they_ were to let their feelings affect it. In which case, Weiss would hardly be at fault.

In any event, she turned her full attention back to Blake, carefully watching Blake's expression for any changes and noting the slight bit of hope that was there even _before_ she spoke. "However," Weiss continued, idly noting the brief twitch from Blake's ears. "While I am mistrustful of the faunus, that does not mean I am unwilling to give them a chance."

"Weiss… So you-"

"Let me finish," she cut in just a little sharply. "I am willing to give the faunus, in this case you, a chance. But let me make it clear that, for better or worse, my opinion of you will not change my opinion of the faunus as a whole. Even if I do come to trust you, that does not mean I will immediately trust other faunus. Is that clear?"

"Why do you hate the faunus so much?" Flesh met flesh as Yukari's palm met her face. Similarly, several people winced and glanced apprehensively in Yang's direction. On her part, the blonde ignored everyone's reactions to her words. "I get that the White Fang and your family are practically at war, but it's not like every faunus out there is part of it."

"I'm well aware of that," Weiss replied frostily as she did her best to reign in the urge to blow up in the blonde's face, the memory of their previous altercation less than a week ago resurfacing.

To her credit, Yang was doing the same. Though if the expression on her face was any indication, she was just barely succeeding. "Then why the hell are you acting like they are?"

"If the White Fang took off their masks and uniforms, would you still be able to tell they were part of the group?" she asked, icy blue eyes challenging Yang. "Even before their failed attempt at kidnapping me, an attempt that only failed because of Mitsuru's quick thinking, could you have said, with absolute certainty, that I can walk down the streets of Vale without worrying that the next faunus I walk past won't suddenly point a gun at my face or hold a knife to my neck?" Yang opened her mouth to retort only to stop. Judging by the position of her mouth and tongue, she wasn't about to say 'no'. Instead, she shut her mouth with a click and settled for glaring at Weiss. "Exactly."

"Family friends, board members and senior employees of the Schnee Dust Company, friends _and_ family of those same people, or even anyone with the slightest connection to the company or my family, every single one of those people are at risk of being kidnapped or killed simply because of their association with us." Those who weren't present earlier when she said something similar to Team KYBT, and those who hadn't already known or suspected, stared at her in shock as though unable to believe her words. But Weiss wasn't looking at them. She was staring straight into Yang's eyes, whose resolved suddenly wavered. "The White Fang can't get to my family, so they target the company. We increase security around company property, the White Fang target people outside the company."

"E… e-even…"

"It doesn't matter who," she replied sternly and cuttingly to the stammering Ruby without looking away from Yang. "If kidnapping the family of a senior employee or a board member gives them even the slightest chance of opening negotiations, then they'll do it. But when they realized that my father wouldn't negotiate for them, they turned to murder." Several faces went pale at those words. "They'll find and kill people with connections to the company, no matter how distant. They probably think that doing so will make people in the company pressure my father into giving up some concessions to pacify the White Fang."

"Not just the company, no." All eyes turned to Blake at her words, and they wondered if she, as a faunus, had some additional insight to share. "In case that didn't work, the hope was that they would paint the SDC as unsympathetic and ruthless, caring only about profit even over the well-being of the families of their own employees so that other people would begin pressuring or even leaving the company, which would then pressure your father even more and make things more difficult."

While most of them nodded along, seeing how the White Fang would think that way, one pair of eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And just how do you know that?"

"Oh come on, just give it a rest, ice queen," Yang growled out. "Why do you have to be so-"

"Yang. Please." Blake placed a hand on her partner's arm, giving her a look that said she would handle it herself. For a while, the blonde looked like she was going to ignore it. Then she nodded, even though the scowl didn't leave her face. "Thank you."

Blake shut her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to do. When she opened her eyes, amber met blue. "I can guess what you're thinking," she said in a pathetic attempt to buy herself more time to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. "And… you're partly right."

A single eyebrow rose. "Partly?" Weiss sounded predictably skeptical.

Blake nodded and took another steadying breath. "I… was a member of the White Fang." The moment those words left her lips, everything else faded away. The gasps and stares, the murmurs and whispers, the shock and disbelief, none of it reached Blake's conscious mind. Her eyes, her ears, every conscious thought in her mind, everything was focused solely on Weiss Schnee, the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, and the unchanged expression on her face. "I was a member for most of my life. I actually just left only about a month before coming to Beacon."

She clamped her mouth shut after that, knowing that she'd just start babbling on about unnecessary details due to trepidation. Nothing about Weiss's expression had changed yet, but that was to be expected. Blake's admission to having once been a member of the very same group that would be overjoyed by the death of even a single member of the Schnee family was a very serious issue.

But she knew that, after her earlier words of wanting to honestly show that the faunus can be trusted, she needed to start somewhere. Before she could earn their trust, Weiss's trust, she would have to show that she _could_ be trusted. And hiding her past as a member of the White Fang, choosing only the most convenient time to reveal it, was no way to do that.

" _If we, ourselves, are unwilling to learn, grow, and change, then we have little hope of enlightening others to the truth."_

It was just as Mitsuru said two weeks ago. Blake had made that mistake once already by hiding her heritage, waiting until the most opportune moment to reveal it. And now she was paying for it. She could only be grateful that the price wasn't as high as she had expected it to be.

But her past as a former member of the White Fang was not as easy to brush aside if it came out at a time outside of her choosing. The price she would pay for hiding that may be far more costly than she was willing to pay should it be discovered. She made that mistake once before. So she learned from that mistake, grew from that experience, and now she would change how she approached such a situation again. And pray that it did not blow up in her face.

After what seemed like an eternity, Weiss took a deep breath, much like Blake did earlier, and let it out slowly. "Why did you leave?" It was a good sign that the heiress hadn't exploded. Or did that mean her anger was just simmering and waiting to explode? "If you've been with them most of your life, what made you decide to suddenly leave?"

"I wouldn't call it a sudden decision." She leaned forward, arms on her thighs and her gaze distant. "Like I said earlier, the White Fang wasn't always this violent. I still remember joining protests and rallies, shouting until my voice ran out, and running around entire towns until my legs couldn't move anymore, passing out flyers or helping collect signatures for petitions."

"But those methods weren't achieving results fast enough for many of us. After some in-fighting, when there was no longer any doubt that a large majority wanted to be more proactive, the High Leader of the White Fang chose to step down. That was when the White Fang began to change."

"The change in the White Fang's operations weren't as sudden as the change in leadership. Protest and rallies were still common, but instead of just targeting the worst offenders we started going after even the smallest offenders. It wasn't long before things literally started being thrown around and, honestly, I don't even know which side really started it. All I remember was that one rally went bad and turned into a riot with over two dozen injured on both sides."

"As you can expect, things went from bad to worse almost overnight. Vandalism of property and assault became our new protests and rallies. Sometimes they'd be kidnapped and the beatings were done in private with the video being released the day after or even broadcast live." A few faces, notably Ruby's most of all, turned slightly green at that, which was much more noticeable due to how pale their complexions had already become. "The victim would be left in front of their home or place of business, alive but definitely in need of medical attention."

"It wasn't long before we started arming ourselves with weapons. Supposedly," everyone could hear the derision in her tone at that word, "It was for self-defense in the event that people attacked us. But now, looking back, that was when things began going from violent to bloody. Because _clearly_ publicly humiliating and assaulting people wasn't enough, it was decided that we should start destroying businesses and outright killing those who were deemed irredeemable."

"Did you…" The hesitant interruption brought amber eyes to meet silver, only for Ruby to turn away, reaching up to her crimson cloak and pulling it up past her neck in an effort to hide.

But Blake could guess what the young girl wanted to ask. "I did," she answered honestly. "More times than I would like to admit. And not just racists. There was a time, however brief, that I felt that the end justified any means." Judging by the way a few of them averted their eyes, they understood what she was implying.

There was an uncomfortable pause where nobody knew what to say, until it was broken by Blake's partner. "Was that why you left? You didn't want to kill anymore?"

"…"

At her partner's silence, Yang cast a worried look at everyone before leaning forward to try and catch a glimpse of the feline faunus's face. "Blake?"

"You… you have to understand, Yang," she finally replied, one hand over the other, gripping tightly to stop the trembling as she grew more anxious with every confession. "You don't live in the darkness for so long and expect to walk back into the light unchanged."

Yang seemed to pale at her partner's words. "What're you... what're you saying?" asked the blonde, aghast and worried, almost afraid.

The response came not from Blake, but from Weiss. "She's saying that if she has to, she will." Her gaze was a cold as her family's namesake. "She probably grew, or rediscovered, her conscience at some point. And now she wants to go back to the White Fang's former, less violent, methods. Even so, she won't necessarily rule out violence if it becomes necessary. Is that about right?"

"… yeah." Blake met Weiss's gaze with resolve. "It's not something I'm proud of. And I'm not saying that it'll be my first option. Or even my second or third. But if it comes to it, I think I…" Her voice trailed away as she glanced down at her hands, their trembling just barely visible even to her sharp eyesight. "I think I still could do it. Maybe. But it's not exactly something I want to start doing again. Killing people… It shouldn't ever be necessary. Nobody, human or faunus, should ever have the power to decide who lives and who dies."

The heiress stared intently at Blake for some time before finally asking, "Is this really the best way to start trying to earn my trust? Telling me that you were a member of the White Fang and that, if worst comes to worst, you'd be willing to bloody your hands again?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

To anyone else, the words and the shrug that accompanied it were callous. But to Blake, it was simple a confirmation, to herself and to everyone else, that she was aware of how her words would be taken. That her fate now lay in their hands.

How will they judge her? Will her earnest desire at turning her life around, at returning to the White Fang's old ways, be enough to vindicate her to some degree? Or will her past encroach upon the present, the darkness and blood tainting and marking her as beyond redemption?

And then, Weiss nodded with a stern expression on her face, lips pressed tightly as though she were about to do something she didn't want to. "One chance." Blake almost collapsed in relief at those two simple words. "I'll give you one chance to earn my trust."

The scowl on Yang's face made it clear that she wanted Weiss to give more than that, but Blake was happy enough with even that much. All things considered, it wouldn't have been surprising if Weiss told Blake to stay away from her lest she spread her secret. Or even just make a simple call to the police to let them know that a former member of the White Fang was attending Beacon as a student.

Defector or not, the police would be glad to have a member of the group to question. And Blake had no illusions that she would be treated well simply because she turned her back on the White Fang. The White Fang's actions in recent years all but guaranteed that she would be treated roughly even if they had no intention of questioning her.

"Thank you, Weiss," she said, bowing her head slightly.

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. "Don't thank me just yet," she said, turning away. "Besides, you seem to be forgetting that I'm not the only one in the room."

It was embarrassing to admit, but in her anxiety and, now, excitement, she really _had_ forgotten that everyone else was there. And looking around, Blake could see that her past had made just about everyone uneasy. The one who was the least uneasy, perhaps even not at all, was Mitsuru.

When the redhead saw a worried pair of amber eyes turn to her, Mitsuru just gazed back at Blake with a weak though understanding smile. "I'm not exactly a stranger to high-handed, even violent, methods. The Kirijo Group, after all, was essentially a…" she paused to send a wry smile in the direction of SEES. "… _ninkyō dantai_." There were some nervous chuckles from about half of SEES. Aigis looked confused, Chidori remained blank-faced, and Akihiko just shook his head with a small, amused smile.

It was Akihiko who turned to their confused teammates, knowing that they wouldn't possibly know the meaning, much less the significance, of those words. " _Ninkyō dantai_ basically means 'chivalrous organization'." His grin widened slightly at the innocent acknowledgements of their teammates, despite the slight sarcastic tone he added at those last two words. "Of course," he added with a knowing smile. " _Ninkyō dantai_ is how the _yakuza_ usually refer to themselves."

"Yakuza?" came the innocent question from more than one person. By now, Aigis was nodding in comprehension even as the rest of SEES were watching on in expectant amusement.

"I guess the closest you could call it in your language would be…" he paused as though to think even though he already knew the right word. Akihiko's grin turned positively feral right before he finished his statement. "… mafia."

Eight people nodded in understanding. Then their nodding slowed as their expressions grew thoughtful and passive, the final word that Akihiko had spoken finally registering in their minds. Then their eyes grew wide and they turned stare at Mitsuru with varying levels of disbelief and horror. Even Nora was speechless as she stared, slack-jawed.

All the while, Mitsuru just smiled and turned to Akihiko chidingly. "Really Akihiko? I'd like to think the Kirijo were more civilized than that. After all, we never involved ourselves in theft, burglary, armed robbery, or other street crimes. Nor do we involve ourselves in major crimes like drug or human trafficking."

The eight shocked Aura-users gradually relaxed, color returning to their pale faces as they realized that Akihiko had been joking. "Hehe, good one Akihiko," laughed Yang.

Nora followed suit. "Yeah! I actually thought Mitsuru was some sort of crime lord princess or something."

"Of course," continued Mitsuru, her face still bearing that same pleasant smile. "I can't say the same for things such as _sōkaiya_ and even _yubitsume_ , though I'm not entirely sure if my father retained the latter policy when he took over after my grandfather's death.."

"Uh… soka-what now?" Though not as bad as earlier, there was just something about Mitsuru's smile that put her, and the others, on edge. Yang's expression had slowly gone back to showing her nervousness. "W-what're those?"

" _Sōkaiya_ are basically extortionists," Mitsuru explained in an ordinary conversational tone, much to the returning horror of SEES's Aura-wielding teammates and the amusement of SEES themselves. "What makes them special is that they only extort money or favors from major shareholders of a company. If I were to purchase enough shares from, say, the Schnee Dust Company to be able to sit in on a shareholder's meeting. I could then use that position to threaten the management or even the company as a whole until certain… demands are met. Often through the use of blackmail material."

"Of course," continued the former Kirijo heiress, ignoring the way Weiss had paled dramatically, "There _are_ certain cultural differences that make such a thing a bit easier to conduct against a Japanese company rather than those here in Remnant. Though given the slight similarities in culture, I suppose such a thing would work well in Mistral." She then hummed and glanced up in thought. "Perhaps the Adamas Corporation would make a more viable target in that case." This time, it was Pyrrha who grew pale.

"As for _yubitsume,_ the word literally translates to 'finger shortening'." Half the Aura-users turned a little green as they guessed, correctly for the most part, how the fingers were shortened. "As I said, I don't know if my father kept the tradition alive after taking over from my grandfather, but it's a ritual performed by Yakuza to atone for one's offenses and mistakes. Like the name implies, it involved cutting off one's own little fin-"

"Aaah! I don't wanna hear it! I don't wanna hear it!" cried Ruby, raising the hood of her cloak and hiding her entire head inside it, pressing her hands against the sides where her ears would be. "Yaaaaaang! Why'd you have to ask?!"

"Are you sure you want me to stop?" asked Mitsuru, smiling gently in Ruby's direction where Yang was trying to calm down her hysterical younger sister. "It actually has quite the interesting history. You see, in _Kendo,_ or basically Japanese swordsmanship, it's actually the last three fingers that have the tightest grip on the sword. So by cutting off the-"

"Aaaaaaah! I'm not listening! I'm not listening!" Ruby continued to cry out, yelling incoherently and shaking her head back and forth as though to shake the thoughts out of her head.

Yang looked torn between calming down Ruby and glaring at Mitsuru for causing Ruby's hysteria in the first place. Despite this, almost all of SEES was laughing out loud at the frozen expressions of shock and horror on everyone else's faces.

The first to recover, though she still looked a tiny bit green at the last topic, was Weiss. And the first thought that went through her mind was directed at the red-haired young woman who was laughing, though not as rambunctiously, at everyone's reactions. _'Well played, Mitsuru.'_

By bringing attention to the fact that everyone now knew Blake's secret, Weiss had tried to urge everyone else to speak their minds. She didn't do it out of spite. Well, perhaps not _completely_ out of spite, but she had done it to see what the others would say and do in response to Blake's confession.

Mitsuru, however, put a damper on that plan. By revealing such a shocking truth about the Kirijo Group – Weiss didn't doubt the veracity since using such a thing as a joke was in very poor taste – the red-haired former heiress had drawn all attention away from Blake. Prolonging it by explaining more only made it less likely that the others would voice their opinions regarding the former White Fang operative anytime soon.

Even if it was brought up later, Mitsuru's revelation would have overshadowed Blake's misdemeanors. It was like comparing the crimes of one thug to the crimes of the one who led thousands of such thugs. Mitsuru may not have done or participated in any of those things – or perhaps she just wasn't saying that she did – but the knowledge was enough. Blake's wrongdoings would seem smaller now in comparison to the knowledge that among them was the heiress to what had essentially been an organized crime group.

Although, now that the topic was brought up, Weiss had to wonder what else the Kirijo Group had taken part in. Mitsuru mentioned not being involved in street crimes or drug and human trafficking. But she mentioned corporate extortion as something they did, as well as… physical mutilation as a form of punishment. What did that mean for anything she _hadn't_ mentioned?

The crime rate of Atlas was incredibly low, almost non-existent, due to the presence of a powerful military, the leaders of which also doubled as the government leaders. As such, criminal groups such as gangs and mafias were topics she had only heard of in passing or seen in books, typically those referring to the less civilized parts of Mistral, and even Anima as a whole, rather than in real life. It still taught her enough to know there were many other things that the Kirijo Group could have been involved in.

' _The obvious question now,'_ she thought, observing how Mitsuru calmed everyone down by promising not bring up such grisly things again, _'Is what else the group was involved in. For that matter, how deeply involved was Mitsuru?'_

"Re~enny." At the playful tone accompanied by an exaggeratedly sweet voice, many eyes turned to Nora. Anyone paying attention would have noted the wariness in those eyes. "No~ow?"

Nobody but Ren understood what the ginger-haired girl was asking, but they knew it was something worth worrying about when the black-haired boy sighed. "Alright," he replied with a heavy sigh, full of resignation and regret. "But-" he tried to quickly cut in just as an excited squeal left Nora's mouth, but his partner and long-time friend was already moving before he could say anything.

And by moving, that meant pouncing.

At Blake.

Blake just barely had time to widen her eyes in surprise before the five foot something girl landed squarely on her and a hand found its way up to her feline ears.

* * *

The four teams left for Beacon shortly after Nora had her fill of petting Blake's ears, just barely managing to catch the airship. Had they missed it, they would have been late for Combat class. And if they were late for Combat class then they would have had to come up with some sort of explanation as to why they missed it. Given the professor in charge of the class, that was quite the daunting task.

On the way back, Mitsuru gently gave Nora, as well as everyone else, a crash course on faunus culture. Specifically, physical contact with regards to the physical animal trait.

Nora immediately apologized for her faux pas, not having realized that petting Blake like that could have been taken as her treating Blake as a pet. Similarly, Ren apologized for not moving fast enough to make sure that Nora asked for permission first. He hadn't been aware of the specifics, but he knew that many faunus were sensitive about having their ears or tail, or whatever animal trait they bore, touched without permission.

Blake graciously forgave the hyperactive girl, knowing she hadn't meant anything bad by it. But she did emphasize the fact that she shouldn't do it again without asking first. Even then, she should only ask a faunus she was very close friends with. Merely being acquaintances or a passing friend was not enough.

Blake forgave it because she knew Nora well enough. Other faunus were almost certain to take offense. Perhaps even reacting physically and violently. And possibly even if they weren't the ones being touched. Faunus-human relations were strained enough as it is that such an even wasn't entirely our of the question.

Surprisingly to Blake, many of her friends were immediately curious about faunus culture, which led to Mitsuru mentioning that she had been discussing the matter with Blake and had everything she had learned written down in a notebook. Even more surprising was the fact that Weiss was among those who had requested a copy of said notes, the first one to ask in fact. It was also worth noting that she was trying to avoid meeting Blake's eyes the entire airship ride back after she made that request.

The only other event of note was Mitsuru convincing Blake to hold off on not wearing her bow. At least, until tomorrow. Today had already been an exciting and stressful day without adding the predictable stares and questions of their classmates to the equation.

It made enough sense that Blake agreed with only a bit of hesitation. And so, she pulled out the ribbon from her pocket, staring at it as though seeing it for the first time, and tied it into that familiar bow that had adorned the top of her head since leaving the White Fang.

It felt decidedly strange after having gone without it for the past few days. Stranger than the first time she put it on, in fact. Perhaps that was a sign of some sort.

Upon their return to Beacon, everyone went straight to the Combat class's classroom/training room even though they had nearly half an hour to spare. Everyone, that is, save for one. Blake had one stop to make before attending her only class for the day. And, for more than one reason, it was one stop she was dreading.

"It's good to see that you're doing better, Ms. Belladonna." Blake nodded, a slight blush on her face at what she knew was coming. "When Ms. Kirijo told me you were ill, I certainly didn't think it was for _that_ reason. Which is why I'm quite disappointed that you didn't inform us that you _did_ have that condition in the first place."

 _'That's because I_ don't _have it,'_ thought Blake. Her 'illness', after all, was nothing more than a fabrication by Mitsuru to ensure that the feline faunus did not get into trouble with the staff for missing nearly a full week's worth of classes.

"Regardless," continued the blonde professor, her glare softening almost immediately, "I do understand that it can be quite a sensitive topic to discuss, given what is involved. And unless I'm mistaken, it's quite a rare condition among female faunus. In fact, in all my years at Beacon, I believe I've only ever met one other student who had it. Unfortunately for her, the medicine for that particular condition didn't exist at that time."

"I-it's a fairly recent development, Professor," she mentioned with just a hint of a stutter. A quick calming breath steadied the rapid beating of her heart and her shaky breathing. "Up until several years ago, all we had was medicine to dull the worst of the effects, but still not enough for us to function normally. Thankfully, it was already developed by the time I learned that I had it."

Blake was grateful that she didn't have to lie about that much. The newer medication for it really hadn't existed until fairly recently. Mitsuru had clearly done her research when she came up with this excuse.

Professor Goodwitch nodded in agreement."Thankfully, yes. Much like yourself these past few days, that student had to be confined to her room. It was more difficult for her since she had to repeat it a handful of days every few weeks. To make things worse, two of her teammates were male." Blake didn't even bother to hide her wince at the thought of that scenario. "Indeed."

"I've already made arrangements to have more delivered by next week. Enough to last at least another year," she fibbed. Given her background, lying wasn't exactly all that difficult. Provided, of course, that she wasn't the target of the Goodwitch Glare. Thankfully, for now, she wasn't. "I won't let it happen again."

' _And by that, I mean I won't go missing long enough for Mitsuru to have to use_ that _excuse again.'_

"See to it that you don't," the teacher replied sternly, though more as an agreement rather than an admonishment. "I'm aware that the medication for that particular condition isn't easy to procure. While it's unlikely that Ms. Kirijo forgot to pass on my message, let me just remind you that the school's infirmary does carry a small supply. I've already added your condition to your file. As such, you need only proceed to the infirmary should you run out at any time during your stay here. None of them should question you should you ask for it, nor should they let anyone not part of the staff know of your condition. If either one occurs, let me know and I will straighten things out."

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind just in case."

"Very well. Finally, with regards to my class, you'll be paired with either Ms. Kirijo or Ms. Takeba while the other will be paired with Ms. Xiao Long. And since you've missed the past few sessions, expect me to call on your team for two matches today to give you a chance to fight alongside both. I'll space the matches apart to give your Aura time to recover somewhat. Now, unless there's anything else, I'll see you in class shortly." Professor Goodwitch went back to the papers on her desk after a nod of acknowledgement from Blake.

As she walked away, Blake let out a quiet sigh of relief. She had been worried that Goodwitch would question her on her 'condition'. While she knew about it, Blake knew next to nothing about how it actually felt to have it. She knew it was uncomfortable and that her behavior would be affected, but she wouldn't have been able to properly describe it. Not like someone who actually had it.

Mitsuru's reputation worked in her favor this time. At least, she thought that that may have been the case. Blake got the distinct feeling that, had anyone else tried that excuse without someone like Mitsuru backing them, they would have been questioned – or would interrogated be a better word? – by the stern professor or even sent to the infirmary for a check-up. Either one would have led to the deception being discovered.

After all, Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training they may be, but they were still teenagers, even if in the latter years of it. It wouldn't be unexpected for someone to try and get out of class for a few days if they could.

Regardless, Blake had gotten away with it without any problems, save for a bit of embarrassment for having to pretend to have _that_. As long as she didn't give Professor Goodwitch a reason to think she had forgotten her non-existent medication again then Blake had nothing to worry about.

"Blake?" The black-haired teen froze just as she shut the door behind her, amber eyes meeting brown eyes as she came face-to-face with a familiar acquaintance. "I… I didn't mean to overhear but… did I…hear that right?" Blake sighed and slumped forward in defeat, anticipating what the rabbit-eared Velvet wanted to know. "You… have an estrous cycle?"

'... _Suddenly, working for Lucas doesn't sound too bad. Or even for Thantos. Or even just dying right here._ _'_

* * *

 **And here we are, the end of Blake's character arc. Fairly short at two chapters, but we've been building it up for a while now, alongside a decent portion of Weiss's character development, so I didn't wanna drag it out too long.** **I know the rescue wasn't too terribly exciting, but it was never meant to become some epic showdown or something similar.**

 **With this, we also see a bit more of the power scale between RWBY and SEES. If it wasn't apparent before, it should be now. SEES may be the superior Grimm killers, but against other people they are at a disadvantage, especially if the terrain or venue limits the use of Personas.**

 **There'll be one more character arc before we hit the first major story arc. I estimate 3 more chapters, plus maybe the second interlude, though I'm considering adding the scenes planned for the interlude to one of the next chapters instead. We'll see how it goes when I write it.**

 **Once that part is done, I'll probably take a quick break just to go over my plans for the first major arc to smoothen things out as well as to write a chapter or two for my other story.**

 **Interesting tidbit about something mentioned in this chapter.**

 **Ninkyō Dantai :** **Yes, this does mean 'chivalrous organization/group'. And yes, this really is what the Yakuza refer to themselves as. I know it's not canon, but I couldn't resist the idea of doing it when the idea came to me during the story planning.**

 **I mean, really. The Kirijo Group is supposedly a 'globally operating multinational trading company that is said to be involved with almost every aspect of daily life' and that 'finding someone that doesn't know the Kirijo Group is virtually impossible'. And if you've read up on the Yakuza, you'd know that they do own legitimate companies and businesses themselves - Companies and businesses that AREN'T just a front for something illegal - and, like Mitsuru mentioned above with the sōkaiya, are also shareholders of other companies.**

 **It was actually an interesting bit of research for me. While similar in many ways, Yakuza really are different from the Mafia. Obviously I don't mean to say that one is better to have exist than the other, just that there are enough differences that referring to the Mafia as western-Yakuza, or the Yakuza as eastern-Mafia, is inaccurate, or even outright wrong in some cases.**

 **As always, let me know what you think. Good, bad, like it, love it, dislike it, despise it… either way I wanna know about it.**

 **Until next time everyone. Don't forget to drop by my profile, check out the poll, and vote.**

* * *

 **OMAKE**

"I still say we should have waited for Akihiko-senpai and the others."

"The kidnappers told us to come alone and to be there in half an hour. We might be too late if we waited," argued Weiss, practically stomping her way to the address they were given. "Besides, who knows what those filthy animals have already done to Mitsuru?"

"Stop calling them that!" Blake half-yelled at the heiress, fingers practically twitching as she considered drawing Gambol Shroud. "None of us like what they did, but calling them names won't help. They might just kill Mitsuru if you call them that to their faces!"

"Getting called names is the last thing they need to worry about if they so much as hurt her," growled Yang, eyes already a bright, burning crimson.

Yukari sighed, giving up on getting her two teammates and Weiss to calm down. As her hand brushed over the top of Sharanga's sheathed form, the archer once again thanked whatever deity or spirit was out there for Beacon's rocket lockers.

After getting a call from the kidnappers, through the restaurant's phone of all things, the four of them departed for the location they were given after a three-to-one vote against waiting for the others. At the very least, Yukari was able to convince them to take a moment to call down their weapon lockers from Beacon at a nearby park.

In no time at all, they stood in front of a dilapidated old apartment building. And judging by the rest of the buildings on the block, it had long since been abandoned. Making their way in, or rather stomping their way in, the two more enraged Aura-users made a beeline for the stairs to make their way to the fourth floor, Yukari and Blake trying and failing to get them to slow down and be more cautious of traps or an ambush.

Thankfully, there had been none. But that just made the two more cautious members of the quartet even more nervous. No traps or ambushes meant whoever they were dealing with were confident in their chances. And considering they had a hostage who didn't have Aura, they could afford to be even if they didn't know about the no-Aura bit.

Yukari and Blake had to physically restrain Yang from literally kicking the door in once they found the right room. "If you scare them they might start shooting. Don't forget that Mitsuru doesn't have Aura," Blake whispered harshly into her teammate's ear, not wanting to risk being overheard, while Yukari did the same with Weiss. That reminder served to cool down the two hot-headed teens.

After taking a moment to cool off further, Yukari knocked on the door, waiting for a response. Yet, after almost a minute, there was still no response. The knocked again. And again. Curious at the lack of response, she tried to open the door but the doorknob only jiggled, indicating that it was locked from inside. Worried that they might have been tricked, Yang burst into the room, ramming down the door with her shoulder.

"WOAH THAT'S COLD!"

And then promptly jumped back out, hands rapidly rubbing her arms as a blast of cold air blew outwards from within. When all four peered into the room through the doorway, they found a large amount of snow billowing around the room like a miniature snowstorm. Four pairs of eyes widened. Three with hope, one with horror.

"Wait!" Yukari cried out as the three ran into the room. "Don't-" But it was too late. The three had crossed the threshold into the room. With a whispered curse and an expression of great reluctance, Yukari followed.

Once inside, Yukari saw the three staring, just as expected. Looking at their faces, she could also see the growing horror on their expressions. Just as expected. And when she followed their horrified gazes, the sight she was met with was _exactly_ as she expected.

"What… the hell…?"

"Oh... God…"

"Wh… What is this? M-mitsuru," the redhead looked up from her Scroll when her name was called, looking completely calm and collected as always. "W-what did you do?" Weiss asked

"What? You mean this?" She gestured around her and the three Aura-users nodded shakily, looking fearful of the redhead. "Well, I couldn't very well tolerate a kidnapping attempt so I decided to Execute them when they gave me the opportunity."

"You what?!" exclaimed Weiss, Yang, and Blake, eyes glancing around at what they knew were once living faunus.

"Oh don't worry, they're still alive." Rather than reassure them, her carefree tone terrified them even more.

Nothing she had ever seen in her time with the White Fang could have prepared her for the sight before her now. It was... no words could describe the inhumane sight before her. Unable to comprehend it, or perhaps unwilling to, Blake's mind shut down, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as her body went completely slack, falling to the ground, unconscious ever before she began her descent.

Weiss's mind broke at the thought of Mitsuru, the young woman she looked up to and almost idolized, doing something like... this. It was... She may dislike the faunus but they would be better off dead that allowing them to suffer through... _this_. She just stood there, staring in horrified disbelief with a pale face, far paler than her normal complexion, and a slack jaw, arms hanging limp by her sides.

"Yukari?"

"Yes, Yang?"

"I am _never_ making another pun again. Ever. For the rest of my life. Or my next hundred lives."

"Best decision you'll ever make."

* * *

 **Just a little something that came to mind.**

 **Anyway...**

 **REVIEW!**

 **Please...** **XD XD XD**


	19. Ch 17 - Tests and Travels

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

 **Warning 2:** **With the ongoing status of RWBY, it's to be expected that many of my ideas will, at some point, go against what is canon, such as when more of each character's respective pasts are revealed. I will do my best to incorporate what I can, but expect that many will be blended with my own ideas or perhaps even ignored completely if incorporating it will be detrimental to my existing story plans.**

* * *

 **I finally got this updated.**

 **I am really,** _ **REALLY,**_ **sorry this took so long.**

 **I was hoping to have this out sooner but I was hit by a bad case of writer's block. The first time since starting this story actually. I even tried writing the second chapter of Love and Madness but the results were the same. And by results, I mean no results at all. Or very poor ones not worth releasing at any rate.**

 **In addition (though more along the line of good news) I was finally granted the transfer I've been requesting for a while now so I've been moved to a different department a work. Good news, I'm where I want to be. Bad news is that less than half of the people I work with aren't ideal workmates, including the department head (one lives in the same building as the dept. head, one is the head's cousin, and the other is a close friend). As such, I can't even bring up my concerns since the head is pretty lax with the rules when it comes to those three. A clear cut case of favoritism but since the guy's also friends with people in HR it makes things more complicated.**

 **Adjusting to the new work environment and my less-than-ideal workmates (thankfully the other half are easy to get along with) gave me a lot more stress than I was expecting, so my writer's block became even worse.**

 **So, in the end, I took about a week off from writing, did some other projects, went through my fairly small backlog of books and such (including Worm and a few other web serials that were recommended to me) and spent some extra time with friends and family. Still not at peak writing condition, but it's good enough that I'm not sitting in front of a computer for half an hour or so without being able to come up with a single decent paragraph.**

 **For those who noticed, yeah, this chapter is a fair bit shorter than my regular chapters. It's also sort of fillerish, pretty much just to bridge the gap between the end of last chapter and the start of the next arc or two.**

 **Not my favorite thing to do but the sudden jump without anything in between would have been even worse. So yeah, this chapter isn't winning any awards for crowd favorite anytime soon. Or even author favorite. Still, just bear with me here and we'll get back into a bit more action come next chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17 – Tests and Travels**

 **December, XX13**

A full month had passed since the day of Blake's return and the revelation of her past. And since then, quite a lot of things happened and changed for the four teams of friends.

The day after her return was a Saturday, so she didn't have any classes to attend. She spent nearly the whole day in the library, catching up on lessons missed with Mitsuru. She did the same with Chidori and Aigis for her Field Medicine class, and Ren for her Stealth and Recon class.

The day after was, as usual, spent watching SEES's Persona testing with the Beacon staff. Since most of their abilities had been tested, they simply repeated previous tests with the offensive abilities to see whether the damage done to Aura was consistent. They also tested whether similar attacks dealt the same amount of damage, specifically Ken and Akihiko's lightning-type attacks and Chidori and Junpei's fire-type attacks.

They also proposed to test whether the damage was consistent when faced with a different opponent. It was a set of tests that would take much longer because of how many of them there were as well as the need to allow the teachers to recover their Aura. As such, it was scheduled for several sessions and would even continue into the new year.

The Sunday afternoon was spent relaxing at Beacon. After her hectic week, Blake really just wanted to laze around reading her books the whole day. And so she did, much to Yang's consternation as the blonde wanted to go to Vale for a celebratory lunch or dinner.

The following Monday would be the first day of Blake's return to her classes, minus the past Friday's Combat class. True to her word, she started attending some of her classes without her bow.

At first, few people took notice of it. They had gotten used to seeing the bow on her head that nobody gave that part of her a second glance anymore. And while the bow was larger in size, the shape of her cat ears vaguely resembled the bow so, at a passing glance, she didn't look that much different from how she normally looked.

Soon enough, however, a few people began to notice something was off. Sometimes it was the people she spoke with, such as the group she worked with in Field Medicine. Other times it was someone sitting behind her in class. By the end of that first day, Blake's sensitive ears picking up at least two first-year teams talking about her ears, one of them wondering whether they were real.

It was only the next day, during Professor Oobleck's class, that everyone else took notice and learned the truth. After welcoming her back to the class and asking after her health, he made casual mention that he felt she looked much better without her bow. _That,_ of course, caught everyone's attention. She huddled down in embarrassment, especially when a few crass remarks from teams CRDL and KLAD – which were fortunately, for them, spoken too softly for Blake's friends to hear – reached her ears.

News spread, of course, and by the end of the week the entire school knew that Blake Belladonna had been hiding her faunus heritage.

The stares and veiled glances over the rest of the week were expected, as were the quiet whispers, but expecting them didn't make them any more comfortable. Even the other faunus students did the same since most of them were never close enough to Blake to identify her as a faunus, with only a few being able to tell from afar due to a superior sense of smell. The only consolation was that a few of the older faunus gave her looks of approval, sometimes even approaching her to tell her directly.

There _were_ a few faunus, however, who openly sneered and scoffed. They derided her initial decision to hide her heritage, seeing it as cowardice or a lack of pride in her heritage. One third year, a female faunus with a scaled tail, even openly mocked her after intentionally bumping into her in the hallway one day, nearly causing the feline faunus to fall on her face.

She, however, promptly found out the hard way that none of Blake's teammates took kindly to such poor treatment of their friend. And while Blake would rather they not jump into the line of fire like that, a part of her felt warm at the fact that their knowledge of her past did not really change anything asides from knowing more about her.

The stares and whispers faded as the days passed, and Blake was surprised that, asides from the first few days, she had not been tempted to wear her ribbon even once. Whether it was because putting it back on would attract more attention or because she had her friends supporting her, she didn't care. All that mattered was that she was openly, even if not necessarily proudly, displaying her heritage for all to see.

And while she and Weiss haven't really had a proper conversation since her return to Beacon, neither did they argue about anything. At the moment, however, that was enough. She knew better than to push too hard. Since it was Weiss's trust she was trying to earn, she would need to leave it to the heiress to set the pace. Token gestures and empty words would not earn the heiress's trust any faster.

Time passed normally after those few exciting days. It was almost as though nothing had changed. But all of them knew that, below the surface, things were vastly different in many ways.

SEES still held their late-night Wednesday and Saturday meetings. The only difference was that, now, they were joined by their friends more often than not. That, and everyone began wearing warmer clothing as the weather grew colder. Snow wasn't often a major factor though it usually fell for about two months, give or take a week or two. Even so, the temperature was fairly mild when compared to the chilly climate of the continent of Solitas.

They would pass the time discussing various things ranging from the ordinary such as classes and weekend plans, to the personal such as family for those who were willing to share, and even to slightly serious matters such as ambitions and future goals.

By now, the only one among SEES whose past was unknown was Chidori. All she shared was that she had been an orphan for as long as she could remember and that she was the newest member of SEES, though she had known them, mostly Junpei, for several months before she joined. Pyrrha didn't miss the meaningful look that her fellow redhead and teammate sent her when that topic came up, nor did she find it difficult to understand the unspoken message.

SEES hadn't yet explained why they always stayed up until just past midnight before going to bed on those night. The only exception so far had been the second day of December. It was Weiss who had noticed that they had done it once before as well as the similarities, that being the presence of the full moon.

Mitsuru had given a revised explanation of Japan's moon-viewing festival, and that this was their way of preserving some things from their homeland. It was hard to tell if Weiss believed the partial lie, but she had left the matter alone after that. Thankfully, neither Yang nor Blake seem to have remembered that Yukari once explained that the moon-viewing festival took place during the fall season and not every month.

Many of them felt guilty for hiding the truth. That they were almost literally incapable of going to sleep before a certain time because of their past. They could force themselves to sleep, but it would be a restless night for them, repeatedly tossing and turning, drifting off to sleep but waking up shortly after for no apparent reason. Such was the lingering effect of their experiences in the Dark Hour.

They felt even guiltier since Jaune and Blake had previously laid open their pasts for everyone to know, but they also knew that there was almost no point in telling them. Even if their friends believed them, the Dark Hour no longer existed and, thus, its existence could not be proven. Or rather, the Dark Hour now existed in a different form, one that could not be distinguished from the time that had once been considered normal. And without any leads to follow, they had no way of knowing if it was even possible to reverse what had happened to the world.

Guilt-ridden or not, they all knew that there was only one real choice. The knowledge of the Dark Hour would die with them, one way or another. There was no need and no point in dragging their new friends into that part of their lives. Not when nothing could be done about it either way.

Friday morning training sessions proceeded much the same, though now they went as far as training in full teams of four instead of just fighting one-on-one or two-on-two matches. But much like previous training sessions, they didn't always stick with their teammates. Taking their Combat class's current setup one step further, one team would trade members with another team and then fight it out. Sometimes they only changed one member, sometimes two.

Their most recent training session had Mitsuru putting all their names into Junpei's cap, much to everyone else's amusement. The first four names to be picked would then be the team leaders for the next set of matches, with the three names each of them picked being their team members. No one would deny that it made for an interesting training match when they found themselves working with completely random teams. At one point it had even become an Aura versus Persona match as one team had four Aura-users while the opposing team were all Persona-users.

On a similar note, Coco once again began hounding Yukari for a joint training session about a week after Blake's return to Beacon. The archer had apologized profusely, admitting that she had forgotten once again, but did not mention the kidnapping and rescue of Mitsuru as the reason for such.

The four teams involved had agreed that it would be best to keep that event to themselves. It would only bring needless attention to them, not to mention they were sure to get in trouble with the school staff for what they did if the event reached their ears.

Coco laughed it off, though she did start teasing Yukari for her forgetfulness, having forgotten about it twice now. This time, however, she made sure to bring up her request to all four teams by approaching them during lunch that day. Several people were intrigued, and more than a few were excited, but their excitement was dampened by the reminder from Yukari that the only time they were _all_ available was from noon to three in the afternoon on Fridays, and on Sundays.

Friday afternoons, before their Combat class, was an extended lunch break after their group training session. Even if they skipped the morning training session and Team CFVY ate a very quick and light lunch, they wouldn't be able to train very long or very hard since the first years, SEES especially, would need time to recover before they went to Combat class.

Sundays were an instant no-no for them. Asides from the Persona testing, which was more of a necessity – and one that they kept hidden from the second-year team – almost nobody wanted to spend their Sundays on more training. Even if it was just a single Sunday.

Surprisingly, Akihiko, the one whom Junpei often proclaimed as an exercise junkie, added that training and exercising every single day was not a good idea as both the body and the mind needed to unwind. The body needed to recover and grow from the damage caused by training and exercising, while the mind needed time to process what they've learned. Neither one benefited from constant use.

The final nail in the proverbial coffin was Mitsuru's reminder that the first major examinations were in a month. Even though only the final examination every year truly mattered, or perhaps it was because of it, she did not want anyone, specifically the members of SEES, becoming too complacent with their studies.

Their self-managed crash course prior to attending Beacon was only barely enough for a rudimentary understanding of Remnant. In addition to catching up on lessons they were expected to know upon entry, they had to continue learning from the current curriculum. While none of them were performing poorly in class, she still did not want them becoming too self-assured just because they weren't failing.

With those reasons, Coco found her request gently refused. She had tried to push just a little bit, but she clearly knew that she wouldn't be getting her way anytime soon and gave up shortly after. Especially not when she saw half the members of SEES shiver when Mitsuru mentioned there being a punishment of sorts should any of the Japanese teenagers fail.

Yukari still met with Coco and Velvet fairly often, usually just to hang out for one reason or another. Yang, Fox, and Yatsuhashi would occasionally join them, but neither Blake nor Mitsuru did. Not for the lack of an invitation – Yukari, Yang, and Coco often tried to invite the two girls – but simply because one much preferred the company of silence and a book, while the other often claimed to have something else that needed to be done.

At one point, they thought to bring their meeting to the dorms. If Mitsuru and Blake wouldn't join them, then they would just take things to them. At least, that was Yang and Coco's reasoning. Unfortunately for Blake, that led to a lot of teasing at her expense.

* * *

 _ **November 27, XX13**_

" _I'm sorry Blake," came Velvet's soft, apologetic tone._

 _Blake could do nothing but groan, sigh, and fall backwards on top of her bed in Team KYBT's dorm room. "It's not your fault."_

 _Well, technically it_ was _since the brown-haired faunus had been the one to bring up the issue that she overheard the day of Blake's return. Blake's first instinct at that time had been to tell her fellow faunus the truth, especially since Velvet knew the real reason for Blake's absence. But logic overrode impulse and she remembered that she was still outside Professor Goodwitch's office. It didn't help that several people turned the corner just then and came their way._

 _So she lied, again, and told Velvet that, yes, she_ did _have an estrous cycle. Knowing that it was a sensitive and personal matter, Velvet didn't say anything else about it. At least, not out in the hallway where their fellow students could overhear._

 _Unfortunately, that meant that Velvet's curiosity went unsated. And so, one day, Yukari, Yang, Coco, and Velvet entered Team KYBT's room, where Blake was relaxing with a book in hand after lunch. Upon seeing her fellow faunus, Velvet greeted Blake and immediately asked, "Did the medicine for your estrous cycle arrive?" not knowing that neither Yukari nor Yang were aware of it and seeing little need to hide it from Coco._

 _Needless to say, Blake had to explain to all four of them that her having an estrous cycle, a rare but not unheard of condition that faunus can be born with, was nothing more than a fabrication Mitsuru came up with to cover-up the real reason for Blake's disappearance from school. After briefly explaining that an estrous cycle for faunus was more or less the same as what their animal counterparts go through, the trio of girls burst out laughing almost immediately._

" _Come on, how long are you going to keep laughing? It's not even that funny!"_

 _Blake's complaints and protests only seemed to fuel the laughter of three of the four girls in the dorm room, asides from the feline faunus herself. Velvet just continued to look apologetic, but did little to try and stop the laughter. Yang's boisterous laughter wouldn't look out of place on someone clutching their bellies while rolling around on the floor. Coco and Yukari were only a bit less rambunctious with their laughter, but that didn't mean they were restraining themselves at all._

 _Were her supposed condition not the reason for their laughter, Blake might have noticed that this was the first time she had ever seen Yukari laugh so loudly and so openly, so freely, amongst people outside of SEES._

 _Yang shouted her response amidst her uncontrolled laughter. "It… it totally is!"_

 _Coco and Yukari were similarly unable to form a complete sentence without their laughter interrupting them multiple times._

" _That's… the funniest thing I've… I've ever heard!"_

" _Oh God, I… I can't… I can't breathe!"_

 _Blake groaned out loud, just barely managing to hold back her annoyance from exploding. "It's not even real! I don't_ have _an estrous cycle!"_

 _Hearing those words, the same two words that started it all, the laughter, which the three had been struggling to control, was renewed and grew even louder than the first time. Yukari eventually settled down, apologizing profusely for laughing at Blake's expense, but Yang continued to laugh and her cat-themed jokes spurred on Coco._

* * *

It was a good long while before they calmed down, long enough that Mitsuru returned to the dorm room from lunch to find the two teenage girls gasping for breath but unable to stop laughing. The redhead, after learning of the situation, apologized once more to Blake for having to resort to that. She even took it a step further by… persuading them, mostly Yang and Coco, to not say a word of it.

Needless to say that, after facing down the same quiet intimidation that stared down Cardin Winchester while threatening him with an Execution, neither Yang nor Coco would ever consider spreading the news of Blake's estrous cycle, untrue though it may be.

Velvet would later inform Yukari that, while in the privacy of Team CFVY's dorm room, Coco admitted that facing Mitsuru at that moment had been one of the most nerve-wracking things she had ever experienced. Yukari definitely enjoyed holding that little detail over Coco's head in the following days.

Another change was the study sessions that Mitsuru decided to hold on Friday afternoons, during the periods between lunch and Combat class. Seeing as she had no authority over the other teams, it was only mandatory for her own team, much to Yang's utter dismay.

Astonishingly enough, during lunch one day before the second session came around, Junpei asked if he could join the study sessions. Ken spoke up as well at that moment, wanting to join as well. Ken's decision was understandable and Akihiko openly admitted that, while his grades weren't anything to scoff at, he wasn't very good at teaching things not related to combat.

When asked why he wanted to join, given his past reputation as a slacker when it came to his academics, Junpei's response was quite simple. "Minato gave us a second chance. Like hell I'm paying him back by slacking off again."

Encouraged by his resolve, a gleam appeared in the eyes of the other members of SEES. At that moment, all their teammates knew exactly what it meant. And predictably, Team KYBT's weekly study session became SEES's weekly study session. Plus Blake and Yang, of course, since Mitsuru made it mandatory for her team.

By the fourth session, which was just last week, almost every member of all four teams were attending the study sessions, each one joining for various reasons.

Jaune was originally content having Pyrrha tutor him. But Pyrrha, herself, said that it would be better to join since there were many advantages to group learning. Provided, of course, that the group as a whole was not led astray by needless conversation, which Mitsuru was sure to prevent.

Ren, like Pyrrha, felt it would be much more efficient to study as a group and joined. Of course, this meant that Nora came with him. It had only taken one too innocent smile from Mitsuru before the orange-haired girl gave up trying to play around while everyone else was studying. And so, unable to stay in the vicinity while remaining still, she was left with the choice joining the study session or go without Ren for about two hours. There was more than just a bit of grumbling and pouting as she sat down and opened her notebook and books.

Ruby's entry into the group, however, was not without issue. Nor was it without consequence.

* * *

 _ **December 1, XX13**_

" _How could you possibly be failing this badly?!"_

 _Several sheets of paper were slammed down on the table next to her while Ruby flinched at the beginning of Weiss's tirade, which the heiress seemed to have been holding in since they left Giollah's Social Studies class. Ruby could attest to that, rubbing her wrist right where Weiss had grabbed her, all but literally dragging the younger girl back to the dorm. Speaking of which…_

" _DAMN IT ICE QUEEN! OPEN THIS DOOR!"_

 _Weiss must have been really furious as she didn't so much as blink at the equally furious yell accompanied by a heavy banging that, surprisingly, didn't wreck the door. Then again, the reaction was to be expected. If there was one thing Yang could be counted on to do, it was to race to Ruby's defense._

 _Although Weiss had waited until they were out of the blonde's line of sight before taking Ruby by the wrist, she knew that Yang would eventually hear that someone saw her pulling a protesting Ruby to the dorms. It was only Weiss's poor fortune that determined that it would happen sooner rather than later. Ruby could only imagine some poor sap being shaken down for information by a raging blonde._

" _Three months! You've been here three months already! I could understand if you failed a few tests at the beginning since you skipped two years, but how is it that you're_ still _performing this badly?" Her hand once again slammed down on the table, right on top of the graded essays and tests that Professor Giollah had returned to them less than an hour ago._

 _Ruby huddled down into her cloak as her attention was drawn to the crimson numbers on the corner of each page._

 _Thirty-two._

 _Eighty-seven._

 _Fifty-six. Forty-two Twenty-six. Twenty-one. Forty-six. Seventy-six. Sixty-two. Twelve._

 _Every piece of homework she turned in and every test that was administered always came to a total of one-hundred points. And all of them always required an essay in some form since, as many of their professors put it, understanding the facts was much more beneficial in the long-run than simple rote memorization._

 _Out of ten that Ruby had turned in for their Social Studies class, only three were above the passing mark of sixty percent. One of the three was just barely above the mark. And those three were essays she had written with help. In fact, Weiss distinctly remembered helping Ruby with one of them near the start of the school year. The remaining seven, all of which were below the passing grade, were tests given to them in class where Ruby was unable to request help from her teammates._

 _Perhaps it was because Professor Giollah returned hers first that Weiss was looking in her direction, coincidentally spotting the large number twelve on the corner of the page of the test they had taken just last week. Before Ruby could hide them in her bag, Weiss snatched them out of the younger girl's hand, ignoring the curious and slightly surprised stare their professor briefly gave them before he set down Weiss's own tests and moved on. Ruby could only watch, growing more apprehensive with every moment, as Weiss read through all of Ruby's tests in record time._

 _When she was done, all she did was glare at Ruby for a good long while before stuffing the papers into her bag along with her own tests, not even bothering, or needing, to check the results of her own work. Right before the class ended, Weiss grabbed Ruby by the arm and leaned in. "If you run, I will make this so much worse."_

 _Those words had been enough to change Ruby's mind since she_ had _been contemplating running the moment the class let out. It had also been enough to make her follow the heiress out the door without a word, moving away from and out of sight of her (over)protective sister before Weiss took her by the wrist and proceeded to the dorm._

 _And now here they were, the heiress glowering at her partner while said partner's sister was banging on the door shouting profanities and demanding that they open the door._

" _Do you even care about staying at Beacon?" asked Weiss, her tone slightly less harsh but no less demanding. "Do you even care that the first major examinations are just three weeks from today?"_

" _OPEN THIS DOOR DUST DAMN IT!"_

" _B-but i-it's only the final exams that matter, r-right?" Ruby stuttered out timidly, and more than just a little fearful of the red-faced, blue-eyed heiress. "I-I can just-"_

" _Just what?!" Ruby flinched once more, shoulders rising up and burying her face further into her cloak. "Wait until the final exams before taking your studies seriously?" When Weiss put it that way, Ruby couldn't help but think that her plan_ really _didn't sound as good as she thought. "The major examination compiles everything we've learned up until that point to see how well we remember and understand them. The second and third major exams will be the same. We won't be tested on the same topics again_ at all _until the final exams. If you fail every major exam and leave your studies until the finals then you'll have to study an entire year's worth all over again in the span of several weeks. Are you honestly telling me you can do that?"_

" _WEISS!"_

 _The disheartened look on Ruby's face was enough of an answer. "You've been going over your homework with Fuuka and Aigis so I didn't ask about it. When I_ did _ask about how you were doing in class you told me you can handle it. Against my better judgement, I decided to trust you. I told myself that since you skipped ahead two years that you must be capable." At that reminder, Ruby's mood sunk even lower. "That, and you have Fuuka and Aigis to help you study. But is this really what you call 'handling it'?_

" _Do you realize what will happen if yo-"_

 _They were interrupted by the door slamming open followed by a brown and blonde streak rushing into the room as Yang quickly closed the distance between her and Weiss, one hand outstretched and ready to grab the heiress. Just before she could reach her target, however…_

" _YANG!"_

 _It was neither Weiss nor Ruby whose voice called to the blonde, stopping the hand that was just inches away from the heiress's shoulder._

 _Another person walked in through the still open door, a person who possessed flowing red hair, a powerful presence that dwarfed even the raging blonde's, and accusation in her wine-red eyes. "Did you or did you not promise to only speak with her? That was why I asked Aigis to let you into the room, correct?" The aforementioned blonde android, as well as her teal-haired partner, entered the room at that moment, both looking very uneasy with the situation they had walked in on._

 _Yang didn't even bother arguing. She knew there was no way she could win an argument against Mitsuru, of all people. She merely clicked her tongue and brought her hand back to her side, fists clenched shut as tightly as her jaw._

 _Mitsuru carefully watched Yang for any sign that she would continue, turning away only when it was clear that the blonde would not attack Weiss. Not unless Weiss acted foolishly at least. In which case, Mitsuru would be unable to stop her teammate in time regardless of the difference in strength. "Would you care to explain what happened to cause you to physically pull Ruby to the dorm room?" she asked as diplomatically as she could. "I'm aware that I have no authority over your team, but I believe it would be best if we heard the full story."_

 _Taking the initiative, Weiss relayed her side of the tale, pointing to the papers on the table next to her to showcase the reason why she was upset with her teammate. She made sure to emphasize the fact that the three essays that passed were those that had been assigned as homework, homework which Ruby accomplished with aid from Fuuka and Aigis._

" _I see. Is this true, Ruby?" Whether it was because she was afraid of what would happen if she contradicted Weiss with a lie, or because she was speaking with Mitsuru, Ruby could only nod, her throat too tight to meaningfully convey her words. "Well, Yang?"_

" _Well what?" Yang shot back, though Mitsuru seemed unfazed by her teammate's anger. "I get it, Ruby's not doing well in class but that doesn't mean that Weiss can just drag Ruby around like she did or yell at her."_

" _I admit, I let my temper get the better of me. No matter how upset I might have been, I was wrong to do that." Weiss's words were as close as they would get to an apology, though her tone remained proud and haughty. "However, that doesn't change facts. This," she gestured to Ruby's tests, "is just for Social Studies. I know for a fact she is doing well in Grimm Studies but I doubt she is doing as well in Geography and History."_

" _Hey! I'm not that bad! Besides, what do we need Geography and History for? We're Huntresses!"_

 _Weiss spun around to face her partner at the younger girl's indignant response, directing a challenging glare at the younger girl. "If you were lost in the Kingdom of Vale and found a tree bearing pale blue flowers, where are you, and where is the nearest known city, town, village, or settlement?"_

" _Uh… wha-"_

" _As a future_ Huntress, _" Weiss took the time to deepen her glare at that last word, "Name three famous Huntsmen or Huntresses who died at least thirty years ago, what they are known for, what they've contributed to our society, how or why they died, and what we can still learn from their example even from so long ago."_

" _Thirty? But that's too long ag-"_

 _Ignoring Ruby's squeaky complaint, Weiss continued to quiz the black-red-haired girl. "You're on your way to the town of Engelus and you see smoke coming from the town. As you get closer, you see that more than half the town has been engulfed in fire, massive enough that putting it out would be almost impossible at that point. What is the first thing you do and why?"_

" _Wha… what does this have to do with anything?"_

" _The fact that you have to ask is exactly the problem," Weiss declared with a glower. "Do you honestly think all you need to know to be a Huntress is how to fight and how to kill Grimm?"_

" _Well, what else does a Huntress do?"_

 _A flat glare was the response Ruby received, along with an equally flat-toned answer. "… You_ really _don't want to know how I feel about you right now."_

 _Unfortunately, that was enough to set of Yang once again. "Seriously, what is your problem? It's not like Ruby's grades are any of your business. Why can't you just leave it alone?"_

"My _problem is that your sister isn't taking her studies seriously." The glare was now directed at the blonde elder sister. "And if I could leave this alone I would. Unfortunately, I can't. For better or worse, Ruby is my partner and teammate for the next four years. I refuse to be held back just because of her indolent attitude with regards to her studies."_

" _Why does it even matter to you?" questioned Yang. "It's not like_ you're _the one failing."_

 _Rather than a verbal response, Weiss's glare turned into an inscrutable expression. "Are you… You_ really _don't know what I'm talking about?" She stared at Yang long enough that the blonde was actually beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with the strange expression, one that seemed to be something between disbelief, confusion, and even understanding. Then Weiss's palm met her face as she shook her head in exasperation. "Dust help me."_

" _What now?!"_

 _Ice blue and lilac met with glares, both conveying its owner's annoyance with the other. And then Weiss turned away. "Forget it. I'm not even going to bother anymore." The words were unexpected enough that Weiss was able to walk past Yang without any resistance. When the blonde did call to her, Weiss was already at the door. The heiress paused just long enough to say a few parting words. "I don't care how you do it, Xiao Long, but Ruby had better start taking her studies seriously. If not, then I'll be the least of her worries."_

" _You're threatening her?" Mitsuru tensed, at Yang's words, hoping they wouldn't have to resort to physically restraining the powerful brawler._

 _The heiress huffed, glancing at the blonde out of the corner of her eyes. "Take it however you want." Then she fully turned her gaze back to Ruby, who flinched back as though Weiss had hit her from afar. "For the record, Ruby, Engelus is the largest Dust mining town within the Kingdom of Vale. If a fire were to break out there, of all places, the first thing you would need to do is to determine how close the fire is to the Dust warehouses, both the ones under and above ground. Depending on how close it is, then, as cruel and heartless as it may sound, it may be best to gather as many people as you can and run away before the Dust is ignited, taking the entire town, and much of the surrounding area, with it."_

 _Then, without another word, she turned and left the room._

" _You okay sis? She didn't hurt you or anything, did she?"_

" _I'm fine. She was just doing a lot of yelling," Ruby replied even as Yang swept her up in a one-armed embrace. "I just don't get it. I mean, it's just a test, right? As long as I pass the final exams it should be fine, right?"_

" _You really don't know?"_

 _At Mitsuru's question, both siblings turned their attention to her. "Know what?" asked Ruby, though anyone could see that the same question was in Yang's eyes. "What was Weiss talking about?"_

 _The redhead took a quick, deep breath, and gently sighed. "Ruby, Weiss is worried for your performance because it affects the whole team." Before either girl could speak, Mitsuru cut in. "It's not as simple as you're thinking. Tell me, have either of you ever heard of anyone graduating Beacon without a full team?"_

 _The two girls shared a look, the younger sibling shrugging and shaking her head, then turned back to Mitsuru. "Ruby." A sense of foreboding overtook Ruby and Yang at the serious look on the redhead's face. "You're right that only the final test of each year really matters. But if you fail that test, it's not just you who will be affected even though you will be the only one who will be forced to leave."_

" _Huh?" Were it a less serious conversation, the confused look on Ruby's face combined with the way she tilted her head to the side might have been called cute. "I don't get it."_

" _If you fail," that one word struck deep into Ruby even as wine red eyes bored into her silver ones. "Then the rest of your team will be forced to attend the next year as first-years, together with whoever their new teammate will be. In short, because no team must ever be without a full roster of four, any team that lacks a member for whatever reason will be held back a year."_

 _The revelation of that fact delivered a heavy blow to Ruby and Yang. Enough that both failed to notice the door opening and quietly clicking shut as the leader of Team ASYR departed from the room._

* * *

Ruby joined the group study sessions immediately after, not wanting to take even the slightest risk of being the one to drag down the entire team.

However, Weiss, as a result of the event, maintained her distance whenever possible. Ruby tried to apologize, approaching the heiress the next time they met, but Weiss rebuffed her before Ruby could finish, saying that she would only accept an apology _after_ the exams.

When Ruby asked for Fuuka's opinion about why Weiss wouldn't accept the apology, the Japanese girl shook her head sadly and said, "I can't say I know for certain. Even if I was right, but it wouldn't be fair to Weiss if I told you. If you apologize, it has to be because you understand what you did wrong and that you're admitting you were wrong."

Yang, on the other hand, nearly went on a rampage, loudly complaining one day about how Weiss was being an irresponsible partner. Weiss promptly shut her up when she overheard this. "You wanted me to leave it alone, so I will."

Predictably, Yang was unable to swallow her pride and take back her words, her protectiveness over Ruby winning against wanting the Schnee heiress to do her duty as Ruby's partner, causing her already poor relationship with the heiress to sour even further. The only consolation for the group as a whole was that neither one chose to escalate things.

Then again, perhaps that had to do more with the fact that Weiss was only ever around in the dorm room and in class. She was still present during mealtimes but was always the last to arrive, allowing her to carefully consider where to sit so as to minimize the need to converse. It was only the knowledge that eating separately would cause rumors to spread that she did not do so.

Afterwards, the only event of note had been Jaune's reaction to learning what the absence of a team member meant for the team as a whole. His face had turned pale when he asked Junpei if he had known that when he made the decision to help Jaune convince his family to let him stay. Surprisingly, and yet not, Junpei replied in the affirmative. Still pale and his voice shaky, he then asked what they would have done if his family pulled him out of Beacon.

Junpei just smiled, shrugged, and said, "Kidnap you?" That earned a laugh out of several people and led to Nora trying to come up with various scenarios by which they could have kidnapped Jaune from under his family's nose.

But despite all that's happened, time marched on. Heedless of the concerns and troubles of the world.

* * *

 **December 16, XX13**

"So what're you guys doing for the end-of-year break?"

Yang posed the question to the group during the usual Wednesday night gathering. As was the norm for a Wednesday, Yukari was absent as her Marksmanship and Ranged Combat class was right after dinner. She, however, would arrive soon, unlike Ren and Blake who were on their way to their Stealth and Recon class. Asides from those three, there was one other absentee of note.

Weiss.

It was an issue nobody brought up. Not since the day after she began secluding herself from the group. There was simply no point. The only way things would change was if Yang or Weiss, or possibly even Ruby, brought up the matter. Even then, depending on how it went, things may just become worse.

"It's a two-week break, right?" asked Fuuka, to which Yang nodded. "I haven't really thought about." She cast a discreet glance at Mitsuru.

Catching the look, as well as the ones from Ken and Junpei, Mitsuru joined the conversation. Starting with a chuckle. "You're all free to make plans of you own. If I had plans for us all I would have mentioned it by now."

"Do _you_ have plans?" asked Yang. "I was kinda thinking I'd take our team over to Patch and show you around. Since we're all girls I'm sure dad wouldn't mind having a sleepover in my room for a night or two. Though I won't exactly complain if you wanna spent the whole break period there."

"That's the island off the west coast of Vale, correct?" Almost everyone knew that there was no need for Mitsuru to ask as it was unlikely she would remember wrong. "Asides from a quick trip I had planned with Akihiko and Aigis, I don't have anything particularly important planned for that time. We can schedule a date for it later when Yukari and Blake are here."

"Where are you going senpai?" asked Ken, intrigued by that little detail that Mitsuru mentioned. Several others turned as well since this was the first they were hearing about it. "Since it's just the three of you I'm guessing it's not a vacation."

"We'll be headed to Mistral for some business, actually," answered Akihiko, causing Pyrrha to perk up at the mention of her home. "Well, one of the cities in the kingdom, at least."

"I take it your business has to do with Adamas then?" asked Pyrrha. "Mitsuru is a shareholder in the company, if I remember right."

It was Mitsuru who answered with a nod and a small smile. "That's right. I've spoken with Director Claire twice since the first time we spoke, and I've made arrangements to meet with her to discuss some things. Akihiko is joining me since I need help with some things. As for Aigis, well… I wanted to see if they might be a viable alternative to the Kirijo scientists who once performed the necessary maintenance."

"Although Fuuka's independent studies have been progressing, there still only so much she and Aigis can do." Given the current situation, Mitsuru felt it wise not to mention Weiss's decision to help. "We still intend for Fuuka to be Aigis's primary mechanic, but it wouldn't hurt to see if we have other alternatives especially while Fuuka is still learning."

"Should I come along?" Fuuka asked.

"Only if you want to," replied Mitsuru. "I'll have to see for myself first if they are capable and if we can trust them. If they prove to be, which is quite likely, Aigis should be able to provide everything they need to know. Asides from that, there's a few things I need to speak with the Director about. We'll be leaving on the twenty-sixth, the day after the exams. We should only take about three days, including travel time, provided nothing unexpected comes up."

"Would you like a guide?" offered Pyrrha. "I'm scheduled to meet with my sponsors during the break. It wouldn't be difficult to re-schedule my meeting to coincide with your own meeting with them."

"If you're sure then I certainly won't turn down your offer," Mitsuru replied with a smile.

As the two of them continued to discuss the details of the trip, Jaune turned to his own teammates. "Hey, Junpei? Chidori?"

"Wassup?" Junpei turned to him with a grin. "Got somethin' planned?" Chidori just turned to Jaune without any verbal acknowledgement.

"Yeah, but it's not actually my idea," the blonde replied with a nod. "Sooo… My family wants to get to know you guys better. Said if you wanted to, you could spend a couple of days with us. Or even the whole two weeks."

Junpei's eyes opened wide, and his near-breathy tone gave voice to his surprise. "Dude, you serious?"

Jaune nodded again. "Yeah. It's pretty much an open invitation just in case you already had plans and my parents said you can visit any time. Just let us know so someone can meet you when the airship lands at Domremy. I was gonna ask Pyrrha too but it sounds like she's got plans already."

"Well, why don't we ask her?" Junpei proceeded to call Pyrrha's attention, the latter excusing herself from her conversation with Mitsuru. When she arrived, the cap-wearing teen wasted no time getting to the matter at hand. "Wanna go visit Jaune's family?"

Needless to say, Chidori and Jaune had to fill in the many blanks that Junpei left unfilled. Intentionally, it would seem, given the way he laughed at Pyrrha's flummoxed expression.

At the end of the explanation, Pyrrha adopted a thoughtful look. After a minute or so, she gave them a nod and a small smile. "I believe I can finish all my obligations by then as well as spend some time with my family. But it would have to be the last two or three days of our break since I'll be accompanying Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Aigis when they leave for Weilai."

"That's cool," replied Junpei. "If nothin' comes up we might just check out Jaune's town the whole two weeks if his folks don't mind. Either way, we'll be there."

When Yukari and, much later, Blake and Ren returned from their respective classes, more concrete plans were made for the two week break following their exams.

Three members of Team JACN questioned the fourth about his hometown of Domremy. They learned that it was just barely within the borders of the Kingdom of Vale, far to the southwest. It was a fairly large farming town with not much else of note asides from the small combat academy in addition to the regular school.

With all their members present, Team KYBT went about making plans for visiting Yang, and Ruby by extension, at their home on the island of Patch. Well, if Yang managed to convince Blake first, of course. The black-haired faunus, cat ears almost invisible against the dark backdrop of the night sky, was reluctant to spend two weeks in someone else's home. And even though her heritage had been revealed for nearly a month, there were still times when she had to restrain herself from hiding her ears once more, reminding herself that this was a necessary step in her long-term goals.

Team ANKR's discussion centered mostly on what Ken would be doing. Akihiko was going with Mitsuru for a few days while Ren and Nora would remain at Beacon. With the possibility of everyone else spending the full two weeks with their respective teams, Ken was left with the decision of where to spend those few days. With Akihiko, Mitsuru, and Aigis in Weilai, or at Beacon with Ren and Nora. Or possibly with one of the other teams.

With all the excitement, however, nobody noticed that a certain blonde had slipped away, unnoticed even by her partner and her teammate who made plans for an extended stay at their teammate's home for the end-of-year break alongside Team KYBT.

* * *

Weiss set down her notebook with a heavy sigh, leaning back, hanging her head off the back of the chair, and shutting her eyes for a well-deserved break from studying. With the exams starting the following week, she had taken to studying every night, going over all the books and all her notes one subject at a time. Tomorrow's History and Social Studies classes would still have new topics but, since she had already taken the initiative to read ahead, all that was left was to see if Professors Oobleck and Giollah had anything to add to what was in the book.

When she opened her eyes, she found them straying to the clock hanging over the door. Eleven seventeen. About three quarters of an hour more before everyone came down from the roof. Then her eyes drifted down in the opposite direction, to the unoccupied table next to hers which was cluttered with notebooks and books.

The two years that Ruby missed out on by skipping ahead wasn't as big an issue as Weiss made it out to be. Most combat school shared a curriculum similar to regular schools, only with combat and related subjects added. Their four core subjects, not counting Combat, were the only ones that really carried over.

Ruby's surprisingly high level of skill in designing weaponry aside, Weiss had to admit that she was far from stupid. Just highly unmotivated when it came to subjects she had no interest in. Grimm Studies was proof of that, as her younger partner was very knowledgeable when it came to a Huntress's natural enemy. Her other subjects, however, suffered due to the girl's overspecialization.

She sighed and shook her head. While it was good that Ruby had begun studying seriously, joining the weekly group study sessions, she was almost completely hopeless when studying on her own. Fuuka and Aigis certainly did their best to help, but it wasn't as if they could always be there. They had their own studies to worry about outside of the core curriculum after all.

More than once Weiss had seen Ruby running around the dorm, looking for one of her other notebooks. Since certain information was missing from her notebook then, apparently, she must have written them in the wrong notebook. Much later, after scouring through _all_ her notes, she would be panicking upon realizing that the notes weren't misplaced. She just hadn't made them at all.

After panicking, she would either borrow someone's notes or begin speedreading through the book to look for the information she needed. The latter sometimes ended poorly when Ruby ended up unknowingly skipping past what she needed because of that same speed she was proud of. And when it did, her panicking would restart, believing that she was now missing something crucial.

Had she not been upset at the girl, Weiss would have found the situation at least a little bit amusing.

As it was, Weiss didn't do more than sigh whenever she saw Ruby's attempts at independent study. It was hard to say whether the girl's poor study habits were due to her relative immaturity or simply her nature. Either way, it was painfully clear that, even if Weiss chose to help and Ruby accepted, the heiress's methods would not be as effective on the young scythe-wielder.

That, and Weiss was likely to give in to her irritation and annoyance long before the end of a single study session. Even a half-wit could tell that it wouldn't end well. At all.

No, this was one battle that Weiss was not likely to win. At least, not this late in the game. On the other hand, if Ruby were to willingly ask for Weiss's help after the first major examinations then just maybe she would help. It would all depend on-

Her thoughts froze as a click came from the door, the doorknob jiggling as the other end was grasped and turned. Another glance at the clock made Weiss furrow her brows when she noticed that barely five minutes passed since she last checked the clock. It was still too early. They never left the roof before midnight. Even Ruby had gotten accustomed to it and was able to stay up that late without yawning or drifting off to sleep every five minutes. Though that was probably also because she had classes until eleven at night twice a week.

Still, the jiggling doorknob at this time could only mean one thing.

When the door opened and allowed the person on the other side entry, Weiss let out an annoyed sigh, her head turned away from the door. "How long are you going to keep this up, Aigis?"

Unlike the first few times that Weiss asked that question, Aigis didn't flinch or even turn away. She just gently shut the door behind her and greeted the heiress. Then, like the past several days and nights, she asked, "May I join you?"

This time, however, Weiss had had enough. "And what if I say 'no' this time? What if I ask you to just leave me alone?"

There was a flash of what seemed to be sadness in Aigis's artificial eyes, but nothing else on her face gave any indication of her feelings. "If that is what you want, then I will."

Weiss had prepared countless answers that she could use based on Aigis's own answer. But whatever Weiss was going to say never made it past her lips, dying somewhere along the way from her brain as the android's answer was not one she had prepared for.

Was it really that easy? Since the day that she had gotten into that argument with Ruby, Aigis had taken to speaking with Weiss once a day, usually at night after dinner.

She often inquired about Weiss's wellbeing or even just inconsequential things such as how her studies were proceeding. Other times, rather than conversation, she would offer to get Weiss something to drink. Once, the heiress even tried asking for a drink from the dining hall and was honestly surprised when Aigis went all the way there for the drink in question.

But now that she thought about it, she never really tried just asking the blonde girl to leave whenever Aigis asked to join her these past several days. She had always allowed Aigis to join her, relying on steadfast silence, barbed words, and the occasional slightly, and sometimes not-so-slightly, unreasonable request to make her leave. Not that they worked, obviously, since Aigis remained with her until the time came to part or sleep.

She decided to test the waters just a bit more. "And if I asked you not to bother me again?"

Again, sadness passed through her eyes. "Then I will not bother you again as you ask." After a brief pause, "Do you wish for me to leave?" she asked.

She couldn't be serious. Could she?

Looking back at the three months that she had known the girl, Weiss had never seen or heard Aigis make a joke. Well, there was that one time in Ozpin's office during the day of the initiation, but, asides from that, Aigis was fairly straightforward and oftentimes serious. Chances are she really _would_ leave Weiss alone if she only asked.

Another sigh slipped past her lips as she mentally shook her head in exasperation at what she was about to do. "No, it's fine." Some part at her, the logical side of her, railed at what was clearly an illogical act. There was no benefit to allowing Aigis to continue what she had been doing. "I'm tired and, quite frankly, not in the mood to talk or anything tonight."

"I see. My apologies then."

No more words were exchanged as the pair went about their evening rituals prior to sleeping. Weiss collected a nightgown and, after just a second of deliberation, went into the bathroom to change. When she stepped out, Aigis took her turn, having already stripped off her Beacon uniform and carrying her own nightgown and a towel, the latter to wipe down her body. Weiss was already lying in bed by the time the blonde exited the bathroom, all the lights in the room switched off save for the dim, orange light coming from the lamp on the bedside table between Aigis and Fuuka's beds.

Aigis slipped into her own bed and, noticing that Ruby and Fuuka would be down in a little over five minutes, decided to leave the table lamp switched on. It wasn't as though the light was bright enough to keep her from sleeping. With that decision made, she shut her eyes and set herself on a five minute timer, during which her systems would gradually either shut down or go to sleep.

"Aigis." When the voice of her white-haired teammate called to her, however, she put a hold on the countdown. "Why did you come after me?"

There was a strange undercurrent in Weiss's tone. One that Aigis couldn't place. And since the heiress was lying on her side, facing away from Aigis, the blonde couldn't check the other girl's expression. So she didn't let it bother her too much and, instead, answered the question. "I was worried about you. And… I did not want you to be alone."

"… what?"

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for a short while. One did not know whether the whispered response was meant for her ears. The other did not know what to say in response.

A single minute stretched, feeling so much longer despite what logic and reason told them. As such, it was a relief when the silence was broken.

"Thank you."

"… you're welcome."

* * *

 **December 21, XX13**

Ruby sat nervously in the classroom, hands wringing around one another and her knee bouncing up and down, awaiting the beginning of the Local Geography test

With only four core subjects, each subject was scheduled to take place on a different day. For the first years, the sequence of tests would be Geography today, Social studies tomorrow, Grimm Studies on Wednesday, and History on Thursday.

Exams for the elective classes took place at the usual time they held the respective classes, so her Advanced Weapons Designing exam was tomorrow night. The only exception was the Leadership exam and Combat Tactics exam. Those would take place on Thursday night and Friday night respectively. That way the end-of-year break could begin as early as Saturday morning after a brief assembly.

The Combat class exam was different. The exam would still take place at the usual time slot, but since they were tested individually the exam would be spread out across the entire week. And, supposedly, all the professors would be involved in that exam. And with forty students per year, that meant eight students per year would be tested each day at a randomly assigned time slot.

Ruby's assigned slot was later this afternoon, the second one on the list in fact, which was good news since it meant getting it out of the way sooner. For now, however, she had her first test to worry about.

Soon enough, the bell rang and Professor Peach stepped into the room, a thick bundle of large brown envelopes tucked under one arm. Just the sight of it was enough to double Ruby's worries, enough that she was beginning to worry that she might fall ill at that very moment.

She glanced to her right, to her partner. As expected, the Schnee heiress was as calm as she could possibly be. There wasn't a hint of anxiety to be found at all. It was as though the results of the exam were a foregone conclusion, not even worth worrying about. In short, she was absolutely confident in her ability to secure a passing grade with her eyes closed. Higher, or even a perfect grade, if she had her way.

Knowing the heiress's study habits, Ruby didn't doubt that she would rank among the top of their year. The only person whom Ruby could confidently say was smarter than Weiss was Mitsuru. But even that was debatable since Mitsuru was two years older. Then again, everything they would be tested on was new to Mitsuru as well so Weiss just might rank higher. But since Mitsuru was less familiar, would that mean that she _was_ smarter if she scored higher than Weiss? Maybe it-

Ruby nearly jumped out of her seat with a barely restrained yelp as someone tapped her on the shoulder, her already frayed nerves reacting badly to the unexpected physical contact. Turning with a hand over her heart as though it would calm it down, agitated silver met concerned blue, a gloved hand outstretched and holding a small stack of envelopes. The very same envelopes that held their tests.

"Are you alright?" asked Aigis, setting the stack down on the table in front of Ruby.

"I-I'm fine. Just…" Shaky hands picked up the tests, took one envelope for herself, and passed the rest to Weiss, who took it without a word or even a frown, completely ignoring the nervous smile Ruby tried to give her. Ignored by her partner, Ruby slumped in her seat, the smile fading away.

This time, she didn't jump in fright when a hand fell on her shoulder. "It will be fine, Ruby."

"Weiss or the test?" Ruby wanted to ask. Unfortunately, she was far too nervous to do so. Instead, she just nodded and accepted the encouragement for what it was.

Aigis's gloved hand tightened its grip slightly even as she spoke. "Try not to worry too much. And if you cannot, then at least focus on the more immediate concerns and leave future concerns for a later time."

"Alright, does everyone have a copy of the test?" Nervous responses filled the classroom even as Aigis gave Ruby's shoulder one last squeeze before she slid over to her seat. They were far enough that anyone attempting to cheat would be caught in an instant. Not that anyone would be foolish enough to try when their teacher was a certified Huntress. "Begin whenever you're ready. You have until the end of the class to finish."

The sound of envelopes being flipped open, papers rustling as the tests were pulled out and laid on the desks, and pens rapidly flowing over paper rang loudly in Ruby's ears ever as her eyes scanned over the questions on the first page. Then she flipped the pages over, taking a quick peak at the other questions. As Coco had been gracious enough to warn them about, every single question needed at least one full sentence to answer.

Beacon's reputation as the premier Huntsman Academy was well-deserved and their exams showed as much. With this manner of testing, it would be nearly impossible for someone to pass through luck alone. Even simply memorizing facts was not enough. Both knowledge and understanding of the subjects were required to succeed.

Those who relied on rote memorization of facts would find the exam doable, but difficult if they were unable to apply that knowledge or understand the underlying details. Those who believed that combat ability was all that was necessary to become a Huntsman or Huntress would soon discover their folly in the most painful way possible. And, while not as foolish as the latter, Ruby's dislike of subjects she did not find interesting would be the most likely culprit should she fail. That, and her avoidance of such things.

With a resigned sigh, Ruby turned back to the first page and got to work on the first question. She could only hope that two weeks of comprehensive and intensive studying would be enough to pull her through. If not… well… the best she could do was worry about that if, or when, it came, just as Aigis suggested.

* * *

"That's enough Ms. Rose. This fight is over."

Ruby nodded as she got to her feet, breathing heavily and tired out from the fight. She took a moment to recover, shaking the pain out of her arms from when her opponent seemed ready to pull them out of their sockets, then went to pick up her fallen weapon.

The only people in the combat area were her and Professors Goodwitch, Giollah, Peach, Oobleck, Port, and Fair, the six professors who taught the core subjects. Outside, behind the door leading out into the hallway, were the other six who were scheduled to take the Combat exam after her. Among them were Blake and Ken.

The seating area was closed off to prevent anyone from spectating. Ruby assumed it was so that none of the other students could examine the professors' fighting styles before their own exam. That wouldn't stop the students from talking to those who have yet to take the exam, but Ruby had a feeling that it wouldn't matter. Quite possibly the only ones with any hope of besting a professor in a fight were the fourth years. Even then, it was highly unlikely they would win. The professors, after all, knew what the students were capable of.

Crescent Rose folded into its travel form and was returned to its place on the magnetic plate on Ruby's lower back. Across from her, looking no worse for wear, Professor Peach returned her weapons to the holsters on her thighs. It was a pair of pistols with a single-edged blade attached below, extending past, and positioned parallel to the barrel. It reminded Ruby of Hazel Arc's Rugitus Leo, only smaller and, presumably, without the ability to change forms.

Above the trigger was a revolving cylinder that, like Weiss's Myrtenaster, held an assortment of Dust. Not that the diminutive pink-haired professor even used them. Even after Ruby cleared the five-minute mark needed to pass the test Professor Peach only used the blades of her weapon, dashing in to attack Ruby up close.

Ruby managed to last an additional two minutes after the five minutes were over. Professor Peach had ramped up the difficulty, gradually but still enough to take Ruby down within the next hundred and twenty seconds. In the end, it was a combination of being disarmed, her lack of any real unarmed combat skills, the difference in physical ability, the difference in experience, and the fact that Ruby had never once fought someone smaller than her.

The height difference was small, two or three inches at most, but most of Ruby's combat experience was against people taller than her. Seven minutes was not enough for her to completely adjust to fighting someone smaller than her. Even if she tried using her own experience to predict how the short professor would attack. The problem with that was, once again, a difference in combat experience and the difference of attack range.

While Crescent Rose gave Ruby a reach advantage, Professor Peach, due to both her stature and weapon, was much more experienced in fighting longer weapons. If not for her Semblance, Ruby would have been beaten sooner, possibly even before the five minutes were over. Ruby had to retreat whenever the pink-haired professor got too close. The first time she tried to defend with the shaft of her scythe, she found herself flat on her back and just barely managed to roll away before the pistol-blades struck her.

All in all, Professor Peach was the worst match-up, or best depending on how you looked at it, for Ruby's exam. All her shortcomings were brought to light and anything that might normally have been to Ruby's advantage – her height and reach – was used against her.

Her loss came when Professor Peach holstered one of her pistols and grabbed Crescent Rose by the shaft, preventing Ruby from running away via her Semblance. Not unless she wanted to leave her weapon behind. Then, displaying strength far beyond what her frame suggested, the weapon was wrenched out of Ruby's hands and the fifteen year old was grappled into submission before she could dash away, ending with a blade at her throat while her limbs were restrained.

Ruby passed the exam, but she couldn't help but feel the sting of defeat nonetheless. She knew it was irrational to feel that way. Her opponent was a full-fledged Huntress. No matter what advantage Ruby had, only genuine skill would have been enough to make up for the difference in physical ability and experience. That, or an entire lifetime's worth of luck. From multiple people. Even so…

Even so, she knew the truth.

"Needless to say, you've passed the exam," Professor Goodwitch stated when Ruby approached her position near the exit. "Your exact grade will be released with the others when you return from the end-of-year break. Unless you have any questions, you're free to go."

There wasn't really anything she wanted to ask about the exam so she thanked the professors and left, the door opening not long after Professor Goodwitch released the locks. As Ruby left, another first year rose from the bench and entered, the door closing once the two of them switched places.

"How was it?" Ruby turned to face Ken, who had asked the question. He was seated at the end of the bench, his spear resting against the wall next to him. "Who did you face?"

"Professor Peach," she replied, then went on to tell him about the fight. The others in the hallway, Blake included, listened in, knowing there was a chance they would fight the same opponent.

It was a bit of a morally gray area, as Coco had explained to them one night when Team CFVY joined them on the roof the Saturday before the last. Apparently Yukari had told them about their late night gatherings and the second-year team decided to see what it was about one evening.

The professors don't let other people watch the fight. But they don't stop the students from telling the others about the fight itself. Nobody knew the reason why. Even when asked directly, the professors never answered. Students speculated, but without even a single clue it was almost impossible to know which theory even came close to the real answer.

So they just went with it. Some students didn't talk, not wanting their classmates to get an advantage they themselves did not have. Others went into detail to help their classmates have a better chance of passing. And, while rare, there were those who fed false information, especially while in hearing range of classmates they didn't like.

One by one, the students came and left. Ruby hung around to keep Blake and Ken company. Also, partly, because going back now would mean studying for tomorrow's test. While she wasn't entirely against it, she _did_ want to relax a bit before going into it.

Soon enough, Blake took her turn. When she came out, her cat ears were almost flat against her head. At first Ruby and Ken thought that she might have failed the exam despite being inside for more than five minutes. The feline faunus explained that she did pass, just that something else upset her during the test. She didn't say anything else, nor did they ask.

After another one took their turn, it was Ken's turn. He looked nervous, which was understandable. He was the first among SEES to take the test and it was uncertain whether there would be any special considerations given because of his lack of Aura. The privacy of the exam worked to his advantage since it would mean he could use his Persona. The only downside to that was that the professors all knew what his Persona was capable of.

A few of the students who came and left, some of which were teammates of those who took the test, also wished Ken luck and congratulated Ruby on her pass. As the two youngest students of their year, many had been understandably dubious at the beginning. Some openly, some not so. And while Ken was not as capable in a fight, he had certainly earned the respect of their classmates, even a grudging one in the cases of some.

"What do you think?" Ruby turned to the left where Blake sat, the faunus still facing the direction of the door that had just closed behind the twelve year old. "Do you think SEES will have a different exam?"

It was a good thing that everybody else left already. Otherwise they would have had people asking what SEES was.

"Maybe." Ruby really couldn't say anything definite. "I mean, none of us got out of that without getting hit. Other than Aigis and Pyrrha, I don't really see anyone else going five minutes against the professors. Then again, the professors did say they'd hold back to our level for the first five minutes so maybe they'll hold back even more?"

"Maybe," Blake mirrored Ruby's previous response. But unlike the girl with reddish-black hair, the feline faunus did not look very optimistic. "I just have a bad feeling whenever I think about it." The black-haired girl shook her head and decided to change the subject. "How was your test earlier? Did all the studying help?"

"Well…" Ruby turned away, looking uncertain.

Despite countless hours of study Ruby still felt that she had a very good chance of failing. It was only now, after the first written test of the week, that she realized just what it was that Weiss had been trying to tell her since the second week of classes, the same time that the professors began assigning homework.

It happened right after dinner on a Wednesday. Weiss invited Ruby to join her in the library to start and finish the homework that had been assigned to them that day in both Grimm Studies and Local Geography. Rather than accepting, Ruby claimed – quite proudly at that now that she thought about it – that she would finish it on Friday or Saturday when they had more free time, just like she used to do it back in Signal Academy. The same happened the next day for her History and Social Studies homework.

Both times, Weiss let the matter drop without too much issue. Though she did frown deeply and mention that she hoped Ruby knew what she was doing. In the end, Ruby had gone to Weiss Sunday afternoon, asking for help with the homework since she didn't want to bother Fuuka and Aigis, both of whom, at that time, were still depressed due to their failed music night.

This repeated itself a few more times over the next two weeks until came a time, after SEES's recovery, that Weiss had had enough.

At first, she simply began insisting more and more that she and Ruby study in the evenings. But, having experienced first-hand how difficult it was to… teach her partner, Weiss proved to be too strict in her manner to teaching, resulting in Ruby turning to Fuuka and Aigis for help.

Yet she only turned to them when necessary. A fact that Weiss noticed.

Time and again she reminded Ruby that she needed to spend more time studying. Time and again she turned down invitations to hang out while simultaneously trying to convince Ruby to study instead. Every Saturday morning, without fail, she would ask if Ruby was done with her homework for the week. And promptly scold her for putting it off. And lose her temper whenever Ruby prioritizes her plans for the day over schoolwork, sometimes ending with a face buffeted by rose petals.

Looking back at all those times, Ruby was beginning to wish she spent less time playing around. Not too much time, but certainly enough that she had kept up with her studies. And while her argument that failing the first set of exams did not mean expulsion, nor did it warrant any form of punishment beyond a warning, Weiss also had a point.

The first major exams covered everything they had learned over the past three-and-a-half months. Any lessons they had afterwards would be part of the second major exams. Any lessons after that would be part of the third major exams. Some subjects may be interconnected but, for the most part, nothing in one exam would appear in another.

After the third exam, they had only about half a month to prepare for the final exam. And as Weiss had warned her partner, the final exam took everything they had learned over the year and put it all together into one comprehensive exam. And that was the one that determined whether an individual would be returning the following year. And, by extension, it would determine whether that individual's team would need to repeat the year with a new teammate the following school year.

A similar system was used in Signal Academy. The main differences were that teams in Signal were formed only for practice, and failing the finals did not necessarily mean expulsion since it was possible to make up for the failing grade with extra work. That, however, was a system used mainly in regular and combat schools.

As Ruby was coming to learn, Huntsman Academies were far, _far_ stricter. And it was a painful reminder that she was accepted solely for her combat ability whereas everyone else, minus Jaune, has to show both sufficient combat and intellectual capability. It wasn't that Ruby was stupid - her grades prior to jumping ahead were evidence enough - just that some parts of her education were missing due to skipping two years.

And it was just as painful to realize that Weiss had taken that into consideration whenever she urged, insisted, and all but physically forced Ruby to study.

Blake frowned when Ruby did, the latter turning away with a hint of embarrassment coloring her features. "… Don't worry," she said after a prolonged pause, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Just do your best. That's all anyone can ask of you. If you fail, and I'm not saying you will," she added hurriedly but comfortingly when Ruby cringed, "But if you do, then learn from your mistakes and do better next time."

A small smile replaced the frown on Ruby's face, but Blake could tell that she was mostly forcing it. "Thanks Blake. I jus-"

The sound of shifting metal cut off their conversation. The two girls turned to the door, surprised and worried. A quick glance at a Scroll showed the time. More importantly, it told them how much time had passed since the door last opened.

Ken had a sheepish but amused grin on his face as he walked out of the combat area. Since he was the last one to be tested for the day, the professors exited as well, walking past the three students without a word even as Ruby and Blake walked up to Ken.

As they neared, they noticed the bruise forming on his cheek as well as the way his clothes were slightly torn and frayed. He chuckled before they could speak, looking up at the two of them. "Sorry," he said with another chuckle, his amused expression completely out of sync with his words. "Looks like I'm the first to fail."

* * *

 **December 25, XX13**

Exam week passed faster than Ruby thought possible. Or the exams themselves at least. The period between exams seemed to stretch on indefinitely. Sitting for five minutes in the classroom while waiting for the professor to arrive with the test felt like hours or days. Never mind the hours between the actual exams.

Ruby tried to pass the time by studying but Fuuka had advised against studying too much. Reading through her notes once or twice was fine, but cramming and forcing herself to memorize things would, according to Ruby's Japanese teammate, make her actually start forgetting things.

So most of the time was spent waiting and worrying, though everyone tried to cheer each other up.

But the worst part, in Ruby's opinion, were the results of the Combat test.

Passing was a simple matter. It was just that the final grade for the exam would be determined after the professors carefully went over the student's overall performance.

Inversely, you would automatically know if you failed. And in this case, eleven first-year students failed the first major Combat exam. Seven of those people belonged to their group.

To be precise, all members of SEES, minus Aigis, had failed.

It was almost surreal. Not just for Ruby but for the half of the group, again minus Aigis, who passed.

It turns out that no special test had been designed for the group of Aura-less students. They had to survive a five-minute fight against the professors just like everyone else. Due to their lack of Aura, the professors changed the conditions of the fight. SEES would only lose if they received ten solid hits, if they were disarmed – both their weapon _and_ their Evoker while their Persona was not already out to fight – or if they were rendered unable to fight back in any other way.

SEES took their defeat graciously, some of them mentioning that it was to be expected. Although both Akihiko and Junpei looked disappointed. Apparently the two of them were the ones who struggled the hardest, almost to the point of defiance, to try and eke out a victory even when they knew they were outmatched.

Understandable or not, it still came as a shock to their teammates. Even if the professors held back to their level, _and_ had to hold back any significantly damaging attacks, they were still fighting a steep uphill battle. Aigis passing was practically a guarantee. But none of them expected _all_ the rest to fail.

"There's not much we can do about it now," said Mitsuru, looking quite relaxed as she sat along the edge of the roof with the rest of the group. "The best we can do is prepare for the next ones, the finals especially."

Since their end-of-year break was starting tomorrow, everyone decided to move their Saturday night meeting a day earlier. Surprisingly, Weiss decided to join them, though she and Yang made a conscious and _very_ noticeable effort to not interact with one another or even look in the other's direction.

They mostly spoke about how the exams went. Even without SEES's failure in the Combat test, there were plenty of things to talk about, both exam related and not.

"Hey, I just realized something," suddenly came Junpei's voice, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"That you're an idiot?"

Junpei rolled his eyes at Yukari's barb but didn't acknowledge it beyond that. "It's the twenty-fifth today."

While half the group just looked at Junpei with a look that said 'So?', the other half reacted with mild to moderate levels of surprise. Yukari even pulled out her Scroll to check.

"You're right." Fuuka's voice was breathy with disbelief, her eyes conveying her surprise as well. "With the exams and everything else that's happened I didn't even realize it."

"What's so special about the twenty-fifth?" asked Ruby. "Was it a holiday or something?"

Fuuka nodded, recovering a bit from her shock. "Today is Christmas. It's a holiday celebrated just about everywhere."

"Everywhere in 'Japan', you mean," Yukari corrected with a small smirk. "If there was Christmas anywhere else then we'd have seen a lot more signs before now. People would have been decorating everything for weeks before today if there was and there'd be the usual shopping rush."

"That reminds me of something else," threw in Mitsuru. "Fuuka." The teal-haired girl turned to the redhead. "If I remember right, wasn't your birthday on the twenty-second?"

If she had had a different upbringing, Mitsuru would have roared in laughter at how quickly Fuuka was overwhelmed by everyone's reactions. The poor girl was rapidly looking back and forth as she tried to answer everyone's questions.

"I didn't want to make a big deal out of-"

"No, that won't be-"

"I'm eighteen now bu-"

"No, I-"

Unfortunately, people kept cutting her off before she could finish even a single statement. The only people not actively involved were Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Weiss. Everyone else was all but bombarding the diminutive Japanese girl with questions and various comments. Some of which were, to Mitsuru's observant eyes and ears, strictly to keep the girl off balance for the sake of amusement.

"That's one way to distract them," Akihiko commented in a soft voice.

That comment drew Weiss's attention. "From what?" she asked, just as softly to avoid drawing attention from the majority of the group.

There was a bitter smile on Akihiko's face as he replied, though he didn't turn away from the group as Fuuka vehemently and stubbornly kept trying to turn down the need for a birthday celebration of any sort. "Christmas is generally a happy time but last year wasn't as… ideal as it should have been. Not to say that we didn't celebrate it, just that we had a lot on our minds at that time."

It wasn't as complete an answer as she would have liked – then again few things with SEES ever were when it came to something they didn't want to talk about – but she would take what little she could get.

"Then it's settled!" announced Nora, shooting up to her feet with her fist raised. "We'll throw Fuuka a party right before we come back to Beacon!"

The announcement caused another ruckus amongst them all. Only this time, Yang and Nora were handling the details such as where the party would be held…

"They have a house, remember?"

"Oh yeah!"

… the party food…

"Renny can do the cooking!"

"Wh- Nora!"

… the entertainment…

"Isn't that a game for a kid's party?"

"It's fun!"

… and generally anything else they could think of.

The others contributed as well, throwing in ideas or, in Yukari's case, shooting them down when they became too outrageous. And all the while, Fuuka's almost teary complaints that it was unnecessary or too much went mostly ignored.

By the time the discussion wound down, midnight had long since come and gone. And with it, the end and beginning of yet another day.

* * *

 **December 26, XX13**

"I've just realized something," began Aigis, looking around at the assembled groups. "I believe this will be the first time since we came together as SEES that we will be apart for an extended period of time."

"Now that you mention it…" Yukari trailed off, looking around as well and taking note of where everyone was standing.

Teams ASYR and KYBT, with the exceptions of Aigis, Weiss and Mitsuru, formed one group. Team ANKR, minus Akihiko but including Weiss, made up another. Team JACN, with the exception of Pyrrha, formed a third. Mitsuru, Aigis, Akihiko, and Pyrrha formed the fourth.

As she had already told the group, Mitsuru, Aigis, and Akihiko were headed to the City of Weilai in the Kingdom of Mistral, the same city where the main office of the Adamas Corporation was located. Both former seniors were tightlipped regarding their business there, just that it wasn't anything the others needed to worry about, though they would be told once they were all gathered once more at the end of their respective vacations. Pyrrha would be joining them, having successfully rescheduled her obligations to be able to accompany the two older teens during their brief visit.

As for the remaining groups, anyone who paid attention to the countless conversations over the past ten days would immediately come to the proper conclusion that their current groupings fell in line with their respective plans.

The first group would be headed to Yang and Ruby's home on the island of Patch. With permission from Taiyang Xiao Long, the father of the siblings, the members of both teams were invited and welcomed to stay for the entire duration of their break if they wanted to. With no other plans, the siblings' teammates accepted the invitation with two exceptions, Weiss and Mitsuru. The latter, however, said she would join them once her business in Mistral was finished.

Weiss, Ren, Nora, and Ken would remain behind at Beacon. Weiss did not state any particular reason for not returning home to Atlas, but Ren and Nora, being orphans, had no other place to go. And although Mitsuru and Akihiko offered to let them stay in SEES's house, Ren declined, claiming that he wasn't comfortable having more or less full run of someone else's home. Weiss gave the same reason, though was much more verbose about it. Ken chose to remain with them with Akihiko joining them once he returned from Mistral.

The first Headmaster was aware that there would sometimes be circumstances under which a student could not, or would not, return home. As such, the school remained open during the shorter breaks with a number of volunteers from the school's staff – security, medical, maintenance, and one or two professors – staying behind. Most facilities also remained open and available for the students' use but with much stricter rules due to the lesser number of staff to keep an eye on them.

The trio of Jaune, Junpei, and Chidori were headed to Domremy, Jaune's hometown. With a similar invitation from the entire Arc family, Junpei thought it was a perfect way for their team to bond without resorting to group studies and team training. Much like Mitsuru and Akihiko, Pyrrha would be joining her team at a later date. Though, unlike the former two, Pyrrha would be spending most of her break in Mistral and joining her team for less than a handful of days, rather than the reverse.

Just then, the external speakers of all the airships on the landing pads buzzed and crackled to life and a handful of pre-recorded announcements blared out from multiple direction. Only one part of the announcement, however, meant anything to the group. **"The airship to Vale will be departing in ten minutes."** The recording looped once before falling silent.

"Well, that's us. Better get in and grab some seats." Junpei picked up the duffle bag by his feet and slung the strap over his head and across his torso. "Yo, Ken." The twelve-year-old looked up as his name was called, meeting Junpei's grin. "Try not ta get into trouble, alright?"

"Shouldn't I be telling _you_ that?" Ken quipped back with a grin of his own. "Oh, and you don't have to worry about bringing me back any souvenirs. I don't think Domremy, Patch, or Weilai have any specialties I can't find in Vale."

"Alright, alright, quit with the reverse psychology already. I'm pretty sure you did that last time too." Ken just gave an unrepentant grin. "Hey, Nora. When we get back, we're hitting the arcades first thing and breaking the tie. So better get practicing, y'hear?"

"Br~ring it!"

Everyone ignored the exchange and said their own farewells to the quartet who would remain behind. As the larger group moved to enter the airship, the smaller group began their trek back to the school, Nora chattering all the way.

"Uhm… Weiss…?"

The voice was soft, almost to the point of being inaudible as the airships' engines slowly whined to life. Yet it was loud enough that all four of them turned around. When they saw who it was, one nodded to Weiss and left with the other two, leaving the heiress to deal with whatever it was that Ruby wanted to talk about.

"What?" There was no inflection in her tone or even an undercurrent of any sort of emotion. And, if Ruby were being honest, that disturbed her more than if Weiss had been angry. "Well?"

Hearing a hint of impatience enter Weiss's tone, Ruby realized that she had been silent for too long. "I just… I…" Ruby's voice trailed away, unable to form the words she wanted to say. When Weiss's lips thinned as she pressed them tighter in in irritation, Ruby panicked. "IjustwantedtosayI'msorry!"

The black-haired girl shut her eyes on reflex as though expecting a tongue-lashing or something similar. But when silence was all that met her ears, a single eyelid slowly rose. Then the other joined the first when her lone opened eye saw that Weiss did not look angry at all.

Instead, the heiress's head was raised and she gave the younger girl a look of smug satisfaction. "Apology accepted." Weiss's expressions grew even smugger, something Ruby thought impossible, when the younger girl felt her face twist in confusion. "What? Would you rather I gloat since I was right, or scold you some more for not taking your studies as seriously as you should have been?"

"What? No!" Ruby replied in a hurry, neither choice sounding the least bit appealing. "I just… you're… not mad?"

And yet again, the smugness that Weiss was radiating grew even more pronounced. She may not have been gloating openly, but her body language told a different story. "The point of an argument is to convince the other person or group that your way of thinking is correct or better. Unless you intend to insist that putting off your homework and studies is better, then I've already won the argument."

When it was clear that Weiss wasn't going to add anything else, Ruby gave a small sigh of relief. In her head of course. There was no telling just how far the heiress's goodwill extended and Ruby had no intention, nor the desire, to test it. Best to enjoy speaking with her partner while she was in a good mood while it lasted.

"Now that you've realized the error of your ways, I expect to see you take your studies more seriously from now on. No more putting off homework until the last minute or even until the weekend." A~and it was nice while it lasted. "I realize it would be too much to ask expect you to read ahead but I will at least insist that we review each week's lessons. Since I have a class late Thursday night and you have a class late Friday night, we'll schedule the review for Saturday after breakfast. Furthermore, we…"

Ruby felt her calm façade grow closer to breaking – not that she was that good at it in the first place – with each new caveat her partner added. It was clear to her that this was the price she had to pay if she didn't want another argument, or worse, with the white-haired girl.

"Ruby! Come on!"

The fifteen-year-old brightened up when she was saved by someone calling her name. In contrast, Weiss looked decidedly annoyed by the interruption. Though perhaps that had to do with the fact that the interruption in question was made by Yang. To this day, the two had yet to properly reconcile their differences. Ruby could only hope that two weeks apart would cool their heads at least a little bit.

With a huff of what sounded like forced annoyance, Weiss's gaze softened as they landed on Ruby once more. "I suppose we can go over our plans when we see each other next." Ruby, wisely, decided not to correct her partner's use of the word 'our'. "I'll see you in two weeks then."

The heiress had already turned and begun to walk away when Ruby made up her mind about something. "Uh… bye Weiss! Enjoy your break!" She cringed at how loud her voice came out. She hadn't intended to yell. Especially not when her partner was nowhere near far enough to warrant it.

She quickly spun around and began speed-walking in the direction of the airship's boarding ramp, where Yang was still waving her over. Ruby had only taken a few steps when she suddenly froze mid-step as a soft, almost sad, voice reached her ears. Familiar and, yet, entirely unrecognizable. "Have a safe trip, Ruby."

Ruby's mind moved faster to process the new information as though to make up for her lack of physical movement.

Fact number one, it had been Weiss's voice. Fact number two, the voice came from Weiss's direction. Fact number three, there was nobody else around the area who was close enough to have been the one to speak. Conclusion, it was Weiss who had spoken.

But, at the same time, there were many facts that seemed to disprove that same conclusion.

Contradictory fact number one, the tone was soft, uncharacteristically so for the Schnee heiress. Contradictory fact number two, Weiss had never, _never,_ spoken with such a tone. And contradictory fact number three, it was _Weiss._

Ruby spun, barely a heartbeat after hearing Weiss's(?) words. Even so, by the time she did, Weiss was already walking away, giving no indication that she had been the one to speak.

And yet…

And yet, Ruby couldn't stop the wide smile that blossomed on her face as she ran to the soon-to-be-departing airship. And as she did, she could only wonder what it all meant for their relationship. Both as partners and, hopefully, friends.

* * *

High above the entire Beacon Academy campus, a lone figure watched with bright yellow eyes as a handful of airships slowly rose from the platforms, the gentle whine of their engines inaudible in the distance yet easily brought to mind through memory. In mere moments, the airborne ships turned away from the school and towards the City of Vale just as they always did.

"Are you sure you should be up here and not down there?" asked a male voice.

Turning, the yellow-eyed figure met two pairs of eyes. One pair was a deep brown while the other was a lively green, both pairs of eyes situated behind their respective owners' spectacles.

"I am precisely where I need to be," she replied, the white-haired woman's unnaturally yellow eyes twinkled in amusement along with the grin on her lips. "I have given them all the aid I can by giving them the tools to help them survive in this new world they have found themselves in. The consequences of the things they have done since our parting, and the things they will do in the days and years to come, are ones they will bear on their own. After all, the only ones who can face such consequences, are those who have chosen the paths that led to them in the first place."

The pair stared at the woman in silence, contemplating her semi-cryptic words. Yet, before another word could come from their lips, the white-haired woman turned her gaze back to the airships, whose forms were quickly growing smaller as they soared away. All three pairs of eyes watched until the ships were nothing but specks in the distance, like near-microscopic motes of dust hanging in the air before them. Soon enough, the ships were gone from sight.

At that point, both the brown and green pairs of eyes turned to the white-haired woman once more, only for the latter pair of eyes to widen in shock when they discovered the woman to be missing.

"Where did…"

"It seems that Ms. Elizabeth has more secrets that we initially believed," the gray-haired Headmaster commented as his deputy's questions trailed off in confusion. "Perhaps it was too optimistic of me to think that we would get our answers so easily."

"Should we search for her in case she's still in the area?" asked the blonde Deputy Headmistress.

Ozpin merely shook his head, a response that Glynda had already predicted. "No. I don't believe we will find her anywhere on campus." His eyes remained steadfastly gazing in the direction of the distant airships. "She only seems to have come to check on her former charges. I suspect she will either await their arrival in Vale, or she will return to whatever business she is engaged in at the moment."

"I see. Still, I can't help but wonder."

"So do I," admitted Ozpin. "While it can be seen as lending aid to the friends of a young man she knew, her actions still do not make complete sense." Seeing Glynda's thoughtful and slightly worried expression, Ozpin was glad that he had long since decided to keep one additional fact to himself, the fact that even Elizabeth's physical appearance alone had been more than enough to cause him to worry when they first met.

The white hair and otherworldly yellow eyes, the strangely formal manner of speaking, the strange choice of clothing she wore, and, worst of all, the immeasurable hidden strength beneath her calm features were but the first and most outward signs that set him on alert. The things she said, and the things she _didn't_ say, were less obvious signs. Yet to one like himself, who regularly spoke with officials of various fields, they were as plain as day.

But beyond her mention of a surviving Shadow, beyond the strange intonation on the word 'Death', beyond her strange interest in a certain group of children, and beyond her bizarre resourcefulness and ability to provide for SEES in almost every way conceivable, there was one little fact, one statement, that rang through his head whenever he thought of the white-haired woman. A statement that she had made in passing during their first meeting when she witnessed Glynda's Semblance at play. A statement that made it clear to him that she was more than she appeared to be.

" _Even after everything I have witnessed over the years, the growing potential of humanity never ceases to surprise me."_

He had no proof, of course, beyond his suspicions. But her words were enough to stir even that much from him. Whatever her goals were, Ozpin was fairly certain that SEES's patron was _not_ human. _What_ she was, however, remained to be seen.

And he dearly hoped, despite his suspicions, that he was wrong.

* * *

 **And that's the end. For now anyway.**

 **A fair bit shorter than my usual, I know. I really hate writer's block. Especially one that's bad enough that I went nearly two months without being able to update this. Well, part of those two months were the work issues I mentioned earlier. Still, I'm fairly sure I would have been able to do my monthly update had it not been for the writer's block.**

 **A~aaanyway, not the most fulfilling chapter but we've got SEES splitting up for the first time in quite a long while. With a two week break, who knows what sort of trouble they'll get up to? Well, I do, of course. XD**

 **We'll get a chance to see what all the groups are doing, though one group in particular will be getting more focus than the rest.**

 **Anyway, bit of sad news for everyone but I'll be working mainly on chapter two of** **All's Fair in Love and Madness** **next, so don't expect another update too soon for this.** **Messiah's Legacy** **is still my current brainchild and the one I have bigger plans for, but I was never one to leave something unfinished nor was I ever fond of leaving something on the back burner for too long. Either way, this shift in focus will give me a chance to flesh out the next few chapters for this as well as finish planning out the first major arc once the next arc finishes.**

 **As always, let me know what you think, good and bad.**

 **Until next time everyone.**


	20. Ch 18 - In Weilai

**Disclaimer:** **This is a work of fan fiction using characters and/or scenes from the show RWBY, which is trademarked by Rooster Teeth, and the video game Persona 3, which is trademarked by Atlus. I do not, in anyway, claim ownership over the characters, the world, the story, or any other aspect belonging to either one. This story should not be, in any way, considered canon. This story is written strictly for entertainment and not for profit.**

 **Warning:** **This story will exhibit slight differences in character behavior since I will be taking the liberty to fill in blank points in the pasts of various characters. As such, expect that many characters will not behave exactly as their canon selves. I will attempt to keep their core personalities intact, but slight changes will be unavoidable.**

 **Warning 2:** **With the ongoing status of RWBY, it's to be expected that many of my ideas will, at some point, go against what is canon, such as when more of each character's respective pasts are revealed. I will do my best to incorporate what I can, but expect that many will be blended with my own ideas or perhaps even ignored completely if incorporating it will be detrimental to my existing story plans.**

* * *

 **I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!**

 **MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!**

 **Just a quick note for now. This chapter was uploaded from my phone as I am currently on vacation with my family and my laptop is back home. As such, line breaks will be missing and I'm sure to have missed a few things during my proofreading. I'll get it cleaned up after the holidays when I get back home.**

 **But don't let it stop you from enjoying the chapter. XD**

* * *

 **Chapter 18 – In Weilai**

 **December 26, XX13**

A deep evergreen carpet stretched out as far as the eye could see. In fact, it was all that could be seen in every direction.

Wine red eyes took in the scenery with a soft smile playing across her crimson lips, gazing down at the flora far beneath her. Beside her, crystal blue eyes were doing the same, just as appreciative but also with a healthy dose of awe.

"It's quite beautiful isn't it?"

The owners of both pairs of eyes turned around, their gaze turning to the inside of their airborne vessel as their friend and voluntary guide came up to them. But rather than stopping in front of them, the red-haired, green-eyed champion went to stand next to them, her own eyes gazing out the window of their private cabin – courtesy of Pyrrha's manager – at the very same scene they had been watching. Thanks to her fame and connections, they – though mostly Pyrrha – secured the use of the cabin at the very front of the ship, which offered a generous view of the landscape throughout their journey.

"I suppose if there's one thing I picked up from my Mistralian heritage, it's the appreciation of nature and beauty in all forms," added Pyrrha, a wistful smile blossoming on her face as she took in the sight before her. She had, undoubtedly, seen it many times before and yet the way her eyes twinkled in wonder made it seem otherwise.

A raised eyebrow came from the other redhead at that statement. "You make it sound as though you didn't inherit much else."

A rueful smile and a mostly mirthless chuckle was Pyrrha's response. "I suppose I did, didn't it?"

Mitsuru wasn't certain what to make of her companion's mysterious statement, but a faint light of understanding shone in Aigis's cybernetic eyes, memories of a previous conversation coming to mind. Even so, she couldn't claim to fully understand Pyrrha's feelings on the matter.

The trio continued to watch the scenery as it passed them by, the airship's distance from the ground making the passing seem slow in comparison to their travelling speed. Now and then Aigis's exceptionally sharp eyesight, courtesy of their artificial make, could pick out movement amongst the dense trees, oftentimes due to the Grimm that inhabited the forest.

The silence was eventually broken once more, this time by Mitsuru. She turned to her fellow redhead as she spoke. "Are there any Mistralian customs we should be aware of when we arrive? I would prefer to avoid a faux pas of any sort while we are there."

"There shouldn't be any that I'm aware of," Pyrrha responded without delay. "I'll let you know if I think of any but these days most social traditions are often only observed during formal occasions. Most people will usually ignore the absence of such during day-to-day matters."

Mitsuru didn't honestly think that it would go over as smoothly as Pyrrha believed it would be, her own experience with the upper echelons of society coloring her views, but decided to trust the Mistralian's opinion of her native land. Aigis was more willing to trust her from the start, but noted Pyrrha's use of the word 'most' instead of 'all'.

After a quick glance at her Scroll, said Mistralian turned to look at them. "We should be there soon. Half an hour at most. Do you have any plans for when you arrive? Since we'll only be together for two days, I thought I'd show you three around for the day, or tomorrow if your meeting at Adamas is today."

The former heiress nodded as she brought up a mental to-do list. "Asides from checking into our hotel, I already have a scheduled meeting with Director Claire this afternoon. It'll just be me today, since it's just a brief meeting. But depending on how things go, Aigis may accompany me tomorrow as well."

"So you and Akihiko will both be free for the day then?" Pyrrha asked Aigis.

Surprisingly, the answer came from Akihiko, who was taking a nap on the sofa in the corner of the cabin. Or rather, _had_ been taking a nap. "I've got some things I wanted to check out while in Weilai so I'll be heading out on my own after we check-in." The trio of girls turned around just in time to see Akihiko rise to his feet, stretching his arms and neck in various ways. "Unless Aigis wants to come with me, she'll be the only one without any solid plans for today."

Aigis met Pyrrha's gaze and, despite the latter's best attempts to show otherwise, the blonde android could see a measure of hopefulness in the redhead's gaze. She wondered why it was the normally confident girl would want someone to accompany her for the day.

"I believe I would like to see the city," responded the blonde, watching as Pyrrha's eyes lit up ever so slightly. And while it was not her only reason for agreeing, it made her feel better to see the smile on the redhead's face. "I do not know when we will have another opportunity to visit, so I wish to make the most of our time here."

Mitsuru smiled and chuckled at the response, almost looking as though she had expected it. "Well said, Aigis. Still," she paused briefly to turn her attention back to Pyrrha. "The initial meeting won't take long. Unless something comes up, I should be free by around sundown. We can all have dinner together followed by a brief evening tour of the city before we settle in for the night."

"Sounds good." Akihiko agreed even before anyone could turn to him for his opinion. "We should meet up at the hotel before that. It'll be easier to go back somewhere familiar than trying to meet up in the middle of an unfamiliar city."

Plans were solidified over the next half-hour as they slowly approached their destination. And during that time, only Pyrrha herself missed the bright, yet strangely relieved, smile on her face.

" **Attention all passengers."** At that moment, all conversation ended as the announcement they had been waiting for came through the ship's speakers. **"We will be landing in the City of Weilai shortly. Please return to your seats and cabins and prepare for landing."**

The quartet barely paid the rest of the announcement any mind as they quickly went about ensuring they had all their belongings in order.

Considering it was only a three-day trip, for three of them at least, their luggage was quite small and light. Aigis's was mostly just for show since she intended to wear the Gekkoukan school uniform the entire trip, though she had her weapons and her new combat clothes packed just in case. Even Pyrrha didn't have much since she would be heading home to the City of Mistral after her business in Weilai, and with the Adamas Corporation, was concluded.

"Over here. I'm sure you'll want to see this."

At the redhead's urging, the three Japanese teens walked over to the window once more. When they took in the view before them, they couldn't help but gasp ever so slightly in response at the awe-inspiring sight before them.

The City of Weilai stood on the plateau of one of the many tall mountains in the area, surrounded by dense forests and steep cliffs that formed a natural barrier against land-based threats, Grimm or otherwise. Standing not far from the edges of the plateau were the city's massive walls, tall enough to rival what Mitsuru had seen of Vale's own defensive rampart. And along the walls were multiple, massive defensive weaponry. No doubt to defend against threats that the wall couldn't defend against, particularly the airborne sort.

But it wasn't the walls, the guns, or the city's placement that evoked their awe. Rather, it was the city itself.

Despite having read and heard about it, seeing with their own eyes the Mistralians' artistic focus still came as a surprise to the trio. The architecture was nothing at all like what they have gotten used to in Vale. In fact, only Beacon Academy's castle-like design even comes close. But even the school paled in comparison to the city before them.

The lines and curves of each structure were both practical in design – those that Mitsuru's limited knowledge of architecture could understand at least – yet aesthetically pleasing. One detail that drew her attention were the distinctly eastern designs on many of the buildings. Eastern by her definition at least. While she knew it to be true, logically at least, it still served as a reinforcement to the theory that the continent of Anima was, essentially, the remnants of the former continent of Asia.

What she found strange, however, was the fact that most of the buildings she could see were white in color. A handful to the left side were colored black while, to the right, a few were colored red. It was a strange enough sight that she decided to voice her thoughts to Pyrrha.

"Ah, that's understandable," responded the younger redhead, turning her gaze back to the city and gesturing towards the white-colored buildings. "It's not a detail most foreigners would know about, but the founders of Weilai, back when it was just a small town, were followers of a certain religion, one that fell out of practice decades ago. Though it's worth noting that it had quite a large following centuries ago."

"I don't know much about it, but I do know that its followers worshipped four Gods which were meant to represent different parts of nature. What you can see is the western district of the city, dedicated to the White Tiger, represented by the color white, hence the color of the buildings, the season of autumn, and the element of metal. Incidentally, or perhaps because of it, many of the buildings in that area are factories and manufacturing plants."

Pyrrha continues her explanation, unaware of the wide-eyed stares she was receiving. "The other three districts are colored black, red, and a combination of green and blue, dedicated to-"

"The Black Tortoise of the North, the Vermillion Bird of the South, and the Azure Dragon of the East," Mitsuru finished, causing her to be, in turn, the recipient of Pyrrha's own wide-eyed stare. And, much like the Mistralian earlier, the Japanese teen continued despite this. "Representing the seasons of winter, summer, and spring respectively, as well as the elements of water, fire, and wood."

"Th-that's right." Pyrrha nodded dumbly, still surprised by the sudden reversal and Mitsuru's surprising knowledge. "Have you read about it before?"

It wasn't too farfetched an idea for someone like Mitsuru to have come across the knowledge somewhere. The religion was old, but it wasn't as though they had done something to warrant their removal from the history books. It had simply fallen out of practice for reasons beyond her limited knowledge and understanding. So when Mitsuru nodded, Pyrrha relaxed only to be surprised by Mitsuru's next words.

"I have, but not just recently. In fact, the same belief existed in Japan, as well as in some of the neighboring countries. Not enough to call it a religion in itself, however. Rather, it was part of a religion called Taoism, though some would call it a philosophy rather than a religion."

"Oh." Pyrrha stared mutely for a brief moment, regaining her composure. "Were you…"

Mitsuru chuckled good-naturedly in response, having already anticipated the question. "No. It was merely a topic I read about in the past. I'm not a particularly religious or spiritual person. If anything, I'm merely a follower of many traditions, many of which are rooted in Shintoism, which was Japan's indigenous religion and, prior to its destruction, was one of its three major religions. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Shintoism was as old as Japan itself."

"That old?" Pyrrha was the one who was now confused and amazed. Was there any subject that Mitsuru did not possess even the smallest grain of knowledge of? More importantly… "You once said that the island you came from was far to the east of Anima correct? Could there have been others from there who arrived on the continent in the past? People who could have shared this-" she waved her hand at the city in front of the ship, "-belief with the Mistralians of that time? While old, I don't believe our own beliefs are _that_ old."

' _I'm quite certain those people were the ancestors of the Mistralians,'_ Mitsuru thought with amusement. And, seeing the twinkle in Akihiko's gray eyes, she was certain he was thinking along the same lines. "It's certainly a possibility. In fact, it's highly likely that explorers in the past might have found their way to Anima and simply never found their way back, or were unable to. There even exists the possibility that they had no desire to return and chose to settle on Anima."

The redhead nodded, agreeing with the possible scenarios that Mitsuru had described. "That could certainly explain the similar beliefs. But wouldn't that mean that a portion of Mistralians are descended from the Japanese?"

"Possibly, but not necessarily _entirely_ from the Japanese," Mitsuru answered, truthfully but also keeping in mind their cover story. "Japan was not the only country to have those beliefs. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe it originated from China, which was a neighboring country. In fact, their territory was closer to the direction of Anima and their population was larger, making them a more likely possibility. But as I said, the philosophy surrounding the Four Sacred Beasts, as they are known by some, is part of a much larger philosophical school of thought. As such, anyone who is a follower of those teachings had the potential to be the one to spread it to Anima."

Pyrrha nodded thoughtfully, and Mitsuru could only imagine what sort of thoughts were running through the younger teen's head. "I see."

"Was there not a fifth?" Both redheads turned to Aigis, who was looking at them both with some slight confusion. "I seem to recall that there was a fifth, which was placed at the center."

Pyrrha was about to deny the existence of the fifth but, remembering the possible roots of one of Mistral's past religions, stopped and turned to Mitsuru instead.

The former heiress nodded without missing a beat. "Indeed. The Yellow Dragon, which represents the element of earth and the changing of seasons, said to have been the reincarnation of China's Yellow Emperor at the end of his life."

"Would its absence not imply that the one who spread the belief was not from China?" asked Pyrrha.

"Perhaps, but we cannot be absolutely certain," replied Mitsuru. "Things can change over the course of even a single year, never mind decades or centuries. Or perhaps someone simply found the idea of a man turning into a dragon ludicrous and chose to omit that particular detail at some point."

The Mistralian champion felt it was plausible enough, but couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. Unfortunately, any further questions would have to wait as all four of them felt the shift in the airship's movements. A quick glance out the window showed them the cause.

They had finally arrived in Weilai.

* * *

"Is there any place in particular you want to see first?" asked Pyrrha, turning to her blonde companion with an eager smile as they walked out the lobby doors of the Midnight Dreams Hotel, where the four of them would be staying for the next two nights.

In response, Aigis looked around her, taking a brief moment to survey her surroundings as well as the various buildings within line of sight.

The city was, in a single word, beautiful. Her memories of other locales were limited to Iwatodai, Yakushima, and Vale, so it might not have been a proper comparison. Even so, she felt that Weilai would still rank high even if she had been able to see other cities, both in the past and the present.

Iwatodai might not have been the most traditional, bearing a significant western influence due to the passage of time, but there were enough eastern influences that Aigis could point out the architectural differences between Iwatodai and Vale.

And true to everything she had learned, both from the books and Pyrrha, Mistralians held art and nature in high regard. Here and now, standing within the city instead of gazing down from inside an airship, she was beginning to see just how true that statement held. At least, with regards to their artistic inclinations.

Or perhaps, she mused, it was the part of her that identified as Japanese that favored the Mistralians' designs over Vale's. She was neither Japanese by blood nor by nationality but, having been created in Japan and having lived there, she considered herself Japanese as much as the rest of SEES. And, given the distinctly eastern style that the architects behind Weilai had chosen, it did not surprise her that she found it a much more pleasant, and most definitely welcome, sight compared to the western-styled Vale.

Moreover, there was a certain feeling in the air that reminded her of Iwatodai. She couldn't quite identify the reason, but Weilai felt more… open in some way.

"I don't believe there's anywhere in particular I would like to visit first," she responded after some time. Nothing she could see, nor anything she had seen on the brochure she had taken from the hotel's front desk, had caught her interest. And asides from the Adamas Corporation, which she would be visiting tomorrow anyway, she hadn't really thought very hard about what else she would spend her time doing while in Weilai. "I'll leave it to you to decide."

"Very well then."

"But…" Pyrrha paused, about to walk forward, when Aigis addressed her, sounding quite hesitant for some reason. "Are you certain you wish to walk around like that? I do not believe the weather is cool enough to require such clothing."

She hoped she didn't sound insulting in any way, but Aigis was thoroughly confused by her redhead companion's current choice in clothing. Gone were the smart clothing that the champion had worn into the hotel and, in its place, were a pair of baggy pants and a heavy, yet loose-fitting sweater. Her hair, which she normally wore in a ponytail, was now bunched up in a loose bun and hidden beneath the hood of her sweater.

Her confusion was further compounded by concern when she noted Pyrrha's sudden discomfort. She was about to apologize when the redhead shook her head. "It's… I'll tell you later. For now, I just want to enjoy what time we can."

She nodded in understanding but, needless to say, Aigis didn't truly understand her companion's discomfort. At the same time, however, she didn't want to press Pyrrha for details. Not when she and the rest of SEES were also guilty of keeping secrets.

"Thank you." The relieved and grateful smile on Pyrrha's face, however, let her know that she made the right decision. "Would you mind if we went somewhere to eat first, however? I know you don't really need it, but the meal that was served on the trip here wasn't as filling as I'd hoped."

As if to punctuate and agree with her words, Aigis's superior hearing picked up a faint rumbling coming from a certain part of Pyrrha's anatomy. And, judging by how two nearby faunus glanced in their direction, she wasn't the only one to hear it.

As she watched Pyrrha's face light up a bright red, her head huddling down and seemingly retreating into her hood, Aigis only had one thing to say. "I comprehend."

* * *

"The Director will see you now, Ms. Kirijo."

"Thank you," Mitsuru replied with a nod to the familiar, stern-faced secretary. It had been at least three months since she first made contact with the company, but she immediately recognized the woman she had spoken with briefly before speaking with Director Claire Bernard. It was, after all, a skill she developed to prepare for the day she would one day take over the Kirijo Group. Not that that would be happening now.

Right after walking through the door as the secretary, Kiria, held it open for her, Mitsuru took a moment to take in her new surroundings. Instead of an office where she had expected to find the Director finishing up a call or paperwork, the room she had been led to was actually a laboratory. Or part of one at least.

There were no massive, unidentifiable machines or equipment, or even the familiar, and stereotypical, laboratory setup with countless test tubes, beakers, and chemicals. It was a small, rectangular room which extended directly in front of her, a long window taking up most of the wall to her left while consoles were set against the wall below them. The wall to her right had multiple tables with piles and piles of paper stacked neatly on top of them along with a handful of people in lab coats sitting on chairs and reading or typing something on their Scrolls. There was also a large bookshelf on the far end of the room with binders thicker than her arm.

A few people glanced up from their work at her entry but quickly went back to work. One, however, and a familiar one at that, smiled and walked up to her. And as the familiar-looking woman came closer, Mitsuru's eyes rose higher.

"Ms. Kirijo," greeted the Director, a warm smile on her slightly aged face. "Wonderful to finally meet you in person."

"I could say the same to you, Director," Mitsuru responded with an equally warm smile. Behind that smile, however, was a bit of shock.

She had spoken with the Director several times since their first conversation, and even had a long string of e-mails on her Scroll detailing even more conversations. But seeing a person on screen and meeting them in person were two entirely different things. Case in point, Mitsuru could feel a slight stiffening of her neck as she did her best to make eye contact with the unexpectedly tall Research Director.

Fortunately, years of practice worked well enough that the older woman didn't seem to notice Mitsuru's shock. "I suppose a proper welcome is in order, but, sadly, we're a little too busy for that," she said with a hint of apology. "In any event, our main order of business for today is in one of the other labs so we may as well take a brief tour along the way."

They exited the room through the opposite door, Mitsuru briefly noting the steel-plated room on the other side of the window. The door led to a catwalk above a massive laboratory, one filled with all the equipment she imagined would be necessary for the corporation's research division. But rather than chemicals, the laboratory was filled with computers of various sizes and there was what seemed to be a small production facility in one corner, judging by the conveyor belt passing through multiple machines. Fitting, she supposed, for a company focused on technological advancement.

Thin walls divided the room into at least seven sections, each one looking different enough from the next to differentiate their work or function.

"Not the most elegant, I know," said Director Claire, leading Mitsuru across the catwalk. "But, for us at least, it speeds up things when just about everything we need for the first stage of production is inside a single area."

"The first stage?"

"Of course. This particular room is where new ideas or improvements are developed until we can produce a viable prototype. Once a handful are created, they're tested extensively to determine their capabilities and limitations, to root out any issues that may have been overlooked in the planning stage, as well as comparing them to existing products to ensure we haven't inadvertently downgraded in quality without realizing it."

They reached the end of the long walkway and exited through another door, which led them to a white hallway lined with numerous doors, each one with a steel nameplate. Several people were walking along the hallway, and more came and went as a door opened every few seconds to admit or reveal another. All of them, Mitsuru noted, were wearing lab coats as well.

"Once we've eliminated any and all lingering issues the prototypes have, we create yet another set of prototypes," continued the brown-haired woman, nodding as she passed a pair of men. "They are tested once more to see if there are any further problems that need to be addressed. This process is repeated until the company's testers are no longer able to find any defects or programming bugs."

"I imagine it must be quite the time-consuming process," commented Mitsuru, watching as a wry grin appeared on the corner of the Director's lips. "Though I suppose the results speak for themselves. Despite not having been released to be publicly sold just yet, our Scrolls have yet to fail us in any manner. Although, considering our lack of prior experience with one, it may just be that we see it as such a vast improvement over what we are used to that we cannot see its flaws."

"In some ways, that sort of perspective can help us as well," came the response. "The fact that you and your friends have adapted to it so well, despite having no prior experience, better allows us to advertise that the Scrolls are easy to use, even for first-timers. Complex and specialized machines are all well and good, but the common consumer cannot always be expected to be able to understand how something is used without precise instructions."

"Oh, there will always be one or two in a large group who need to be spoon-fed every single step," she added with a short roll of her eyes, almost making Mitsuru chuckle at the thought, "But, for the majority of the company's products, our goal is to be able to provide products and designs that are useable by just about anyone with a minimal amount of fuss."

Just then, a thought entered Mitsuru's mind as she caught sight of the words on the nameplate of the door they just passed. "Would that happen to include weapons the company is commissioned to create?"

"Of course," came the near instantaneous response, one that did not sound overly rehearsed. "The three weapons we supplied to your friends are no exception, other than the fact that they were not here to test them personally to fine-tune them to each user's preference. In that regard, I'm quite surprised that we haven't received any messages from you stating that there was a problem. Even if that problem were as minor as a balance issue."

"On the contrary, Yukari, Fuuka, and Aigis have stated that the weapons are of excellent quality," said Mitsuru, her words as genuine as they could be given that they were someone else's opinion. "You might have the opportunity to speak with Aigis about it, seeing as she is with me on this trip. Depending on her plans, she might be accompanying me tomorrow. If she does, I'll have her bring her weapons."

"In that case, I'll let Homura, our Chief Weapons Engineer, know that he may have a visitor tomorrow."

The remaining tour of the research area was spent either discussing the various rooms they passed, or in silence, neither one offering up any other topics of conversations.

Mitsuru found the tour reminiscent of her time as the Kirijo heiress, accompanying her father when he made his rounds of the company's many assets. Included, of course, were labs dedicated to studying the phenomenon known as the Dark Hour as well as continued research on the Shadows, though with more focus on stopping them rather than utilizing them. And while different, both labs were similar enough that she could easily determine the necessity for certain pieces of equipment.

Soon enough, however, the pair came to a stop in front of a laboratory, heavy steel sliding doors kept shut by machinery inside walls of similar make and a keypad to prevent unauthorized entry. It was one that housed a specific branch of research that Mitsuru was highly interested in after first hearing about it. More importantly, it was one that was tied to her and the rest of SEES, as well as their mystery-shrouded, white-haired benefactor.

Without a word, Director Claire opened the doors, punching in a code on the keypad while holding up her own Scroll to a scanner. It was a fairly insecure manner of entry, which made Mitsuru suspect there was something more to it than a simple code and Scroll lock. There were no sounds or indication that the passcode and Scroll were accepted, only the quiet hiss as the doors slid open to allow them entry.

They both entered without a word, only breaking the silence when the doors slid shut behind them with a soft hiss. "I notice only the labs in this area have this kind of security. Moreover, I'm surprised this is where it's being kept."

"This area houses the most secure labs," the Director says in response, leading Mitsuru over to the glass window separating them from the lab proper. "It's rarely used since most of our research and experiments aren't dangerous or secretive enough to warrant it, but we do have it just in case. As I recall, the last major project we had that required these labs was when we tested Dust as a power source with differing levels of refinement to determine its overall efficiency, lifespan, and maximum output." The brown-haired woman paused as she shot Mitsuru a small grin. "Needless to say there were quite a lot of scorch marks."

Mitsuru was certain that there were more than just scorch marks to clean up after that sort of experiment but didn't voice it out loud. Her ears registered the Director's words, but her eyes and attention were focused solely on the object behind the protective glass.

Seeing where the redhead's attention was, Director Claire turned her attention to the experiment area as well. "Quite beautiful, is it not?" she asked, her own eyes taking in the sight before her. "Never, in all my years, have I ever seen a Dust crystal quite like it, if it even is one. The shape seems almost deliberately formed rather than naturally, and the color is one that has never been documented in a Dust crystal, unless the Schnees have been holding out on us. Tests have also shown that it's close enough to a Dust crystal in that it can be used as a power source, but the power output is ridiculously high despite its small size."

She couldn't say much about the third part, but Mitsuru couldn't disagree with the first and second. The supposed Dust crystal really did seem like it had been carved rather than, as her readings have taught her, naturally formed in the way that precious gems and mined Dust crystals were.

It was small, very much so for what seemed to be a whole Dust crystal, being shorter than even her smallest finger and no more than twice as wide at its widest point. The shape of the crystal evoked the image of several feathers lined up in the shape of a wing, one made up of several pieces of crystal put together. A glowing, crystalline wing, but a wing nonetheless.

The color was, as previously mentioned by the older woman, undocumented. At least, with regards to any form of publication she found on the subject. It was a luminous electric blue, reminiscent of a spark of electricity as it jumped from place to place.

A soft chime came from her Scroll and, after a quick glance to her side, she discovered that the message came from the tall woman beside her. Opening both the Scroll and the message, Mitsuru's eyes scanned the lines of text while the Director spoke, more or less repeating the same things on the message, which detailed the results of their tests on the crystal.

"As I've already mentioned, tests have shown that the crystal generates power similar to known varieties of Dust crystals. However, we have been unable to measure the exact output." Mitsuru frowned as she heard, and read, those words, but did not interrupt. "No matter what gadget or machine we connect to it, or how many, the crystal is able to power them all. Unfortunately, its maximum output causes everything to either overheat, malfunction, or even explode due to the sheer amount of power. Even equipment meant to measure power output."

"What about its elemental alignment?" asked Mitsuru, eyes scanning the report on her Scroll for any mention of such. "Were you able to discover any such thing?"

"As far as we're aware, it doesn't seem to be aligned to a single element," came the resigned response. "Whereas standard Dust crystals are aligned with a specific element or reaction based on its color, the sample we have is completely unaligned. And _that_ is bizarre, especially when you consider that we have things such as _Gravity_ Dust."

"Unaligned?" The Director seemed to glance at her in approval at catching that specific word. "Does that mean that this crystal does, indeed, possess an element of sorts?"

"To be precise, it seems to possess qualities of all known Dust crystals as well as many other unknown qualities. In fact…" Director Claire paused as though considering what to say, her eyes gaining a hint of hesitance. "In fact, some have theorized that this could possibly be an extremely old sample of Dust."

All of a sudden, Mitsuru found herself much, _much_ more interested in the theory. "In what way?"

There was a strange look in the woman's eyes, perhaps at her sudden interest along with a bit of shock at her swift response, but she indulged her all the same. "We have no evidence as we are reluctant to test it due to the nature of the tests, but some began to speculate that this crystal, due to its possession of multiple qualities that known Dust crystals only possess one of, would break down and degenerate, given time, turning into the Dust crystals we know now."

"That's… quite an interesting theory," commented Mitsuru. To herself, however, was a single thought that she made a note of to verify as soon as she could. _'And if this crystal is what I think it is then it just might be possible.'_

Director Claire gave Mitsuru a look of interest. "You know something," she said. And there was no doubting the fact that it was a statement and not a query. "Is it the same then as the crystal you mentioned when we first spoke?"

"I have suspicions but nothing concrete just yet," confirmed the redhead, followed by a shake of her head. "And, unfortunately, no, it's not the same. The crystals I saw prior to leaving for Vale were a deep blue, glowing with a pale blue light. Moreover, they were much larger than this."

"Asides from the fact that both are crystalline in nature, do they have any other similarities that you can think of?"

"None at the moment I'm afraid. Hopefully I'll have the chance to return at some point to procure a sample." Just then, her eyes caught an interesting series of words on the report, which she didn't stop reading despite their conversation. "The crystal triggered a Dust explosion?"

If the Director was surprised by the sudden shift in topic, she didn't show it and just nodded. "That's right. While an external stimulus could force a reaction from Dust, it would normally take Aura in order to activate Dust's innate properties. However, whenever Dust, in any form, is brought close to the crystal, the Dust activates as though someone were using it."

"So far we've only tested it with small amounts of Dust, both powdered and crystalline, with the exception of the first one, which was accidental. Due to how volatile the experiments seem to become, we decided to cut off that avenue of research for the time being and focus on gathering as much data as possible. But, a few months before you first made contact with us, there didn't seem to be any new data to be gathered, though we kept a constant watch on it in case that changed."

"I see."

Mitsuru continued to scan the rest of the report, but it was all as the Director had just said. The ability to not only act as a power source, but also activate all nearby Dust within a short distance, was quite an interesting fact to learn, one that had her mind running at double speed. Combined with the farfetched theory that the research team had come up with, she was certain, now more than ever, that her own theory was on the correct track, if not outright correct.

Soon enough, the pair exited the lab and began their trek back to the Director's office to discuss a few more things. But all the while, one thought continued to run through Mitsuru's mind. _'Regardless of how things go, I'll definitely need to bring Aigis in with me tomorrow.'_

* * *

"I'll be right back," Pyrrha said, rising from the booth and leaving Aigis by herself.

The blonde watched her companion make her way to the other side of the room, entering one of two doors near the corner. With a hint of amusement, Aigis realized that that was one room she would never really visit for normal reasons.

Crystal blue eyes scanned the interior of the small, almost literal hole-in-the-wall, café where they stopped so Pyrrha could have a quick lunch. So as not to arouse suspicion or unwanted attention, Aigis ordered a small salad and the pair sat at a booth at the back. The salad was to be part of Pyrrha's order so, upon its arrival, Aigis slid the shallow bowl across the table. And when she was finished a few minutes later, the redhead passed it back not long before her own order arrived.

They passed the time with a bit of conversation, mostly about the city and where Pyrrha planned to take her that afternoon. The planned tour was nothing grand, both of them agreeing that the best places to see would be better off visited when they were with Mitsuru and Akihiko so that they wouldn't miss out on anything.

"Pardon me."

The unexpected voice shook Aigis from her thoughts. Glancing up, she found an older man, perhaps in his late forties or early fifties, standing beside the table. He had a weathered, slightly wrinkled face, with strong features. His hair, a heavy mix of red and gray, was tied in a high, spiky ponytail. His clothing was reminiscent of a blue, long-sleeved, Chinese style shirt but extending down to his knees in four parts, loose white pants wrapped with white tape just above the ankles, and black slippers, ones she recognized as the kind worn by the stereotypical martial artists in popular fiction, and in real life, back in her time.

But what caught her attention the most was his sharp, gray-blue eyes. There was a hardness, a steely resolve, in them that Aigis had only seen when her friends were preparing to fight. More than that, however, was the manic and hungry gleam she could see in them. That part reminded her of the predatory gaze she had once seen in the eyes of Strega's leader.

At the same time, however, nothing in his posture suggested that he had approached her with the intent to fight. He wanted something, that much she was certain of, but whatever it was he didn't intend on taking it by force. At least, she hoped that he did not intend to have it escalate that far.

"My apologies for disturbing you," said the man, his voice strong and firm despite his age, "But I was wondering if you could indulge me for a moment."

As much as Aigis wanted to turn the man down, something in his manner told her that he wouldn't leave without whatever it was he wanted. As such, she nodded but remained wary.

"My thanks. I promise you that I won't take much of your time." The man gave a brief bow in thanks before rising and meeting Aigis's gaze once more. "My name is Li. I'm an… acquaintance of sorts… of young Ms. Nikos."

Aigis was immediately on guard, her body tensing every so slightly. She was well aware of Pyrrha's fame just as much as she was aware of the many ways one would want to exploit said fame. And if Pyrrha hadn't explained it earlier, then Aigis would have realized there and then the reason for the redhead's concealing choice of clothing. The man's eyes were sharp, however, and he smiled in amusement at almost the exact moment she tensed, causing her tension to rise even further.

Even so, the man just grew even more amused. "I assure you, I mean no harm. It has been some time since we last spoke and I merely wished to ask about her wellbeing."

"Then why not approach her yourself?" asked Aigis, still wary of the man.

"She clearly does not wish to be recognized, if her clothing is any indication." She had to concede that point to the man, but she would remain cautious all the same. "She is not the sort to engage in casual conversation, especially not for an extended period of time, with one whom she is not comfortable with, so I felt it safe to assume that you were aware of her identity. As such, I felt it best to approach you, instead, and give her the privacy she desires."

She wasn't quite convinced but she didn't feel as though the man was lying. Hiding something, most definitely, but not outright lying. Eyes still filled with caution and distrust, Aigis nodded, an unspoken sign for the man to go on.

"My thanks for your time. I shall leave you now, before Ms. Nikos returns." She was surprised by his words, so much so that her eyes widened in shock, even as the man bowed once more and turned to leave. But before he did, he half-turned back to her with a knowing grin. "And I believe it would be best to keep this meeting to ourselves for now. No need to worry Ms. Nikos when all she wishes is to remain anonymous."

The man, Li, left without another word, leaving the blonde android staring after him in disbelief, her electronic brain still trying to make sense of their conversation. It was to this sight that Pyrrha returned from the restroom.

* * *

It took Aigis a while to convince her friend that she was fine and that she had just seen something strange. Not out of respect for the man's wishes, but because, like him – that is, if his words were as sincere as he made them out to be – she felt that there was little need to worry Pyrrha, especially when nothing truly significant had taken place.

Thankfully, the redhead didn't press the issue very much. After settling the bill, which the Mistralian insisted on paying in full since she was the only one who actually ate anything, the pair left the café.

Her appetite finally sated, Pyrrha, her hood still on to minimize the chances of being recognized in public, proceeded to give the android a brief tour of the area close to the hotel. It wasn't much, but, then again, the city as a whole was never meant to be a tourist destination.

Some people came to visit Weilai's business sector. It was, without a doubt, the best place to go almost regardless of what one was looking for, partly due to the presence of the Adamas Corporations headquarters. Household appliances and tools, personal items and gadgets, protective gear for both civilians and professional Huntsmen, just about anything and everything one might want or need from the common to many obscure and bizarre objects could be found in one of the countless stores and shopping centers found in the city.

Others came to try their own luck at plying their trade. Many saw Weilai as the final step towards 'true' success as a businessman, merchant, or anything along those lines. And with the sheer amount of competition in the city, even the best needed to remain steadfast and vigilant lest they walk away a failure due to a single moment of complacency or arrogance.

Others, still, came to the city for safety. It was a known fact that small towns and settlements rarely lasted longer than a handful of generations, if even that. Not unless, of course, there was a strong presence of skilled Huntsmen in the area, or in the town itself, to ward off the growing threat of the Grimm. Even so, more and more people were choosing to migrate to the larger, better protected, cities. And, as the city responsible for the kingdom's continued technological advances, there was little better choice than Weilai.

Regardless of their reasons, few people came to Weilai just to sightsee. True, there were a few who wanted to see the city for themselves, but such people were far and few in between. At least when compared to the sheer number of people who came for other, often more productive and lucrative, reasons. Even so, there was simply not much to see in the city. The city was beautiful, just as many Mistralian cities were, but there was little in the way for entertainment for the common tourist.

Still, Pyrrha did her best to show Aigis things that might interest her. It was, surprisingly, easier than she thought.

Perhaps it was because the blonde had come from a vastly different culture, or perhaps it was, by the android's own admission, because she was relatively inexperienced due to her young age. Pyrrha had, expectedly, raised an eyebrow in confusion until Aigis reminded her that she had been active for less than two years despite having been built over ten years ago. Either way, she was curious about a great many things and her eyes lit up with interest and delight at the smallest things.

She was, Pyrrha mused with a smile hidden by her hood, like a small child seeing the world for the first time.

And then, just as quickly as that thought came, Pyrrha's smile inverted as the realized that Aigis was, technically, a child. Her appearance was that of a teen even though her body was only about a decade old. But despite her body's age, her mind was, in many ways, that of a child even younger than that.

She may have been given the knowledge of many common things to aid in her integration with the world, with combat being the main bulk of said knowledge, but she had not necessarily experienced all of it. It was like reading or being told about flowers but never actually seeing, touching, and smelling one until many years later. Or a sheltered child, with highly overprotective parents, being told about the world but never once being allowed to step outside the house.

Aigis knew a great deal, and had even experienced many things that Pyrrha never imagined someone her age – or at least someone who _looked her age_ – would experience, that much was true. But in many ways, the blonde android was very much a child. A very sheltered child whose eyes wouldn't necessarily look out of place on a seasoned Huntress, but a child nonetheless.

But in the end, all that realization did was make Pyrrha more determined to make sure that Aigis enjoyed her time in Weilai.

Thankfully, nobody recognized her just yet and, subsequently, ruining their day.

* * *

The quartet composed of Mitsuru, Akihiko, Aigis, and Pyrrha entered their room, a two-bedroom suite on the second-to-the-top floor of the hotel, a little before midnight, having been given a grand tour of the city by Pyrrha herself after an equally grand dinner at one of the city's finest restaurants. And while none of them had the proper attire for the venue, all it took was a quick presentation of her ID to prove her identity and they were given a private room usually reserved for VIPs and business meetings, foregoing the need for more formal attire.

"I must admit," Mitsuru began to say with a smile not long after entering the luxurious suite. "I wasn't expecting too much considering the city isn't very accommodating when it comes to tourists, but the visit to the temple was quite the unexpected surprise."

Well, perhaps 'grand' was an exaggeration with regards to their city tour. There wasn't much to see in the city save for the Adamas Corporation, the extremely large shopping district, and the old, but still maintained, temple located at the very center of the city.

Of the three, the temple interested the Japanese trio the most due to the similarities in belief. Pyrrha was even certain that she heard Akihiko mutter something about the designs being 'too similar to be a coincidence'. It only strengthened her own belief that the Mistralians, and herself by extension, were partly descended from travelers from their homeland, if not the Japanese themselves.

It felt strange thinking about it, if she were being honest, but some part of her felt strangely elated at the knowledge that they shared blood, however distant and unlikely it was.

Akihiko chuckled at his friend's words. "That's an understatement if I ever heard one. And it's not just the temple. If I wasn't thinking about it I might have started thinking we were still in Japan, just in another city, and not somewhere else entirely."

"I can't say I thought the same, but I can certainly understand where you're coming from," the redhead replied with a brief, but similar chuckle.

The four settled down on plush and, in Akihiko's opinion, overly soft sofas facing one another, a wide window to their side offering an unimpeded view of Weilai.

Akihiko didn't take long to broach the topic he had been waiting to bring up since earlier that night. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?" he asked Mitsuru, who hadn't revealed much, or anything at all, about her visit to the Adamas Corporation's headquarters earlier that day. "We gonna be doing a lot of business with 'em?"

"Truthfully," Mitsuru began to answer without delay, "I'll only need Aigis with me but you're welcome to come along if you want."

"Don't really have anything else planned for this trip so I might as well," the boxer replied before glancing at Aigis. "So we're taking that route then?"

Surprising all three, the redhead shook her head. "I'm still reserving judgement on that matter. For one thing, nothing I've seen or heard suggests that they have the expertise necessary and I'd rather not have Aigis be their learning platform." Akihiko nodded, both in agreement and understanding even as Mitsuru continued. "No, I'll need Aigis present for another matter. I'll let you know more tomorrow," she said to the blonde in question. "For now, I believe we should turn in for the night."

Nobody disagreed, and the quartet split up into pairs to turn in. Mitsuru and Pyrrha in one bedroom, and Aigis and Akihiko in the other. The arrangement the elder redhead suggested suited them all just fine, even the latter pair.

Despite possessing a feminine form, Aigis had no true concept of feminine modesty, though she understood the logic behind it, and thus was not embarrassed to be rooming with Akihiko.

On his part, Akihiko saw Aigis as female but, as she was not truly flesh and blood, did not see anything wrong with the arrangement. Moreover, Aigis was, technically, naked whenever they went into Tartarus in the past. And even stripping off what covering she had left would only reveal mechanical parts.

And it said much about how Pyrrha was adjusting to the knowledge of a Semblance-wielding android that she hadn't voiced any complaints about their arrangement.

The two redheads were soon dressed in their nightwear, though Mitsuru took a brief shower as was her norm, and all but two lights were shut off. Pyrrha was about to step into her bed, knowing that the other three would not be sleeping until midnight had come and gone, when she noticed that Mitsuru was reading something on her Scroll.

Or rather, she noticed the scowl on the older girl's face even as her fingers went to work. Given her focus on whatever it was she had read and was typing, she hadn't noticed Pyrrha's concerned expression nor her decision.

"Is something wrong?" she asked as she approached.

If Mitsuru was in any way startled then Pyrrha would have to applaud her ability to hide it. The way her scowl melted away as she looked up was simply masterful. Had she not seen the scowl with certainty beforehand then she would have passed it off as a trick of the room's currently dim lighting.

"Just a little bad news." It didn't escape her notice that Mitsuru didn't mention where or from whom the bad news came from. "Hopefully it doesn't worsen to the point where I'll need to personally step in."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not at the moment, no. I'll keep the offer in mind though if it does get to that point."

"And I'll do everything I can to help if that time comes." With a quick 'good night', Pyrrha returned to the bed and slipped under the covers, her back turned to the direction where Mitsuru was sitting.

But, even as she drifted off to sleep, the red-haired champion could not help but think about what she had just seen.

For as long as she had known Mitsuru, not that it had been very long, she had never once seen the older girl worry about anything. Concerned, yes, but never to the point of being stressed. The look on her face earlier had been the latter. The crease on her brow was more pronounced that she had ever seen before, and her lips had tightened as though stopping herself from speaking, or cursing, out loud. Whatever news she received must have been fairly serious.

Still, it must not be _too_ bad. If something had happened to one of her friends then she wouldn't have stayed silent, let alone pass it off as a minor matter.

Reassuring herself that Mitsuru would tell them, or at least Akihiko and Aigis, if the matter was important, Pyrrha purged the heavy thoughts out of her mind. And soon enough, she gently drifted off into the land of dreams.

* * *

 **December 27, XX13**

The next morning was fairly eventful. At least, from Pyrrha's perspective it was.

One of the first things she noticed was that Mitsuru's Scroll was in near constant use that entire morning, the small white device receiving and sending messages every few minutes. Sometimes within less than a minute.

The second thing she noticed was that Mitsuru's Scroll was white. More importantly, it was an older model from about a year or so back. There was no way that she could be mistaken. After all, she had been in the same room when Mitsuru took the red-colored Rotulus model, though mainly because it was the only one left after she let everyone else pick their color of choice.

And the third thing she noticed was the worry that the older girl tried to hide from the rest of them. The only reason she had caught on was because she had seen that same worry the previous night. That, and the fact that she kept glancing at Mitsuru as discreetly as she could.

Mysterious new Scroll aside, a part of her worried that something happened to the others. Something very bad. But, she reasoned to herself, Mitsuru's worry wasn't deep enough, wasn't strong enough. She was confident that, had something of that nature occurred, she would have booked a flight back to Vale, the first one that was scheduled to depart, the moment the message came in. Or, in the worst possible scenario, she might have leveraged Pyrrha's fame in order to secure a flight if one wasn't readily available.

So that left just about every other possibility, many of which she probably hadn't even considered, or ever will.

Asides from Mitsuru's hidden worries, breakfast was a normal affair, with the four of them discussing plans for the day and, more importantly, the night that would follow once their errands and obligations were done. Barring any unforeseen events, the four of them would dine together again later that night and go for another brief tour of Weilai's nightlife.

They departed the hotel not too long after breakfast, taking only a brief moment to let the meal settle and to double-check their preparations. And all too soon for Pyrrha's liking, they arrived at Adamas's main office. Even as they approached the front desk, the receptionist's eyes lit up with recognition, and then confusion. The latter had faded away just before they reached her.

"Good morning Ms. Nikos, Ms. Kirijo," she greeted professionally, not showing the slightest hint of curiosity she no doubt had at seeing the two of them enter together. "Mr. Shamay is in his office, Ms. Nikos. And Director Claire has been expecting you, Ms. Kirijo. I'll have someone escort you and your companions to her office."

"Thank you."

As the young woman behind the desk made the arrangements and informed the necessary parties, Pyrrha turned to her three companions, hiding her earlier discomfort with a smile. "I suppose this is where we part ways for now. I'm certain I'll be here longer to finish up my obligations, so there's no need to wait for me."

Mitsuru nodded without delay. "Alright. We'll let you know what our plans are later on in case you want to meet up."

"That sounds wonderful." With those final words, Pyrrha walked into the elevator, a bag carrying her weapons slung over her shoulder. She had time for a brief nod and a smile before the elevator's doors slid shut and she was whisked away.

It wasn't long before she was standing in front of Astorias Shamay, her manager, discussing what they would be doing for the day. As expected, she would first be displaying her skills in a practice match to ensure she hadn't slacked off while at Beacon, not that anyone expected her to. What would follow was more of the same things she used to do prior to attending Beacon. Meetings, interviews, photoshoots, conferences, promotional and public relations events, social gatherings, and even a new advertisement or two.

It was clear that the next few days in Weilai was going to be a busy one for her, despite being on vacation from school. And it went without saying that her return home would include more of the same due to Mistral being her home city.

Such is the price of fame, she thought for the umpteenth time with an internal sigh.

* * *

"Does it look familiar to you Ms. Arisato?"

The blonde adopted a thoughtful expression as she gazed at the mysterious Dust crystal beyond the protective glass. Her eyes, just a few shades darker than the crystal in question, took in every detail from the color, to the shape, to the size. And all the while, she kept in mind the details of the research report that the Director had let her review earlier.

Unfortunately, the Director's hopes were clearly not meant to be answered that day. The statuesque woman didn't even bother to hide her disappointment when Aigis shook her head. "I was hoping you'd at least recognize it, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Given its miniscule size and what it's capable of, I believe it's safe to assume that this particular Dust crystal is an incredibly rare sort." She turned away from the mysterious crystal to face the redhead behind her, noting the speculative and thoughtful look on the silver-haired teen next to Mitsuru. "Is there any particular route you wish to take with regards to it? Ms. Elizabeth did specify in her agreement that research into it would proceed according to your decisions."

"I do." Mitsuru had thought long and hard the previous night about what to do with the strange crystal that SEES's benefactor left behind. And the results of the preliminary testing, combined with her own personal theory, made it quite clear what the next step should be. "Continue testing its capabilities as well as its limits. However, I want any tests that may risk its destruction, or even damaging it, to be detailed and sent to me first. It may limit the results, but I believe it would be best to leave such test until there is no other path to take, lest we risk damaging it or even destroying it before learning anything significant."

Director Claire nodded without pause, her own thoughts coinciding with Mitsuru's. "Considering this is the only sample we have, I believe it would be both prudent and practical to proceed cautiously as well. We may not be able to conduct as many tests, but I believe we should have a reasonable understanding of the crystal's capabilities given time. And speaking of which, is there any particular name you want to give it?"

The redhead glanced at her long-time friend, only to receive a shrug as though to say 'Don't look at me. I don't have any idea what to name it.' A similarly blank expression was on Aigis's face, though Mitsuru could see the blonde glancing at the crystal now and again. After a moment of thought, Mitsuru came up with what she felt was a fitting name. "Let's call it 'Dawn' Dust."

Evidently, everyone found the name both interesting and perplexing in differing amounts, if the looks she received were to go by. "Dawn…" repeated the Director, glancing at the crystal in question as though testing the name. "It's certainly an… interesting name, and it definitely looks close enough to the color of the sky during daybreak. Though I suspect that's not quite why you chose the name."

"No, it's not. Call it intuition, if you will, but given what we know I feel that it's quite the fitting name." Despite her calm expression, Mitsuru couldn't deny the slightly perverse sense of pleasure she felt at hiding her _true_ reasoning for choosing that particular name. One that trailed all the way back to her personal theory.

"I can't completely disagree with that," nodded the Director. "I'll let you know more once I've spoken with the team assigned to this project. And as requested, I'll let you know whe-"

A sharp chime cut her off as her own Scroll rang. Normally she wouldn't bother while she was with someone else, but the melody that played when the message came in was one assigned to messages coming from certain people within the company. More often than not, they were messages that she could not afford to _not_ read as soon as she received them. Excusing herself, she pulled out her Scroll to read the message in question.

Not long after, she turned to the three teens before her with a wide grin.

"How would you three like to meet the Invincible Girl?"

* * *

After an amusing moment where Mitsuru revealed that they were already acquainted with Pyrrha, enough to call her their friend,that they had actually travelled to Weilai with her, _and_ that they were actually staying in the same hotel suite, the Director led the trio to another part of the building where Pyrrha would, according to the message she received, spar with her tutor to determine how her skills have grown since her departure for Vale.

"I understand that Pyrrha is quite the celebrity," began Mitsuru as they made their way across the building. "But is it normal to send out messages to let people know that she will be here?"

This time it was the Director's turn to laugh. "Not for the majority, of course," came the jolly response. "But the directors and department heads are almost always informed if Ms. Nikos will be here for an extended period of time. This gives us the chance to consider whether we need or want her for something, advertising more often than not given that Adamas is her corporate sponsor. The Engineering Department, for example, may have come up with an improved design for her weapons or armor and want her to test it. Though more often than not, it's the PR Department that have need of her."

It wasn't really that different from certain celebrities in their time, Mitsuru noted. A sponsor helps them from behind the scenes while, in turn, the celebrity would endorse their sponsor to help them gain more recognition in turn. There were sure to be more details to the deal, there always was, but for now she was certain that it was more of the same as it always was.

It seemed, to her at least, that there will always be things that remained the same even as everything continued to change.

When they pushed past another pair of doors, the sound of clashing weapons reached their ears, only muted. Stepping into the room, they found themselves standing in a viewing deck above the combat area where they found their friend and classmate sparring against an older, red-haired man, the latter wielding a simple spear that was longer than he was tall.

The sounds were coming from the screens to the left where the recording equipment was located. Manning them were a handful of technical staff and standing behind them were two men in corporate attire who were pointing at something on the screens every few seconds and speaking in low tones to one another.

"That man…"

Aigis's muttered words drew attention from their host, who followed the blonde's gaze down to the champion's opponent. "Ah, that's not her father, or even a relative, if that's what you're thinking." The Director's words were clearly a result of thinking that Aigis made the assumption due to the man's red hair, which was a very close shade to Pyrrha's own. Aigis decided not to correct the older woman. "That man is Master Li, the man who claims to be the master of over a thousand weapons."

"A thousand?" Akihiko's tone was skeptical, which was understandable, but Mitsuru could both see and hear a hint of respect for the older man. She supposed it had to do with his own hobbies and personality.

"Mind you, no one's ever seen him demonstrate that much," added the Research Director. "But what little he _has_ revealed caused quite a lot of people to not completely doubt his claims."

Were anyone to ask Akihiko for his opinion, or even Aigis's, they would have heard the two side with those same people.

Though he was only well-versed in boxing, Akihiko's experience did lend him a sharp eye when it came to assessing the skills of an opponent. Even Mitsuru had that same ability due to her fencing, though to a lesser degree. It was, if he were being honest, the main reason why, barring Aigis for obvious reasons, he still held the most wins among SEES in their Combat Class. The second reason was simply that he took his physical training far more seriously than the others, even prior to Beacon.

Helping train the other members of SEES, creating the optimal training regimen suited for their individual styles and needs, training against metaphorical and literal monsters like Elizabeth and Thanatos, and even training against their Aura-powered classmates and friends, and even a teacher at one point, only served to better this particular skill of his. Only Aigis was better at it than he was but that had more to do with her physical nature rather than experience.

And right now that same hard-earned ability was telling him that the older redhead facing off against his classmate was highly unlikely to be a mere braggart. Even if the number of weapons mastered was an exaggeration, his skill was undoubtedly genuine.

The spear in his hands was nothing more than a dark gray, metal staff with pointed ends. In fact, Akihiko felt it was more appropriate to call it a javelin even if it wasn't being used the way a javelin was traditionally used, namely being thrown. The man wielded it the way one would a quarterstaff, spinning it around with ease born of talent and practice, but just as often thrusting a pointed end at the younger, female redhead like one would a spear or pike.

Akihiko didn't know anyone who used a weapon like it – though he had seen a handful of Minato's Personas using one briefly – but discerning gray eyes could see a miniscule portion of the immense amount of skill the man kept hidden. Pyrrha was clearly outmatched the way a newborn child was unable to match a trained Huntsman. Only by grace and necessity did the older man not end the fight within the first two seconds, instead prolonging it in order to impart what little martial knowledge he was willing to part with.

But even while holding back, he was nothing less than a force of nature given human form. Every strike brought to bear the strength of a crushing wave, every thrust of his weapon was as swift as a bolt of lightning, every motion an unstoppable hurricane, and any form of retaliation was met by an immovable and impenetrable mountain.

And standing against it all was a mere mortal girl who made no effort to hide how much she was struggling.

To the fairly well-trained eyes of the three spectating teens, with Aigis being the most suited to observing the more minute details of the fight, their red-haired classmate was almost exclusively on the defensive. It was a strange sight to see, even knowing that, despite her fame, Pyrrha was still just a seventeen-year-old girl who was well below the skill level of even the average Huntsman.

And yet there it was.

Miló was swinging every which way, the red and gold blade just barely fending off the older man's relentless storm of attacks. Akoúo was used similarly, constantly raised and in motion to keep its owner from being struck. Such was the ferocity of the attacker that Pyrrha seldom made any offensive moves. And on the rare occasion that she did, her attack was knocked aside with contemptuous ease long before it came close to its target. Were her opponent any other man, Akihiko was certain that he would be laughing and gloating at how easily and prematurely he had stopped her attack.

Idly, he wondered what the redhead champion's fans would think if they saw their idol the way she was now. Sweat pouring down her face, all four limbs shaking ever so slightly with exhaustion as she continued to struggle against a vastly superior foe. Not even her half-hour bout against Aigis had left her looking this exhausted. And while her Aura meter was still well over two-thirds of the way full, the fact that she had yet to land a single hit was just as telling as a more depleted one.

This was not a fight.

It was not even a training match. Not to Akihiko.

While Master Li's expression never once changed, a confident grin seemingly frozen on his slightly aged face, his actions throughout the fight spoke of things that the boxer was certain only a few people in the room would understand, if even that many.

No, it was absolutely wrong to call the spectacle before him a fight.

Now the only question was 'why'.

A handful of theories sprung up in his mind within the first few seconds. A dozen more came within the next minute. And yet more came with every passing moment, each one just as feasible yet highly unlikely as the last.

He simply lacked the necessary information and context to understand why things were happening in this manner.

His thoughts were cut short when a loud buzzer sounded off to the side. A quick glance showed that it came from the speakers on the console that was monitoring the fight. Another glance showed that Pyrrha's Aura meter had just fallen below the halfway point. It was well above the point where fights were usually stopped, so he felt it safe to assume that it was something that had been agreed upon beforehand.

But even so, his mind never left the question that he had been pondering just moments ago. Even as Director Claire escorted them down to the waiting room outside the combat area – something about wanting to speak with Pyrrha for a moment – Akihiko's mind was more focused on his own thoughts.

And such was his dedication to it that, before he knew it, they were already standing in front of Pyrrha and her teacher, the former introducing the three of them to the older man.

"…om Beacon. Akihiko Sanada, Mitsuru Kirijo, and Aigis Arisato." Hearing his name pulled the silver-haired teen away from his thoughts. And while Pyrrha didn't seem to notice his preoccupied state, her teacher was another matter, if the way he was looking at him was any indication.

"A pleasure to meet you all," said the older redhead. When Pyrrha didn't introduce her teacher, Akihiko realized that he had already missed that part of the introductions. "And a pleasure to meet you again, Ms. Arisato." That, however, came as a surprise. "I certainly hope you enjoyed the tour my student no doubt took you on yesterday after we parted ways. Though I suppose she might have escorted all three of you and not just yourself."

Had she been anyone else, Akihiko was certain that Aigis would have been blushing like a schoolgirl – the normal kind and not the Huntress kind – at the attention everyone was suddenly giving her. Then again, who wouldn't be interested in hearing how the two of them had gotten acquainted with one another.

True to form, Aigis maintained a disciplined, if somewhat stoic, expression as she nodded. "We did," she said, answering the unspoken question while also confirming Master Li's latter statement.

"You've… met?" asked Pyrrha, looking back and forth between her teacher and her classmates. The unspoken 'when' and 'where' was practically on her lips, though manners prevented her from prying too quickly. Not that she even needed to ask. Anyone with even a tiny sliver of social awareness could see the questions she wanted to ask.

Her teacher was most definitely one of those people. "Yesterday, in that small café not too far from the southern monument."

"He approached me at our table while you were in the restroom." And Aigis, despite her limited social experience, was another, answering the next unspoken question even before Pyrrha could hint at it. "We had a brief discussion, then he left just before you returned."

"I didn't wish to intrude any longer than I already did," continued Li. "Besides which, it was quite apparent that you wanted privacy."

"You stated your desire to remain anonymous for the most part, so I made the choice not to bother you with the knowledge that someone had recognized you."

While the back-and-forth between the two made for an amusing sight, mostly because of the confused – and was that frustration he spotted? – expression on Pyrrha's face, Akihiko's focus was on the elder redhead. Now that he was this close, he could see something in the older man's eyes that no camera or video recording could capture. And when, in the very near future, he would mention this finding in the presence of Aigis, the blonde would confirm having seen the very same thing.

In the older man's eyes was a deep hunger for something Akihiko could only guess at. He had seen that same look in the eyes of at least one other man in the past. Those were the eyes of men who would go to any lengths to obtain that which they sought.

Of those he had known, one would eventually realize that his path was leading him down a road that would lead only to his own destruction. Even so, by the time he had realized his mistake he had already lost much more than he was willing to pay. And while he chose not to give up on his goal, the path he then chose to take towards it was far less likely to lead to further tragedy.

Others were not so fortunate. Or even willing to change. Akihiko could recall at least two others who pursued their goal with such zeal that they chose not to pay heed to the cost. Partly because the cost they paid came not from them but from others, and partly because they felt that their end goal, their ambition, was worth any price that must be paid.

Given the man's age, combined with the fact that he still possessed such eyes, Master Li was highly unlikely to be one of the former.

And the fact that he was Pyrrha's teacher, and had been for years, bothered Akihiko far more than he would like to admit in present company.

"Akihiko?"

Mitsuru's voice, despite the soft volume and tone, drew him out of his spiraling thoughts. For a multitude of reasons, one did not simply ignore Mitsuru Kirijo when she had something to say.

"Later," he murmured back, eyes still watching as Master Li took a moment to laugh at Pyrrha's confusion.

"Don't be so surprised," he barked out alongside his laughter. "I was told you would be arriving yesterday. With enough patience it becomes a trivial matter to wait at the city's sole port to await your arrival. From there, I merely followed at a distance to observe how you've changed since your departure for Vale months prior." There was a glint of amusement in his eyes to accompany the grin that blossomed on his lips. "Though I have to say it was a surprise to see you with not one, but three companions. All of whom you seem to be quite comfortable with."

Pyrrha made to speak but her teacher cut her off, though not impolitely. "I don't mean to belittle you in any way. I just did not expect such a sight. I recall telling you that I disagreed with your opinion regarding how your fame would affect your relationships with your peers. The fact that you bore that mindset going in is the same as walking to a fight while thinking only of your disadvantages and the possibility of defeat."

The younger redhead looked suitably admonished by her teacher's words, the comparison more than enough to impart the scale of her mistake. "'Strength of arms are as a dull, rusted blade when wielded by a weak heart.'" The words she spoke were clearly that of someone else's. And Akihiko didn't need to consider the possibilities very hard to realize whose words they were.

"Indeed," responded Master Li, a sharp, approving grin on his face. "Since you remember it so well, try, then, to remember that crossing a stream is not so different from crossing a river. The scale may be different, and the dangers not quite the same, but at the heart of it all you are still crossing a body of running water."

It took a moment before Akihiko saw understanding dawn in Pyrrha's green eyes. Soon after, she bowed her head in gratitude and, if his eyes weren't mistaken, a little bit of shame. Was she perhaps embarrassed at having overlooked something that was, in hindsight, so simple?

"Well, enough lessons for now. We'll have time for that in the coming days," announced Master Li, his grin fading and making way for a friendlier smile. "For now, I can safely say that your skills haven't suffered in your time away. In fact, your skills have advanced by a not so insignificant margin. It's quite clear that Beacon Academy lives up to its reputation as the best of the Huntsman Academies."

"Thank you, Master Li." Once again, Pyrrha bows her head, accepting the older man's assessment and praise. "But I should mention that not all of my improvements were a result of the training provided by Beacon's staff, though they certainly played a major role."

"Oh?" All of a sudden, the hair on the back of Akihiko's head began to stand on end. A brief but undeniable chill running down his spine as though to warn him that something terrible was about to happen. It didn't help that the red-haired man's eyes once again gleamed with well-veiled hunger even as his voice took on a tone of interest. "Then, to whom or what else do we owe your improvement to?"

The Mistralian girl turned, her hand rising and gesturing in their direction with an open palm facing upwards. "Despite his age, Akihiko is well-read with regards to various exercises and training methods. Initially, I kept to the training routines you laid out for me before my departure but, after seeing how well his friends took to his training, I decided to see if he had any advice he could give me regarding my own training."

Master Li gave a nod of approval, eyes examining Akihiko more closely now. "A prudent choice. Youth is not all foolishness and ignorance, age is not wisdom and sensibility."

Akihiko was about to respond, hoping to downplay his aid while praying that the older man would turn his gaze away. But before he could, his red-haired classmate continued to speak. "Asides from Akihiko, Aigis has also been a great help."

If Pyrrha's earlier words was enough to cause him worry, her latest statement caused every single alarm to thunder and blare inside his head. He could not fathom the reason for such a feeling, but he had never been the most rational person. Despite the cool demeanor he preferred to portray in public, he had always listened to his instincts first and foremost, emotions and logic alternating between second and third depending on the situation. And right now, every last bit of instinct was telling – no, screaming at him that revealing Aigis's combat prowess here would be the biggest mistake they would make yet.

"Aigis is, asides from myself, the only undefeated first-year student in our Combat Class and is, in my opinion, easily my equal in combat." _Now_ Master Li's attention was solely on the blonde, and Akihiko could see the intensity of his interest grow exponentially. "Both times we've fought ended in a draw," Pyrrha continued to say, seemingly unaware of her teacher's predatory gaze aimed at Aigis. "And while neither she nor I were fighting at the limits of our strength, I believe that both she and I have a near equal chance of obtaining victory were we to fight at our absolute best."

But it wasn't just Master Li whose attention was on the blonde. Standing next to the trio of Japanese students, Director Claire was also giving Aigis an appraising glance, though with far less in the way of ulterior motives hidden in her eyes. "Well now, isn't that interesting," she muttered, just loud enough for them to hear. "I don't know whether to call Shamay to see if he can make use of this as some sort of rivalry to boost your image, or to see if the company could make Ms. Arisato a similar offer and have you two work side by side."

"Perhaps a spar between the two, with the necessary people observing, could help?" Master Li suggested helpfully. "Such things are beyond my expertise so I believe it would be best to leave such decisions in the hands of the more knowledgeable."

And in response, Director Claire's eyes lit up with enough excitement that it was almost palpable. "I'll have to run it through the others but I do believe that should be possible."

It wasn't just the two adults, however, as even Pyrrha's eyes betrayed her own elation. Akihiko, on the other hand, could not possibly feel any less excited as he already was. A quick glance at the two girls beside him showed that he wasn't the only one, though not for the same reasons. Mitsuru, at least, looked to be thinking things over and would most likely not allow it to take place. At least, not then and there. In the future, perhaps, but not now. Aigis was concerned but was glancing at him and Mitsuru for their decision.

"I'd certainly like to see how a third match will end," added Pyrrha, perhaps not intentionally trying to tilt the scales. Although she knew that Aigis would be unable to fight with her full ability, the chance to see who was better in terms of pure physical ability was still too much to pass up.

While many might have said that his feelings were mistaken, given that he was clearly in the minority, Akihiko wouldn't have cared even if they openly said that he was completely paranoid. He lived most of his life following his instincts over anything else. He wouldn't start doubting them now. Not when they were warning him so strongly.

"Let's hold off on that." And with those five words, Akihiko had everyone's attention on him. "As much as I wanna see it too, Aigis doesn't have her weapons and she isn't that good at hand-to-hand." He tried his best to sound casual, but he wasn't sure he could hide everything from a man like Master Li. Hopefully he at least had the consolation of not having given away his true reasoning. "Besides, even if it won't take long we'll be heading back to Vale tomorrow morning and we've got a couple of things we still need to take care of today."

More than one person looked disappointed, but he was satisfied by having cut off an impending disaster and, hopefully, delaying a future one as well. Though he would have preferred to completely eliminate the latter, he knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Not with the look in the man's eyes.

"A pity," said the elder redhead, reaching up to stroke his chin as he looked at Aigis appraisingly. "I, myself, was looking forward to watching such a battle. While my student is hardly the strongest in her generation, it _has_ been quite a long time since she has met an equal. Regardless, it relieves me to know she has found one." Turning to Pyrrha, he said, "It would seem that your decision to study at Beacon Academy has already borne fruit."

Glancing at the three friends she had made at the aforementioned school, watching as the two older teens began to discuss something in hushed tones while Aigis briefly entertained the Research Director, Pyrrha didn't even try suppressing the small, soft smile that graced her lips. "Yes. I'm certainly glad I made that decision. And I'm certain it is one I will never regret."

* * *

The four teens parted ways not long afterwards. Pyrrha left to freshen up and to attend a few meetings with her corporate sponsors. Akihiko and Aigis left for a bit of additional sightseeing as well as to run a few errands that Akihiko had been unable to finish the day before. Mitsuru, meanwhile, remained behind to finish up some business with Adamas.

To be precise, she was meeting with Homura Toukou, Adamas's Head of Engineering. While the man mainly worked on designs for the company's products, he was also an accomplished weapon-smith. In fact, he had been the one to design the weapons currently used by Fuuka, Yukari, and Aigis. It was with that thought in mind that Mitsuru had asked for a meeting with him.

At the moment, the bald, tan-skinned, middle-aged man was sitting behind his desk in a plain black business suit, looking over some documents on his Scroll with a dour expression. "These are quite… intriguing," he said with a rough, gravelly voice, eyes still roaming the display screen of his Scroll. "And your idea certainly has merit, most especially given your current career path."

Finally, he slid his Scroll shut and set it down on the desk, midnight blue eyes glancing up to meet Mitsuru's. "Though I hope you understand that what you're asking for isn't going to be inexpensive. The price the three weapons your benefactor ordered on your behalf won't even come close to what you're asking of me. More importantly, it's not something that will be finished anytime soon. I wager it will take at least three months before all of this is finished, perhaps at least another month more depending on other projects that may crop up between now and then."

"I'm well aware," Mitsuru replied without hesitation. "However, all this is for the safety of my friends and myself. Money is a small matter compared to that. And though I would prefer to have it finished sooner rather than later, I'm well aware that you have other priorities and obligations."

Left unsaid, or rather best unsaid, was the veritable fortune that Elizabeth had left them. And armed with a better understanding of Remnant's economy, Mitsuru now realized that she and her friends had essentially been gifted enough assets to rival what the Kirijo Group once had in a past long gone. The only difference was that the Kirijo's assets were capable of generating even more revenue, while theirs was mostly monetary assets at present, save for the investments into Adamas that Elizabeth made on their behalf.

"Well, it's your money so I'm hardly going to turn this contract down if you're this sure about it," the man replied without humor. "Give me a moment to collect the forms you'll need to sign. I'm sure you have other things you'd rather be doing."

In no time at all the necessary paperwork was read, examined, re-examined, and thoroughly understood, ending with a pair of signatures on each page plus a handful more on certain pages. Mitsuru wasn't certain, but she thought she had seen a hint of amusement in the bald man's eyes as she scanned each and every line on the contract with intense scrutiny.

Soon, the two parted ways with a handshake, the older of the pair filing away the contracts and starting work on the order. But while he was doing so, the Scroll on his desk began to blink and ring signifying an incoming call. One hand strayed to his Scroll to accept the call. It wasn't long before the blank display of his Scroll brightened as a face came into view.

"So what did you think?"

"Definitely someone to keep an eye on," he replied without glancing away from his work, responding to the familiar voice of the Research Director. "She's smart and meticulous, went through all twenty pages of the contract before signing a single page. She didn't say anything, but I wager she saw a handful of loopholes we put in there for the company's safety. Maybe even all of them for all I know."

"Ambitious too, if this little project's anything to go by," he added before the older woman could respond. "She doesn't strike me as the sort to just play the stock market and be content with her investments. If she can afford this, then I wager everything I have that she'll have her own little business not long before she graduates from Beacon. Or maybe even a not-so-little one. She's certainly got the brains and the drive for it. Give her a couple of years after that and she just might be the CEO of the next budding corporate giant."

"Any ideas what it'll be about?"

"No clue," he said, accompanied by a brief shrug. "Dust and technology are pretty much the two biggest markets on Remnant. If she goes after Dust, she'll have the SDC to contend with. And everyone with even a quarter of a brain knows how hard the competition will hit her the moment she's on the rise. Same goes for technology and Adamas. The only other market I can see that's in high demand is security."

Had he bothered to look, he would have seen the Director's confused but intrigued expression. "Like a private military company of sorts?"

"More or less. But the only reason that particular market hasn't been claimed is because we already have Huntsmen. Unless she can find some way to compete with the Huntsmen that'll be a steep, uphill, losing battle from the beginning. Huntsmen don't belong to any one kingdom regardless of where they studied. Similarly, the law prevents them from retaining their Huntsmen License if they choose to work exclusively for a single company. Or even for a multiple companies. Pretty much anything that may make them less than neutral in the eyes of the law would be considered illegal. Atlas only have their 'Specialists' because those guys don't mind not having a license. Not like they really need it since the Atlesian Military pretty much does everything a Huntsman does, and more."

"Adding to that, a Huntsman License is easy enough to get," Homura added without pausing his work. "Even people who've never been to a Huntsman Academy won't have too much trouble getting one as long as they know how to fight and know enough about certain subjects, so there's practically no reason for any skilled fighter _not_ to get one. The fact that they'll almost never run out of jobs to do is a huge bonus, never mind a ton of other benefits for basically having one of the most dangerous jobs in all Remnant. She'd need to have quite the silver tongue to convince anyone to give up those benefits and sign up with her."

"And the project she has you doing?"

"Too high maintenance, especially in the long-term and in large numbers." He hadn't even paused to think about his answer, one hand typing out something on his Scroll while the other was filling out forms on his desk. "Not unless the influx of jobs she gets matches what the Huntsmen get. But then that would mean less jobs for Huntsmen, which will certainly make a lot of people unhappy. Not only that, but to get to that point that she'd need to prove, beyond all doubt, that her people are the undeniably better option. That may take too long, cost too much, unless she's got enough cash to burn while waiting for that point."

"And we've already established that she's as far removed from the 'stupid' end of the scale as possible," said the Research Director, nodding along in agreement even though her conversation partner wasn't even looking at her image on his Scroll. "Either way, we don't really know that she'll go down that path. I can't say much because of my own contract with her, but depending on how things turn out my project just might be her starting point, but certainly not enough to stand on its own."

"She'll still be someone to watch out for," concluded the Head Engineer, finishing up the forms on his desk and setting the pen down. Only then did he turn to face the older woman's image on the Scroll. "Anyway, any other reason you called? I doubt it was just to talk about the company's youngest shareholder."

The levity on the woman's face and demeanor faded, replaced by a much more professional and serious one that she often bore. "The latest set of test results are in," she began, her tone also more serious. "I've sent them to you so you can go over them at your leisure. I've also scheduled a meeting two days from now to discuss what changes we can apply."

"We've also received the latest report from the lab in Oster." Upon hearing the name of one of Adamas's outlying branches, Homura's expression sharpened like the very blades he so often created. "The company's latest brainchild has hit a few snags and the local team is requesting assistance to go over the latest issues. I'm thinking of sending you along with a handful of others to see if the issues can be resolved quickly."

His eyes turned back to his desk and Scroll just as quickly as his hands went back to work. "Forward the list of those who'll accompany me once it's finalized and let them know. I should be done with my preparations in two days. We'll leave the day after."

"Everything should be ready by then. Be sure to let me know what supplies you'll need so I can get it all approved by Elmas as soon as I can." Receiving a silent nod in return, the Director prepared to end the call from her end only to pause. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you how important it is that we succeed."

"I'm well aware," he replied, his tone unchanging. Then, turning away from his current task, he gave his superior an uncharacteristically stern gaze. "Rest assured, provided there are no unexpected issues, then the world will bear witness to Mistral's glory before the end of the next year."

* * *

She had always been in a position of power, even from a young age. And while she did not always make use of it, it was always there, in one form or another, whenever she needed it. Sometimes it wasn't the correct sort of power for a given situation but she still had power, nonetheless.

Power, as she once read, begets and attracts power. And having been born into it, she lived a life where obtaining even more power came easier compared to others.

Information was one such form that power could take and one that she had little trouble obtaining more of, whether through other people or through her own efforts. An understanding of how the world and nature worked opened many opportunities and could aid in solving many problems. Knowledge of past events and how they shaped the present allowed one to better manipulate the present to shape the future. Learning of the intricacies of the human mind and heart led to smoother communication with, of even manipulation of, other people. And, often, she had heard that understanding one's self leads to a happier life.

Conversely, she had also experienced times when she was powerless. Although such events were far and few in between, each one had a profound and long-lasting effect on her. Enough that those effects still lingered to the present day and far into the future.

Her current situation was another of those times. Thankfully it was only a minor matter. Even so, she had gotten used to having the upper-hand in such situations that not having it irked her somewhat, though she would never show it openly or even speak of it to those she didn't trust implicitly.

The fact that the person she was speaking with was one such person, however, somehow made it even more irksome.

"What exactly had you so worried earlier?"

His unease hadn't gone unnoticed to Mitsuru's observant eye, but the reasons eluded her. There had been no threat at that time, physical or otherwise, to make him react in such a manner. While there had been talk of having Aigis and Pyrrha spar, she wouldn't have allowed it and would have made her own excuse had Akihiko not done so before she did. Even Aigis was no doubt aware, even if Mitsuru had spotted a spark of interest. Still, for him to take the lead like that was… unusual to say the least.

He had refused to speak earlier, claiming the need for privacy. As a result, she had spent nearly the whole day waiting for such an opportunity to come, all the while trying to work out for herself just what had gotten him so agitated. Now, at long last, the opportunity presented itself. Pyrrha had a business dinner to attend, leaving only the three members of SEES in their hotel suite.

"Don't trust that man." What Akihiko had to say, however, was not what she had expected. "I don't know what he's up to, but don't let him get too close. In fact, I'd prefer if he never saw Aigis fighting anytime in the future if we can avoid it."

Now that was certainly strange. To Mitsuru at least. "I'd have thought you'd be the one among us to get along with him the best. The way his eyes gleamed at meeting someone strong or skilled was very much like how you used to be. You're still like that, in fact. You're just not as zealous as before."

"That's why I don't trust him," Akihiko spat out firmly, turning away and walking over to the window.

Confused by his response, Mitsuru and Aigis followed after and went to stand a short distance behind him. His hand rested on the window frame at head level, his body leaning forward with his forehead nearly resting on the cool glass which began to mist over ever so slightly from his breathing. From her position, she could see a portion of his face reflected on the glass.

"I know what kind of person I am," he began, his voice low. "I know what kind of person I _was._ And it's exactly because we're the same that I don't trust him."

"You make it sound like you don't even trust yourself." It was simply a result of how she interpreted his words, but she still wasn't happy knowing that the possibility existed.

"I don't." His words froze her in place as one thought after another rushed through her mind, trying to find some possible explanation for his words. "Or at least, the 'me' of the present doesn't trust the kind of person the 'me' of the past was." His solemn words reassured her, somewhat, but she didn't even need to speak out loud for Akihiko to know what her next question would be.

A loud sigh came from his lips, the glass in front of his misting over enough to hide his reflection from her gaze. If she didn't know any better she might have thought that he had done that on purpose. "Back then, all I cared about was getting stronger. Strong enough that I'd never lose anyone or anything important to me again."

"And I understand that," pre-empted Mitsuru, already seeing where his thought process was leading. "And I'm certain that Shinjiro, regardless of his opinion, understood why you made the choices you did."

Akihiko didn't seem to even acknowledge her words as he continued to speak soon after she did. "I never realized just how much it would cost me. Before I realized it, I owed far more than I was willing to pay." His expression, or what little she could see from his half-reflected face, darkened for a brief moment before his expression went back to its neutral mask. "I'll never stop regretting how stupid I was back then. It's a burden I'll carry until I die."

Then his face darkened once more. Not with remorse or sadness. Rather, this time his face bore a mask of anger. "But that man is different. He's like how I used to be, always looking for ways to become stronger, better. Ways to get to his goal as fast as he can. But he's also got the eyes of people like Takaya and Ikutsuki."

Those two names sent a brief shiver down Mitsuru's spine. Despite the passage of time, and despite SEES's success over the two zealots, Mitsuru would never forget the crazed and fanatical gleam in their eyes whenever they spoke of the Fall and their skewed perception of salvation. And yet…

"Are you certain?" And yet she couldn't help but doubt what Akihiko was telling her. Certainly the man possessed such a manic gleam in his eyes but to compare him to the likes of Takaya Sakaki and Shuji Ikustuki? "Isn't that a little excessive?"

The shrug she received took her aback. "Who knows?" With all the certainty previously in his tone, hearing him admit that he may be wrong was just so uncharacteristic of him that she found herself briefly speechless. "I'm not asking you to trust me blindly on this. Not when all I've got to back me up is gut instinct." Akihiko glanced over his shoulder to make eye contact with Mitsuru, his gray-eyed gaze conveying just how he felt about the red-haired man. "Just be careful around him. I don't know what he wants, or even how he'll go about getting it. All I know is that it's a bad idea to get too deeply involved with him."

The silver-haired boxer fell silent after that, offering no more words and just blankly staring out the window, seeing something only he could see. No longer in any sort of mood to socialize, whether with Akihiko or Aigis, Mitsuru retired to the room she shared with Pyrrha. With the absence of her fellow redhead, she had the room all to herself and, more importantly, privacy to process what little information she had gleamed from Akihiko's words.

Mitsuru wasn't one to rely on things as subjective as instinct or intuition. Even her own was heavily subject to investigation until it became less intuitive and more logical. As such, she wasn't sure what to make of the other teen's opinion of the man they knew as Pyrrha's private tutor. Especially given their differing opinions.

She had looked into the man not long after leaving Adamas and what she found painted him as a well-respected man all across the continent of Anima. He was just as respected in many places outside the continent, most especially by the Atlesian military and various Huntsmen and Huntresses, for his martial prowess.

In addition, although Master Li was not a licensed Huntsman, he was known to travel remote towns and villages to volunteer his services for weeks at a time, teaching basic combat skills and defending them from the Grimm and the occasional raider during his time there. The fact that he had become the private tutor of Pyrrha Nikos, prior to her rise to fame as the four-time regional champion, only added to his own fame, even if it invited questions. But even with his new responsibilities, he still found the time to travel the continent and, sometimes, the other continents as well.

He was easily one of the, if not _the,_ most famous individual in all Anima.

But like with any celebrity, even if he had not acted out of a desire to be famous, any light shone on his life generated a shadow. In his case, it was the lack of such desire and motivation that invited questions from the skeptics who could not believe that such a man existed. After all, what sort of man gives and risks so much but asks for next to nothing in return?

In addition, the absence of any form of career led to questions about his lifestyle. It was well-known that he refused any form of monetary payment for his volunteer work, often only asking for a roof to sleep under, food during his time in the settlement, and some supplies for his trip to wherever his next destination was. And despite the generosity offered, he never once asked for more than necessary, taking and receiving only what he absolutely needed. No more.

Reporters and such that inquired into his finances, openly or otherwise, discovered that he did not own a single bank account with any bank on Remnant. Even the payment he received working as Pyrrha's private tutor was always distributed to various charities across Mistral, with only a small amount remaining in his possession in order to fund his next trip to whichever town or village he chose to visit next.

Understandably, there were many cries of disbelief among the investigators. Many had assumed that the banks were lying. After all, they were not obligated to reveal any information and, as such, might have lied in order to stop the queries outright.

But one bank had decided to nip things in the bud and gave one reporter access to their database. Such an opportunity came with countless stipulations and contracts, dozens of signatures from both parties along with multiple, non-related, witnesses, but both sides felt it was well worth the trouble and cost as they walked away with what they wanted. The bank was no longer hounded by reporters, save for the scant few who _still_ believed that the truth had been hidden away prior to the agreement, and the media people, for the most part, finally received undeniable confirmation.

Other banks followed suit not long after, fed up with all the polite and not-so-polite inquiries into the non-existent accounts of a man who was not even their client.

In addition, Mitsuru found an old news article which, with Master Li's explicit permission, released information showing that he owned no land or properties within any town or city in the kingdom. The closest he had to a home is a small shack far removed from civilization in an undisclosed location in the northern parts of Anima. Even then, he admitted that he can count the number of times he returns there within any year on one hand.

For all intents and purposes, the man was but a kind-hearted wanderer, roaming from one place to the next and offering his services as a means to earn what little he needs before moving on.

Yet the man was hardly a saint. After all, there were many reports of him having killed bandits and raiders without offering any opportunity for diplomacy. What was truly worth paying attention to was the fact that he had, many times, gone out of his way to hunt them down rather than just defending the town or village that needed aid.

As a result, there came demands from select people that the man be held accountable for the loss of life. He was neither a licensed Huntsman nor a member of any law enforcement group. As such, his actions could not be considered an act of justice but an act of murder, or vigilantism at best. And, since he had hunted them down, no fair and just court of law could consider it self-defense.

The man who claimed to be a master of over a thousand weapons was as famous as he was infamous. Loved just as much as he was despised. Respected just as much as he was feared. The only difference was who was asked.

Yet, in his own words, he was just another man who was doing what he felt was right, regardless of how people may perceive his actions.

Mitsuru could only theorize as to why there hadn't been even a single attempt to arrest the man despite there just as many people who wanted it to happen as opposed to those who saw his acts as good and just.

So exactly what was it that Akihiko had seen? What exactly was it that he felt from the man, beyond the resemblance to himself, Takaya, and Ikutsuki, that made him feel so strongly about this? What made him insist on a level of caution beyond what Mitsuru would normally have given the man?

Countless ideas and theories buzzed around Mitsuru's head that night, not at all unlike a fly trapped in a jar

* * *

 **December 28, XX13**

The breakfast table that the four occupied the next day carried a strange tension, one that Aigis could not readily explain.

At first, she thought that it might have been Akihiko's warning the previous night weighing on Mitsuru and the boxer himself. But that did not explain Pyrrha's own silence. Since she was absent when Akihiko aired his concerns, Aigis could only assume that her troubles stemmed from some personal or work-related issue.

As a result, the blonde android found herself unable to speak up beyond the basic greetings. She was more than aware that she was still far too inept when it came to dealing with such sensitive matters so she opted to refrain from questioning them on their silence.

At the very least, she would refrain from doing so with Pyrrha, whom she did not feel she shared a close enough friendship so as to inquire about what was potentially a sensitive matter. If the redhead felt differently, then she would be the one to approach Aigis just as she had opened up to the blonde many weeks ago. And just like the fateful night that led to the Mistralian champion to challenge the high school boxing champion, Aigis would offer what help she could, even if it was as simple as a listening ear and a few words of comfort.

Akihiko and Mitsuru, on the other hand, were more than capable of dealing with the issue surrounding Master Li. The former, as the one who sensed that something required caution, would no doubt keep a close eye on the man should they ever cross paths again, something that was very likely. The latter would do as she did best, gather information and prepare them should the man turn out to be a threat in any way.

For now, however, all she could do was wait and prepare to help as best she could when it became necessary.

Eventually, the silence was broken just as the three human occupants of the table were finishing their meal. "Will you be returning directly to Vale?" asked Pyrrha, her words bearing a strangely stiff intonation that Aigis just barely managed to pick up. "Or were you planning on visiting somewhere else before returning?"

"We'll be returning to Vale as planned," Mitsuru replied. Unlike with her fellow redhead, Aigis could pick up no anomalies in her tone, as though her previous silence was due to choice and not circumstance. "From there, Aigis and I will travel to Patch to join our teams for the rest of the end-of-year break."

Akihiko picked up from there even before Pyrrha could turn to him. "I've got some things I wanna work on so I'll be staying in Vale."

"I see."

Left unsaid, though understood by all, was that his own team had planned to remain in Vale. With his return, Team ANKR would be complete once more. Mitsuru's arrival at Patch would also complete Team KYBT while Pyrrha's own arrival at Domremy, even if only for the last few days of their vacation, would complete Team JACN.

With a brief pang of sadness, Aigis realized that only her own team would remain incomplete during the duration of their break from the academy. Weiss had opted to remain at Beacon for the entire two weeks, rather than join the rest of Team ASYR on Patch.

Regardless of the Schnee heiress's reasons, it was, to Aigis, a painful reminder to of her inadequacies as a team leader. Mitsuru was practically born to lead. Akihiko had very little difficulty adjusting to his role and, though only a school club, being the captain of Gekkoukan's boxing team lent him some experience. Junpei, despite having no experience at all as a leader, had slowly come to display a boisterous sort of charisma that worked well for him and his team.

Anyone looking in from the outside would see things differently. To Aigis, however, the fact that everyone else were such capable leaders made her feel as though they were the rule and her the exception. How could she not?

Junpei handled the situation with Jaune so well that the only son of the Arc family not only managed to remain at Beacon, but also received the blessing of his entire family to follow through on his decision. He hadn't done it without assistance, nor had it been a smooth operation, but it had happened under his supervision and, more importantly, because of his decisions.

Mitsuru also handled Blake's issues masterfully. Even if things had gone down a risky, if not outright lethal, path, Aigis was certain that Mitsuru had made the correct decisions at every turn. Even if, at one point, it meant staring down her own teammate.

On the other hand, Akihiko had his hands full with his team just about every day. Or rather, he had his hands full keeping just one member of his team in line. While not malicious or dangerous in any way, Nora's rambunctious antics made for quite a headache inducing scene, moreso for the team leader who would no doubt receive the brunt of any scolding from the school's professors should the hyperactive girl's shenanigans go too far. To be fair, Ren did most of the work to keep his childhood friend from crossing that line, but Akihiko had taken it upon himself to try and do his fair share, given that he is the team's leader.

Yet what about her? What had she done for her team that could rival her fellow team leaders?

Her relationship with Fuuka was as expected, since they had been working together for over a year.

Ruby was easy enough to understand and get along with. A young girl who dreams of being the ideal Huntress, a heroine for all intents and purposes. In addition, she was well-versed, and highly interested, in weaponry and designing them. Perhaps that played a part in her relationship with the humanoid tactical weapon, but Aigis felt certain that the friendship the younger girl offered was genuine and not strictly due to her mechanical body.

Weiss, unfortunately, proved the most troublesome of her three teammates. It wasn't that she was actively sabotaging the team – it would have been easier to deal with that, strangely enough. Rather, it was her inaction when it came to socializing and bonding as a team, something that Aigis was too socially inept to deal with. And no matter what the girl said, Aigis was absolutely certain that Weiss's quiet defiance had to do with the blonde herself.

Weiss wouldn't turn away if they met, but she left without acknowledging Aigis with so much as a glance. Weiss wouldn't ignore her if they spoke, but she did her best to end the conversation as soon as possible. She did not disobey or disregard Aigis's orders or advice during team combat, whether their own or in Professor Goodwitch's class, but Aigis noticed the heiress's reluctance, sometimes even open annoyance, at having to follow someone else's lead. Her lead to be precise.

Just what was it about her that was so upsetting, perhaps even repulsive, that Weiss was all but actively avoiding her?

Weiss hadn't been very open at the start, not to any of them, but for the past few weeks Aigis noticed that she was conversing more and more with Fuuka. Often it was their joint project of trying to understand Aigis's internal systems as well as their self-appointed task to learn more, but she also noticed that now and then they would discuss other matters, school and their studies for the most part. Yet, as the days passed, she realized that they began to speak of other, more casual things.

She also wasn't fond of Ruby, often due to the younger girl's relative immaturity, but there was a glaring difference in how she treated the two of them. Where she tended to ignore Aigis as much as she could, she seemed to see everything about the young, red-hooded girl. Every flaw, every mistake, every little imperfection was seen by cold blue eyes and thrown back at the silver-eyed girl.

In addition, she often let it be known that she felt Ruby was squandering her time and potential. Under that light, it became clear that Weiss was, in her own way, trying to help Ruby reach that potential. But then, what did that say about her near complete refusal to acknowledge Aigis?

Moreover, Weiss had become much more considerate to Ruby the past few weeks. At least, before the issue of the latter's academics came up. Prior to her near apoplectic reaction to Ruby's academics, the heiress had taken to speaking in, slightly, gentler tones, with softer words and expressions, even if she was still as demanding as before. That may or may not return to how it used to be, but it was still, as a whole, better than her mostly unchanged behavior towards Aigis.

' _Perhaps this is what frustration feels like,'_ she mused as she stood in front of the window, gazing out into the cityscape while everyone else went to pack their belongings. _'Unable to do anything and not knowing what to do, yet wanting to do something, anything at all.'_ It wasn't a feeling she had much experience with and her current situation only made her distaste for that particular feeling grow.

Approaching Weiss and confronting her was out of the question. Aigis had seen, several times in fact, just what happened when someone involved the heiress in such a situation, especially against her will. But dancing around the issue and waiting for her to make the first move wasn't working at all. Weiss seems content to leave things be.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said of Aigis.

Was it foolishness to want to attempt something that even she could admit had a low chance of success? Perhaps it was. But, even so, she couldn't let that stop her from trying.

After all, did they not once stand against something said to be undefeatable? Did they not, even if only in part, succeed in preventing the extinction of every living being in the world?

And yet, to one who was created for combat, the mere thought of confronting a social problem of that scale filled her with more hesitation and trepidation than the thought of facing down the likes of Nyx and Thanatos. It was understandable, but a large part of her felt shame that she could not even bring herself to consider the option that would, one way or another, expedite the situation's resolution.

"Aigis? Is everything alright?"

The soft gasp of surprise that might have come from a normal person was easily suppressed by the android as she turned around with a passive expression, all traces of her turmoil hidden so well that even Mitsuru might not have realized that something was wrong. As it was, Pyrrha was not as adept at reading people as her fellow redhead and, thus, did not notice anything amiss beyond what she might have already seen.

"I am well," came the prepared response, a small nod accompanying her words. "I was merely thinking about some things."

"…" Pyrrha gazed thoughtfully at Aigis's face as though seeing something there. Without a word, she walked forward to stand beside Aigis, her own emerald irises gazing out into the sea of steel and stone outside. "You're thinking about your team, aren't you? About Weiss?"

Caught off guard by her accurate summation of her worries, Aigis couldn't keep her surprise off her face, mouth slightly open and eyes wide open. Even so, she did not speak, as though afraid that confirming the redhead's words would also confirm that her worries were, in fact, reality and not merely her imagination or paranoia. Yet, after a brief moment of hesitation, she nodded minutely. Unpleasant as it was, the truth was not something she wanted to turn away from. That was not the kind of life she had chosen to live.

Perhaps taking Aigis's silence as confirmation, or understanding that the blonde would not offer further information on her own, Pyrrha continued to speak. "She may be silent most of the time, or perhaps because of it, but Chidori is incredibly observant. I'm sorry if I'm overstepping my bounds. I may not be a member of your team but I just want you to know that I'm willing to listen to your problems if you need someone to speak with. After all, even if all one can do is listen, sometimes it is enough. Or, at least …"

Pyrrha paused long enough to turn her head, facing Aigis and giving her a soft but knowing smile. "…that's what a good friend of mine told me once."

The significance of choice of words weren't lost on Aigis, nor were Pyrrha's less than subtle hints. Yet those same words brought an unbidden smile to her lips, one that no doubt showed her relief. And just like that night when Pyrrha had asked to speak with her, Aigis spoke of her troubles, hoping that her friend would have even some small nugget of wisdom to share.

At the end of her tale, Pyrrha was looking quite pensive, her eyes looking at something far beyond the cityscape before them. Farther, even, than the mountains in the distance.

"Weiss is… complicated." While not necessarily something she didn't already know, Aigis waited patiently for the explanation. "You no doubt know that she comes from a family of high social standing, one known all across Remnant, and was raised to one day take over the company in the future. I've heard that she has an older sister, yet I'm unaware of why Weiss would be designated the heiress. Either way, growing up with such high expectations placed upon your shoulders will leave a profound effect on someone's development."

Recalling something she overheard Pyrrha telling her team once in Beacon's dining hall, Aigis realized that she was doubtlessly speaking from experience. Though her fame did not grow until the past few years, the Mistralian's prodigious combat skills had been enough for the people in her life to expect great things from her.

"I've not heard her say anything about what she plans for the SDC's future, but Weiss clearly and, somewhat surprisingly, sincerely wants to excel as a Huntress," continued Pyrrha, unaware of Aigis's current thoughts. "To me, that speaks of her desire to excel on her own merits, rather than to simply accept what is given to her, birthright or no. But, as you've already seen on a few occasions, her personality can be like a King Taijitu. Many times you see the Weiss that wishes to stand on her own. But there are also times when the part of her that is the heiress rears its head, all but demanding that her desires be served to her on a silver platter. And although rare, both sides of her may even be present at the same time."

"… Such as when she wished for Ruby to excel but demanded too much of her, heedless or uncaring of Ruby's limitations or own desires," Aigis realized after a brief moment to think about Pyrrha's words.

"Precisely," nodded the redhead, turning to face Aigis briefly as she did so then returning her gaze to the outside. "It's an unfortunate truth that many among the higher social classes tend to believe that 'the end justifies the means'. More often than not, those means include acts that may even bring harm or misfortune to others. And even if she were to deny it, Weiss's thought process still heavily mirrors this thought process."

"She is not a bad person," Pyrrha added quickly, not wanting Aigis to come to an incorrect conclusion. "Not once, at least as far as my own interactions with her, have I felt that she was malicious in any way." She gave a tight smile, clearly amused by something but not feeling entirely joyful about it. "I do feel that she, like many others, wish to use my fame or ability for their own purposes. She most likely wanted me as her partner, or at least as a teammate, for a stronger, more successful team like everyone else was hoping for."

"Selfish, but not malicious," Aigis concluded, sounding quite certain despite the doubt on her expression.

The taller girl nodded, showing her agreement with the conclusion. "To a great extent, yes. Perhaps she will change," she said, then shrugged. "Perhaps not. We're all still quite young so I'd like to believe that there is still time before we, myself included, become set in our ways. But…"

Pyrrha trailed off, but Aigis had already begun traveling down a thoughtful path. _'Change…'_

The redhead's words brought to the forefront of her mind the memories of that year spent with her friends. Memories of SEES, both past and present, brought with it everything she knew about her friends and comrades. And as prompted by Pyrrha's words, Aigis thought of their own behavior during that tumultuous time, both those she had witnessed and those she had only heard of from second-hand accounts.

Mitsuru and her penchant for secrets, how she bore the brunt of guilt and responsibility for SEES and her family, even that of things beyond her control.

Akihiko and his endless thirst for strength, his burning desire to keep his friends safe from any and all harm at any cost, even that of his own safety and, in some ways, the safety of those same people he was trying to protect.

Shinjiro and his anti-social behavior, rude and gruff at the best of times and openly violent at worst, walking with hunched shoulders as though to reflect the weight of the burden he carries.

Junpei and his immaturity, his shortsightedness and childishness, his earnest yet misguided attempts at recognition.

Yukari and her impulsive nature, her unyielding conviction to see wrongs made right, almost heedless of the dangers to herself and to others.

Fuuka and her kind and quiet nature, timidity bordering on reclusive, a hidden desire to be accepted without first having to fulfill some condition.

Ken and his precociousness, vengeful yet grieving, seeing only his goal and blind to what would come after.

Chidori and her apathetic nature, caring for seemingly nothing save for the quiet peace that only solitude and death could deliver, avoiding the formation of attachments to anyone or anything so as not to fear its inevitable loss.

And last, but certainly not the least, Minato and his quiet nature, caring little for things that did not concern him and yet giving his all for the things that did.

Barely past their mid-teens and yet already such complex personalities and egos have emerged, all but defining who they were as people. Whether they became such people due to their own choices, the environment they grew up in, the consequences of other people's choices and actions, or any combination of the above along with countless other factors, it didn't change the fact that they were the people Aigis had gotten to know after her unexpected reactivation on Yakushima.

And within the span of but a single year, those same personalities changed. A gradual, almost subtle, change yet one that was noticeable. Some changes were even so apparent that even those who did not intimately know them came to notice.

Mitsuru stood taller, carrying herself with confidence and pride born of experience and growth rather than that which she had been born with. She also grew more open, more forthcoming, and, most importantly, she had stopped trying to bear every problem and burden, even that of her friends', on her own shoulders.

Akihiko's thirst for power did not abate, but was tempered by the knowledge, understanding, and acceptance that everything came at a cost. No longer did he push forward blindly, heedless of how his actions affected those around him, and uncaring of the price that must be paid.

Shinjiro, in that brief time he had returned to SEES, had not changed much after rejoining. Rather, he slowly began to re-open his heart to those around him. His friendship with Mitsuru and Akihiko was rekindled and, while he did not form such close bonds to his juniors outside of combat, his actions allowed everyone else to see the golden heart hidden beneath the rough and sharp edges of his stony demeanor. Ken more than anyone else.

Junpei, childish as ever but certainly not as immature as he had once been. His desire for recognition, to be something greater than what he once was prior to his awakening as a Persona-user, was now supported by a deeper understanding of the burdens of power and responsibility, and of himself. His decisions, while still quite rash and illogical most days, were made with a conviction and determination that few could match.

Yukari's impulsiveness, while not completely gone, was under better control along with her temper. The hardness born of past misfortunes and tragedies had softened to a degree, her infectious cheer now much more genuine rather than a well-crafted public mask to hide her fears and insecurities, her pain and sorrow, from her peers.

Fuuka was much more outgoing than before, at times being the one to initiate a conversation or plan an outing rather than simply going along. More importantly, she had become equally as outspoken, voicing her thoughts and opinions with confidence more than she used to.

Ken remained as precocious as ever, something that was unlikely to change any longer. At times, however, they would see him sometimes indulge in the childishness he had suppressed all those years ago on the day his mother died. Or rather, he stopped trying to hide that part of him. He understood and accepted that, despite everything he had been through, he _was_ still a child and that the loss of a part of his innocence, however large that part may have been, did not mean he could not behave like one still.

Chidori had, quite possibly, changed the most, even excluding the time between the present and her release from her crystal stasis. What once was feared was now desired above all. What she feared to lose was now protected with every fiber of her being to avoid such a loss. And while still apathetic at times, the soft-spoken and cheerful Chidori that emerged in the hospital with the previous loss of her Persona, and the memory of the Dark Hour with it, could often be seen when she was around Junpei. Even if only around him, nobody missed the significance.

Minato remained almost exactly the same from the day she first met him. Quiet and reserved, bordering on anti-social, and preferring to keep to himself for the most part. And, yet, they had all felt it that fateful night. A flame burning within his soul, burning with a passion that did not seem to match his outward demeanor. A flame that threatened to burn and consume anything that dared cross his path. A flame that protected everything he held dear from that which sought to take it from him.

And then there was Aigis herself. Even she could see that she was not the same android, not the same person, today as she was when she had first been reactivated on Yakushima by the proximity of Minato and, through him, Death.

Logical to a fault, a near-complete lack of social skills, the inability to comprehend emotional reactions and decisions, and the lack of emotions in general were but a few of the problems that she had during the weeks and months that followed her reactivation. Even after her return from the Kirijo labs, following her failed attack on the newly awakened Ryoji Mochizuki, the revelations she faced and a new reason to keep going, it took nearly a month before she came to truly connect with her burgeoning emotions. And today, nearly a full year since their release from stasis, she was still trying to adjust to being closer to a human than an android in terms of behavior.

There was no doubt that all of them had changed, some more than others, but changed nonetheless. So why not others? Why not-

A hand on her shoulder gently drew her away from her thoughts, but a small part of her mind continued her train of thought. "Aigis? Is everything alright?" She turned to give Pyrrha a questioning look. Only then did she realize that the corners of her lips had, at some point, turned upwards into a small, gentle smile. Pyrrha had a smile on her lips as well, but it was tinged more with amusement and confusion, the latter most likely at the sudden appearance of Aigis's own smile.

"I'm fine," Aigis responded after a brief pause, feeling, for the first time, that she truly was 'fine'. There was a lightness in her that hadn't been there earlier, a measure of relief that had eluded her for an indeterminate amount of time. "In fact," she added, turning to look out into the city, the sight before her somehow looking much brighter than it did earlier. "I don't believe I've felt this… free in so long."

The amusement faded from Pyrrha's expression, leaving only confusion and curiosity. Yet despite her obvious desire to know more, the redhead remained silent and allowed a satisfied smile to grace her lips, turning back to the window but glancing occasionally at the blonde, whose own smile had yet to leave her face.

And, unbeknownst to the pair, two pairs of eyes watched from opposite sides of the room. And, much like the two they were observing, the owners of both pairs of eyes had small smiles playing upon their lips.

* * *

Pyrrha leaned forward on the safety rails, head tilted upwards and green eyes focused on the airship that was just barely a speck in the distance. Barely quarter of an hour had passed since its departure yet she could already feel the pangs of longing stirring within her. Or rather, only now was she willing to acknowledge the feelings that had begun to grow since waking up that morning.

Just the thought of spending the next week in non-stop meetings, photo shoots, business dinners, PR events, and the like was enough to dampen her mood. She wouldn't even be able to spend a full day with her family when she arrived at Mistral. She'd much rather play tour guide for her friends rather than appeasing her sponsors and 'adoring' fans.

Still, as much as she did not look forward to the coming week, she knew that it was very much necessary. Those events were, after all, the cost of being able to attend Beacon Academy rather than Haven Academy like everyone else wanted. Moreover, her tight schedule was also a result of her wanting to spend a few days in Domremy with her team. So, distasteful as it was, she would face them all head-on with her head held high just like she always did.

It didn't occur to her until she watched the trio of Persona-users disappear into the airship that their presence the past two days had done much to alleviate the troubles and burdens she normally felt while in Weilai, or even in Mistral. Just knowing that she would be amongst true friends at the beginning and end of each day, rather than the false or empty smiles that often surrounded her, had done wonders for her overall mood. Even the doubts that plagued her as to whether or not Mitsuru, or SEES, were still hiding some significant matter from them was not enough to offset her good mood.

And now she would be bereft of their company for the coming week. All the while, she would be surrounded by countless people hoping to gain her favor for one reason or another, heedless or uncaring of her own personal wants and wishes.

It was strange, she thought with a wistful sigh, that she would feel this attached to the three Persona-users. She wasn't particularly close to them, yet she felt a strange attachment that was only surpassed by her family and the members of her own team.

Of the three, she felt that she was closest to Aigis, her rival in combat. Though, if she were being honest, that rivalry was clearly a one-sided affair on her part. Even so, she had spent the most time with Aigis outside of class, mostly discussing the combat android's observations with regards to Pyrrha's combat style but sometimes discussing minor matters, even if the latter events tended to become awkward in some manner due to the blonde's limited social abilities.

Akihiko was, as she had learned, a kindred spirit. Both she and the silver-haired boxer strove to be the best they could be in their chosen field of combat, never once considering the possibility of defeat regardless of the odds of victory. They also had an endless thirst for competition, pitting themselves against equals and superior foes to continuously test their own abilities, never settling for anything less than victory.

Mitsuru was, of the three, the one she had the least connection to asides from being friends. She felt, however, that 'close acquaintance' may be a more accurate term for their relationship. Neither redhead had spent an extended period of time with the other outside of class and meal times. Even then, they did not interact with each other much. However, she held the older girl in high regard for a multitude of reasons, not the least the strength of her resolve.

Then again, that thought was quite inaccurate. It was not just Mitsuru who bore such steely determination. Akihiko and Aigis did as well. And so did the rest of SEES. Was it a surprise, then, that she respected them all, she, who many – herself not included – praised and looked up to as the epitome of martial strength of her generation?

Three people, each one so different from the other that, were it not for their shared experiences in SEES, they would have been seen as a highly unlikely friendship. And here she was, wasting what many would claim was her precious time, watching the airship as it became less and less visible in the distance and wishing that she were on the ship with them. Or, if fate would permit it, to have them by her side like they had been the past few days.

All of that, however, was nothing more than wishful thinking. Of course it was not meant to be. Each of them had plans of their own, obligations that needed to be fulfilled. It was incredibly selfish for her to want them, or even anyone among their little clique, to accompany her during the entire vacation period.

But no matter how much she rationalized it and told herself that it simply couldn't be, she couldn't stop the silent longing in her heart. Aigis, Akihiko, and Mitsuru, even if she and the latter were not very close, were among the first true friends she had made ever since her fame grew. The members of Teams JACN, KYBT, ANKR, and ASYR formed nearly the entire number of people who did not see her merely as the Invincible Girl, the Mistralian champion, or Adamas's golden girl. Outside of them, she could count the number of such people with one hand.

That thought alone made their company exponentially more enticing, more valuable, than anything Adamas or Mistral could ever offer her.

With a wistful sigh, she pushed off the guard rail, the airship now too far for her to see. She double-checked her clothing, making doubly certain that her hair was still inside the hood, before making her way out of the station. She walked with a hint of a slouch to further distance her current self from the confident champion people expected to see. Only this time her posture did not feel forced. This time, her shoulders truly felt burdened by some invisible weight dragging her down.

It did not take long for her to realize why.

Beacon had been that little taste of freedom she had been searching for since the day she understood the price of her fame. Though she could not completely escape, every day she spent at Beacon, every day she had the opportunity to be amongst friends, was a day outside the cage of fame she had unwittingly built around herself over the years.

And now, nearly four months since departing for the famous school, she was once again stepping into that cage. She did so willingly. But willing was not the same as wanting. So was it any surprise that she did not look forward to returning? That she wanted nothing more than to have been able to board the airship with her friends?

It was like dining on nothing but the blandest, most tasteless food and drink for years and then tasting even but a single spoonful of a meal cooked by the world's greatest chef. No longer could she be content with just having something to eat. A part of her had grown greedy and, admittedly, a little foolish, crying out that she would be content to have even just one single spoonful of that delicious meal each and every day rather than as many tasteless meals as she could eat.

That little taste of freedom had done little to quench her appetite. If anything, it only made her hunger for it even more.

But just as she would slowly but surely starve to death with so little nourishment, so too would she not be able to survive out in the world with just the company of her friends. Or, at least, it would be a thorny and dangerous road to take.

The first and biggest issue would be her contract with Adamas. Like most other contracts, breaking it without good reason - and such reasons were incredibly few based on what she remembered of the contract - led to undesirable consequences. Not the least was the financial aspect.

Her family was another. It had been, mostly, at their urging that she accept Adamas's offer of sponsorship back when a company representative first approached her.

A more public issue would be the media and society, as well as their reactions. She could already imagine countless newspapers, magazines, and social media sites coming up with one ridiculous theory after another. And, as taught by experience, telling the truth would not put all the rumors to rest. Rather, there were those who would suspect the truth as nothing more than a cover-up for some scandal of sorts.

And those three were only the major problems. There were still other problems that, in comparison, were minor things. But, in practice, even those supposedly minor problems would be difficult to deal with, especially after all the other problems begin to pile up.

Her shoulders sank lower as she walked into the hotel lobby, the eyes of those around her sliding past her form after nothing more than a brief glance. The doors of the elevator she boarded shut and the metal box traveled up to her, now empty and lonely, suite. Shutting the door being her, she looked around the suite, marveling at the sheer size of the two-bedroom suite.

Then, as though the departure of her friends only registered at that moment, she leaned back against the cool, wooden door and released a heavy sigh. She remained in that position for a decent amount of time, pushing away only after one last sigh.

And, half an hour later, she pulled open the door, now dressed in familiar shades of bronze, brown, and red with an equally familiar weight attached to her back. She paused just before she shut the door, glancing over her shoulder at the still empty room.

' _Ten days,'_ she reminded herself as she boarded the elevator. _'Ten days and I'll be back where I want to be. Back where I don't need to hide behind false smiles.'_

Knowing that she was only delaying the inevitable fate that awaited her, one that she had chosen so long ago, she turned away with one final sigh, resigning herself to her fate.

* * *

Far from Weilai, in a small village to the east, the local populace were just about to begin their day when tragedy befell them. The shouts and screams of confusion and panic came not long after. And barely an hour later only silence could be heard.

It would take almost a week before the situation is discovered by a passing team of Huntsmen. And in the days to come, similar reports would come in from various travelers regarding other towns and villages in that region.

The investigation that followed would bring to light one of the most horrifying, yet perplexing, events in recent times. Half a dozen settlements attacked without any information getting out. Tens of thousands dead without a single survivor. All happening within the span of a single week. All caused, if the information gathered is accurate, by a single person. Not by a horde of Grimm, not by a sole intelligent and powerful Grimm, but by a single person.

A horde of Grimm could not possibly attack and still leave every single structure intact. No Grimm, no matter how intelligent and powerful, would not be able to slaughter every man, woman, and child with a sharp blade or blade-like implement so quickly that many died without realizing it.

No. No matter how they rationalized it, only a sentient being could have killed so many without leaving behind a trail of destruction, or even a shred of evidence. No footprints or trails leading away, no signs of airborne transportation, not even video evidence despite the presence of surveillance cameras in some of the more prosperous towns.

With such an overwhelming lack of evidence to identify them, the culprit was given the epithet of 'Phantom'.

The only piece of information the investigators could gather accurately was also the one that struck fear into their hearts. Although there was no direct correlation between the settlements that were attacked, one thing was certainly made clear. Each and every attack brought the culprit closer and closer to the very heart of the continent.

The City of Mistral.

* * *

 **I really wish I could have gotten this done sooner but life seems to like throwing stuff my way these past several months. Unfortunately, most of them aren't things I can ignore or put off for very long so I had to shift my priorities from doing stuff I like and enjoy, like writing, to stuff that needs to get done ASA(F'ing)P.**

 **No promises that things are gonna settle down soon, even once the holidays are over, but I'll reiterate the promise I made many chapters ago. No matter what, I WILL finish this story. I may not be able to update as quickly as I used to but I will keep working on the chapters even if it's just a few dozen or hundred words a day.**

 **Another issue is the release of Volume 5. Now, I'm sure that just about everyone reading this, if not everyone, is up-to-date on the latest Volume of RWBY so I'm sure you guys and girls are aware of the many curveballs thrown our way. As such, some of my time had to be spent checking my story notes to see if I could fit those new details in as well as trying to fit them in without breaking my established storyline.**

 **I know, it would definitely be easier if I ignore certain things but I'm a bit of a purist in that regard. I don't really like messing with canon facts unless I have an absolutely good reason to other than 'I just don't feel like using it'. The two 'Gods' as well as the version of Remnant's creation are two such things but ignoring that would mean ignoring related details.**

 **I'm fairly sure I can incorporate those things well enough but I'm gonna need to go through ALL my story notes with a very,** _ **very**_ **fine-toothed comb before I implement those changes to my story plan. Still, that's a long way away so I won't have to worry just yet.**

 **That said… I'm gonna be honest here. I'm not entirely satisfied with how this chapter turned out. I'm probably, most likely, not writing as smoothly and as well as I did before since I've got a bit more stress from RL on my shoulders. Still, I honestly do enjoy writing. It's just that the stress will affect me as I write, whether I want it to or not. I'll most likely edit those parts I'm not happy with in the future but there shouldn't be any major differences.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And I hope that little tidbit at the end got you guys already anticipating the coming arc. There'll be a somewhat lengthy interlude coming up to see how the other teams spent their vacation, then we'll head straight back into the main story.**

 **Happy holidays everyone.**

 **Oh, and just a little hint but nobody needs to get me anything for Christmas. But if you REALLY want to then I suppose a review would be easy enough. XD**

 **See you all next year!**


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